Custom fly-rod maker has tips for do-it-yourselfer

By Bob Sale
THE DENVER POST

LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- L.A. Garcia got started making fly rods because a fly-tying class was too crowded.

Fly tying's loss is rod building's gain. Garcia, of Lakewood, is now one of the better-known custom rod builders in the country. He has crafted more than 1,200 rods for anglers all over the world, including Ted Williams, Tom Brokaw, Robert Redford and George Bush.

"It was in 1974 and I was living in Kansas City," Garcia said. "The Missouri Trout Fishermen's Association was offering classes in fly tying. But there was a crowd around the tables and I went over to a table where one guy was sitting all alone.

"Turned out he was the rod-building instructor, and I guess nobody wanted to learn to make rods. I decided to learn to make rods."

Luis Agustin Garcia (he goes by L.A. because he was named after his two grandfathers and he didn't want to slight either of them) is a retired, federal-government minerals and computer systems specialist. He works his rod magic entirely in graphite, using blanks made by several of the prestige manufacturers, such as Sage, Loomis, Thomas & Thomas and Powell.

"I have tried bamboo," Garcia said, "but to tell you the truth, it's too labor-intensive and emotionally draining, and I would have to charge more money than most people would pay."

Garcia can build you a fly rod with your chosen blank (the graphite shaft of the rod) and selected custom parts (guides, reel seat, handle, etc.) for -- surprisingly -- no more than what you would pay the manufacturer or retailer for a factory rod.

As he points out in a book and a video on graphite rod-building, you can build one yourself for even less, if that's your desire. This can range from about $150 up to $250, depending on the maker of the blank and what kind of components you want.

"You will save money by making your own quality graphite rod," he said, "but that's not the main motivation. You craft your own rod for the same reason people tie their own flies -- for the satisfaction you get when you catch fish with something you made yourself."

A person who makes his own rod also can take the time to find the "spine" of the rod blank -- the strongest seam or the backbone -- and place the rod guides accordingly for the best casting action. Rod manufacturers may or may not do that, he said.

Garcia's book ("Handcrafting a Graphite Fly Rod," Frank Amato Publications, $15.95) is illustrated with step-by-step color photographs by Tony Oswald, also a Coloradan, and available in many fly shops. Garcia's $19.95 video covers the same ground. Certain steps of the rodmaking process are easier to grasp by watching the video, Garcia said.

The first step -- and the most critical -- is choosing a blank, which means choosing the rod's action.

Garcia said the angler who is unsure about a blank should ask several questions, including: What kind of waters do I fish and for what size fish? What kind of rod action do I prefer? Do I want a two-piece, three-piece or four-piece rod? What length? What weight?

Required tools aren't expensive, as Garcia explains in the book and video. But there are a lot of choices to make in rod-component materials.

While there are complete rod-building kits available in a few outlets, most do-it-yourself rod craftsmen buy their components separately in fly shops, or from manufacturers.

An all-around trout rod might be a 9-foot rod for a five-weight line, Garcia said. His personal favorite of the rods he has built himself is a two-piece, 8-footer for a threeweight line.

As for his own fishing, Garcia finds he does less and less on Colorado streams for somewhat the same reason he avoided the fly-tying class -- because "our streams have gotten so crowded." Instead, he tends to treat himself to extended trips to faraway places such as Alaska, Canada and Chile.

He also donates a lot of time speaking to groups such as Trout Unlimited and the Federation of Fly Fishers. He donates rods to fundraising events for those groups.

"Fly-fishing," he said, "has done a lot for me. This is one way I can give back to it."