I was lucky as a child to have a grandfather that loved to fish. Growing up in West Texas we were not able to just wet a line at the drop of a hat. Water to fish required traveling. And in the 1950’s folks didn’t just jump in the pickup and drive 2 or 300 miles for a weekend like they do today. So he built us a tank and put a windmill to keep water in it. He stocked it with perch and catfish to help out between trips.

As I grew older my love for the sport also grew. I fished bass clubs and open tournaments for a good part of my life. Vacations were usually spent fishing saltwater or mountain streams and looking for places that sold rod and lure components because in West Texas there was none. And yes, there was a time before the internet. About fifteen years ago I took a turn and started putting my efforts to crappie fishing for the most part.

During this life long journey I got interested in repairing and then building my own rods and baits. The baits came easy and the materials available today are unbelievable. The rods came a little slower there was so much I was not sure of and I had no one to ask. So I learned a lot by trial and error and got frustrated at times and would put it aside. Then I found a book written by Dale Clemens read it cover to cover several times and my knowledge and confidence expanded to a new level. My wanting to learn came from the fact that I could never find exactly what I wanted on a rack in any store. After building several rods I realized that there was nothing on those racks that felt and fished like a custom build. Well years have gone by and a lot of rods have been built and fish caught. If you are looking for a custom built rod I hope you will consider having WTX build it. I have the confidence we can get you the rod you are
looking for.

I have had the privilege to meet a number of great rod builders over the years and many of them say the same thing about Dale’s books. He recently passed June 9th 2014 at 82 years old. He did so much for so many of us in this craft. He will be truly missed but due to his books and willingness to share his vast knowledge he will never be forgotten.

I still have to travel to fish. The float plane was a bucket list item to the Aleutian Islands Alaska salmon fishing. The Mackinaw was caught at Lake Tahoe. The Crappie were caught at Grenada Lake, Mississippi and lake Stamford Texas.

Robert E. Briscoe