Custom Rod Builders Guild - Member Spotlight

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Pat Vinzant

- Pat Vinzant -

Over the years Pat has fished extensively in fresh and saltwater, often traveling to many places that normal people never get an opportunity to fish – such as Greenland. His fishing under extreme conditions and at remote locations has resulted in a deep appreciation for fishing rod reliability and performance. And, that building your own custom rods is the best way to satisfy this requirement.

Pat has come in contact with many types of fisherman and rod builders as the past President of the Montgomery Bass Masters, one of the first Directors of the Alabama Federation of B.A.S.S., the past southern Director of Seminars for RodCrafters, and the Conclave Director for the Custom Rod Builders Guild.

He is perhaps best known in rod building circles for creating realistic fish image inlays using feathers and in the construction of high performance rod handles. More recently, he has expanded his feather inlaying to included southwest Indian art and snake skin inlays.

Excelling in the craft of custom rod building takes time and effort. Pat readily admits that his "first attempts were not too good." With the help and support of Guild members, he has been able to hone his style, and pass-on the techniques. Pat encourages rod builders to try thread or feather art, weaves, grip inlays, or various combinations as a way to visually separate custom rods from mass produced production rods. These artistic additions in no way hamper rod performance and often result in educational discussions about the merits of custom rods. "Almost anyone can recognize quality and attention to detail – even from across the room."

Pat also works closely with other Guild members in creating and testing rod grips. Built correctly, "these modular, lightweight, strong, and sensitive graphite tubing rod handles best transmit the vibrations from the blank to your hand." He is actively involved in testing new materials to find the best transition between the rod blank and the sensor handle tubing.

As one who follows new developments in rod building, Pat is happy to note that "the past few years have seen great advances in custom rod building including the quality of rod components and the publication and availability of custom rod building techniques and methods." He believes that the exchange of rod building information using the internet may be one of the most important recent achievements in custom rod building.

That being said, however, Pat views membership in the Guild as paramount for making friends, learning new methods and techniques, and sharing information. In attending several regional meetings each year, he has been able to keep in touch with fellow crafters, develop relationships with suppliers and wholesalers, and participate in in-depth discussions regarding the craft. "Often having someone to listen to your ideas and concerns is the custom rod builders' greatest asset."