About New England Rod Works
Built From a Lifelong Love of Fishing
New England Rod Works is a small custom fishing rod business located in the hills of Franklin County in Western Massachusetts.
I’m Steve, the owner and rod builder behind New England Rod Works. Fishing, hunting and spending time outdoors have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I’m not building rods, you’ll often find me trout fishing here in Western Massachusetts, bass fishing in New Hampshire, deer hunting in New York, or simply enjoying the outdoors with my wife and son.
My interest in building fishing rods started more than 25 years ago when I built my first rod—a 6-weight fly rod. Since then, I’ve built rods for different species and fishing styles, continually learning more about rod blanks, components and the details that separate a good fishing rod from a great one.
Eventually, that passion became New England Rod Works.
Why Custom?
Walk into any tackle shop and you’ll find plenty of good fishing rods.
But they’re designed to work for thousands of anglers.
A custom rod is built for one.
Before starting a build, I want to know what you’re fishing for, where you’re fishing, what techniques you use and what you want the rod to accomplish.
From there, we can select the appropriate blank, length, power, action, handle, reel seat, guides and finishing details.
Some customers know exactly what they want. Others simply tell me what they’re fishing for and let me help determine the best combination.
Either way, the goal is the same:
Build a rod that feels like it belongs in your hands.
Quality Components
The finished rod can only be as good as the materials that go into it.
Depending on the application and customer’s preferences, I work with quality blanks and components from manufacturers such as MHX, North Fork Composites, RainShadow, Fuji and American Tackle, among others.
There isn’t one blank, guide or component that’s best for every fishing situation.
That’s part of what makes custom rod building interesting—and why component selection is an important part of every New England Rod Works build.
Built for New England Fishing
Fishing in the Northeast covers an incredible range of species and conditions.
A light trout rod for the streams of Western Massachusetts has very different requirements from a bass rod, Salmon River steelhead rod or surf rod built for striped bass along the New England coast.
New England Rod Works builds freshwater, saltwater and fly rods designed around those different applications.
Whether you’re looking for a sensitive trout rod, a technique-specific bass rod, a steelhead setup, a custom fly rod or something capable of handling powerful saltwater fish, we’ll work together to determine what makes sense for your fishing.
More Than Fishing Rods
Some builds have a purpose that goes far beyond catching fish.
I also build memory rods created to honor someone important to the customer.
These rods may incorporate meaningful colors, materials or other personal elements into the design. Every custom rod deserves attention to detail, but I understand that these particular builds carry a different kind of significance.
Creating them is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.
Made One at a Time
New England Rod Works isn’t a factory.
Every rod is individually assembled and finished by hand here in Western Massachusetts.
That’s exactly how I want it.
Building rods one at a time allows me to pay attention to the small details and create something specifically for the person who will ultimately fish it.
Whether the rod is for you, a family member, a friend or someone you want to remember, my goal is to build something you’ll be proud to carry onto the water.
Let’s Talk Fishing
You don’t need to know exactly what blank, action or components you need before contacting me.
Tell me what you fish for, where you fish and what you’d like the rod to do.
We’ll take it from there.
New England Rod Works
Custom fishing rods handcrafted in Western Massachusetts.