Membership Benefits of the Custom Rod Builders Guild Inc.

The primary goal of the Guild is to enable its members to become better rodmakers. Guild membership may provide benefits to you not available elsewhere.

The Guild has over 900 members located across the United States and in several foreign countries. A Guild member is incredibly unselfish with respect to their desire to provide assistance to other members in terms of improving their rod building skills. As a member, you will be able to make contacts both on our website and at our various meetings that could develop into lasting relationships and life long friendships that will not only enhance your skill but provide meaningful personal relationships.

Guild membership can certainly help to accelerate the rapid expansion or your rod building skills.

Demonstrating A Cross Wrap
- Terri Cheatham -

As a result of a merger with the former Rod Crafters in 2004, the Guild obtained the privilege of continuing to publish The Rod Crafters Journal. The Journal is in its 31st year of publication and is the oldest rod building publication in the country.

Each issue is not only packed with club and membership activity, but also includes a lot of articles packed with how to information written by some of the premier rod builders in the world.

The Journal is a 44 page magazine published quarterly and a subscription is included as part of your $25 membership fee.

Over 125 back issues are available to members at nominal cost.  These issues are packed with information that continues to be important in today’s rod building world. Many of these articles were authored by some of the leading names in rod building.

These gatherings are where the “rubber meets the road”. Attended by all skills of builders, their only purpose is to enhance the skills of all those in attendance. Through formal classes and impromptu sessions that develop spontaneously, rodbuilding education occurs for about 16 hours. Special attention is paid to new members and they are made to feel comfortable in this sometimes intense educational activity.

The National Conclave is held once a year, normally in the first part of the year. The 2006 Conclave will be held in Atlanta on January 20-21. After several years of having the Conclave in the same site, a policy has been adopted whereby the Conclave location will be moved to various locations around the country in an attempt to bring the Conclaves closer to members on a geographic basis.

The Conclaves have been attended by vendors/suppliers who not only display their products, but also in some cases sell them.

An annual business meeting is held along with a banquet. Fee for attending the annual Conclave is $75 which includes the cost of the banquet.

Regional Conclaves are held at various locations and generally provide more hands on building education and in some cases, the opportunity to do some fishing with your fellow members.

Many of our members earn their livings or supplement their income by building and selling rods.  The Guild provides a Rod Locator service whereby people looking to buy a custom rod can locate people in their geographic area for the purpose of buying a custom rod. Fee for this annual listing on the website is $50.

The Guild offers a program whereby certification of rod building skills is certified is granted based on submission of a work piece and a written test.

The purpose of this certification is to verify that the certified member has properly mastered basic rod making skills.

Cost of this certification is $25 and a certificate will be sent to the member.

Certain sponsors offer discounts to members.

Contact rodguildtreas@comcast.net for more information.