How-To

Mud Hole Custom Tackle strives to be your number one source for information on the Internet concerning the art of Rod Building. We have gone out and searched for the advice of reputable rod builders and have included within our site informative tips that they have offered and links to sites that we deem offer excellent material to help you become a better rod builder. Browse our library of rod building articles, how-tos and more in convenient PDF format.

Rod Building for Beginners

Let Mud Hole walk you through the step-by-step process of completing your very own fishing rod! Not only will it be EASY with our expert advice but you will have a great new rod to fish with when you're done!

Lure Making for Beginners

This tutorial walks you through the basics of lure making and demonstrates how to build your very own tandem spinnerbaits.

Cross Wrap Made Easy

Courtesy of Curt Baker.
The intent of this article is to show how to do the set up for cross wraps and how the opposing Chevron is done, with a few tricks to make it easy.

How to Make Flocked Grips

Courtesy of Bill Stevens.
Flocking of cork grip sections was introduced to the custom rod building community through Tom Kirkman's demonstration at Charlotte, in 2005, and articles in Rodmaker Magazine. Custom rod builders have successfully used flocking of natural cork to enhance functionality, longevity and beauty of custom rods that stand out in this unique market. This in-depth article contains instructions on several methods of flocking. Special thanks to Bill Stevens, Tom Kirkman, Ralph O'Quinn, Italo Busi & Jill Goldman.

Trim Bands & Inlays

Written by Raymond Adams
Ever wish you could make a trim band but don't know how? The author of this tutorial has discovered his own method and shares his techniques in this handy tutorial. Trim bands are an easy way to add some pizzazz to your custom rod and can even give those boring old store-bought rods a custom look.

Packing and Rolling Thread Article thumbnail

Packing and Rolling Decorative Thread Art

Courtesy of Doc Ski
"The greatest compliment a decorative thread artist can receive is 'Where can I buy those stickers?' or 'That looks like tape, can I buy some?' I am often asked how to get the wraps tighter and with less visible gaps. I have assembled some pictures during a recent weave and tried to make a picture tutorial. Pictures and videos are the easiest way for me to learn and I hope these can be of some help to those of you who are trying to tighten your wraps up."

Doc Ski has several instructional DVDs available.

Crosswraps by BD Ehler

Courtesy of BD Ehler
Decorating fishing rods with thread designs has been around for many years. To the new rod builder and some of the experienced rod builders the process of placing a cross wrap design on the butt section of a rod can be intimidating. The goal of this series of articles is to help remove the confusion from doing cross wraps by explaining how these designs are created. Our hope is to stimulate builders to try this form of decoration. Part 1 of 2

Multiple Thread Wraps by BD Ehler

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