Includes a chapter on how to care for fiberglass fishing rods and to pack them for travel.

"Hand a person a custom made rod," says expert rod maker Dale P. Clemens, "and in almost every instance one of the first things he looks at is the decorative thread work," because a handsome rod is more desirable to own and fish. Clemens guides his readers through the organizational process of threading, illustrates the uses of patterns and replicas, explains how to wrap and weave, and gives his personal tips on how to make every rod "a never ending kaleidoscope of form, shape and color." Offering a sound introduction to the essentials of thread work on round surfaces and more than one hundred rod art patterns suitable for both advanced hobbyists and professionals, Custom Rod Thread Art is the authoritative work on the subject.

With over 300 step-by-step pictures, the Backyard Bowyer is geared for the beginning bowyer, backyard hobbyist, and anyone who has ever pondered building a wooden bow. Easy to read and follow steps go down to even the smallest detail in the design and construction of basic archery bows. Learn to craft fine wooden bows without huge investment in equipment and materials, and without being bound by location and limited workspace. Learn to construct: A classic target flat bow, an English Longbow suitable for hunting, and even your own strings and arrows for traditional and primitive archery.

Contains instructions for building a rod that is tailored to suit a specific style of fishing and demonstrates a number of sophisticated wraps and finishing techniques

The art of making, maintaining and repairing your own rods, plugs, spinners, bucktails, nets, sinkers and much other fishing gear.

The bamboo fly rod still represents the pinnacle of the fly-fishing art; its apparent simplicity and delicacy belie the craftsmanship and strength that are the hallmarks of all great rods. A growing number of people have tried to learn the art of making bamboo rods from a shrinking number of secretive craftsmen. The revised and expanded Handcrafting Bamboo Fly Rods is the definitive reference for beginners and experts alike. Wayne Cattanach begins by explaining the qualities that distinguish bamboo from all other materials: It has a tensile strength akin to steel, yet it is very light. He describes the process that will take anyone from lengths of hard, raw bamboo to a beautiful finished rod with clear, step-by-step instructions and illustrations, including how to find the best supplies; select tools and materials; make heat treaters and binders; cut culms; straighten bamboo strips; plane and stagger strips; bind strips; apply finishes; mount the reel seat, ferrules, and tip-top; and much more. This is surely the most thorough book available for those who wish to make and fish their own bamboo fly rods.