We want to congratulate the winners of our first-ever Rod Forge Custom Rod Building Contest!
We received some incredible submissions, and ALL of them looked amazing. We had a team of five judges grade all the entries based on overall aesthetic (color/component combinations), creativity, difficulty, technical execution (design alignment, etc.), grip design (work other than thread), and thread finishing. We’re pleased to announce the top three winners are:
1st Place: Rey Weygant
About Rey’s build: “Grips are made from dyed stabilized burl and brass. The brown is clear black ash burl; the scales are blue-dyed cottonwood designed in a spiral scaled pattern; this is my 2nd go at making these grips. Deco wrap is one of my favorite patterns I like to wrap, but it is time-consuming with packing threads. Guides I kept simple. The grips and wrap are inspired by my favorite builder, Mark Berry; some say he is second to none. I spent over 150 hours and 3 months working on this build.”
Rey wins a $1,000 Rod Forge Credit. His rod will be featured in Rod Forge’s full-page ad in RodMaker Magazine, and his rod will be displayed in the Rod Forge Custom Showcase at Rod Forge HQ.
2nd Forge: Gary Pugh
About Gary’s build: “My inspiration for the Rod Forge contest was to build a rod reflecting the ocean. I incorporated ocean colors of emerald green and deep blue in the handle with a fish pattern above the handle. The blank was painted metallic green, complementing the handle using stabilized emerald green and electric box elder with birch bark outline and white G10 with an ALPS waveform reel seat and APLS fighting butt built to take a punishment fighting fish. A fish pattern was tied above the handle using a 4-axis pattern. Fuji Titanium guides were used to ensure trouble-free wear in saltwater environments.”
Gary wins a $500 Rod Forge credit.
3rd Place: Steven Maillakakis
About Steven’s build: Steven’s build featured a theme focusing on all things redfish. Both the grip and thread wraps featured beautiful blue, brown, and tan colors resembling the various colors found on a redfish, and he even included a redfish in the foam handle. Well done, Steve!
Steve wins a $250 Rod Forge credit.
Thank you to all the builders who submitted entries to our first-ever Custom Rod Building Contest! We were impressed with all the builds and look forward to running another contest soon!
