The Custom Fisherman

Building your own spinnerbait is much easier than you may think, and also useful. Why pay retail for a spinnerbait when you can make your own in no time at all. This article highlights 15 easy to follow steps to build your own tandem spinnerbait.

For those who have been around rod building for a while, you know the name Victor Joseph. For those who are not familiar with him, simply put, he is a master rod builder known for immaculately detailed custom handles, wraps and exquisitely made rods. Mud Hole got to spend the day with Victor at his home recently and this article highlights his story.

The crankbait has more design variations and considerations than most other types of fishing tackle. It’s action and effectiveness is drastically affected by everything from the shape of the body all the way down to the position of its hooks. This article explores the top 10 design elements and how they impact crankbait performance.

Most people reading this article are probably using a factory made fishing rod, and you love to fish, right? I mean, you have probably been fishing for years and catching loads of fish. So it begs the question, why a custom rod? A fair question and this article dives into some reasons why you may want to build your own fishing rods.

A basic understanding of concepts such as natural resemblance, center of gravity, frontal resistance, and stationary action must be understood when you are creating your own soft plastic bait (or to fish one better). In this article we will teach you about all of them and how to apply them in your lure making project.

Trim wraps are a decorative thread pattern usually used around the edges of your guide wraps, typically contrasting the nylon guide wrap with a metallic thread to show contrast. This article gives specific instructions for how to install a trim wrap on your fishing rod, including a how to video!

If you fish offshore for pelagic species, you know that having the right rod makes the difference between a landed fish and the one that got away. For many saltwater fishermen, they exclusively use MHX Offshore Rod blanks for all of their offshore needs. This article reviews a few key reasons why MHX needs to be your go to saltwater stick.

Spinner baits are very easy to use for the beginner, and very versatile for the more advanced. Comparing spinnerbait blade types will help you pick the one right for your day on the lake. This article explains the differences between spinnerbaits and how they can be used in different fishing applications.

MHX has become one of the "go-to" rod brand in the fishing community because their rod blanks are designed to perform in specific fishing applications, and out-performs competing brands for that application, while delivered at a price point even the most frugal of customers will find appealing. In this article, we sat down with MHX chief designer Todd Vivian to discuss MHX's newest offering - The New Elite Pro Series.

Flats fishing is a common term for fishing a shallow water area. "Shallow" is of course relative. For the sake of this article, I...