Custom rod-maker to attend expo
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ESCANABA -- A man who has been making fishing rods for about 50 years is coming back to Escanaba to sell his products and connect with other outdoors enthusiasts.
Based down in Niles, Michigan -- just minutes away from the Indiana border -- Mike Stowe began making fishing rods to serve his own purposes in the 1970s.
He taught himself from library books. Stowe mentioned that a series by Dale P. Clemens -- who developed a world-renowned custom rod business in Pennsylvania -- were instrumental in helping him learn.
At first, Stowe was aiming to solve one particular issue.
"Right here in our area is the St. Joe River. It’s one of the biggest rivers in the state, and it’s full of a steelhead in the wintertime," Stowe said.
He explained that after a rain, it didn't matter what size line an angler used because the water was dark and murky. But on calmer days when the water of the St. Joseph River was crystal clear, "eight- and 10-pound test line didn’t work so good because the water was too clear and the fish could see it," Stowe said. "So I designed some rods that were long enough and limber enough where we could use four-pound test or six-pound test."
Stowe made a few rods for his friends, who paid him for parts, and the results were immediately evident. When his crew went fishing on the river on clear days using the lighter lines with Stowe's special poles, they would hit their limits while charter boats were having no luck.
Around 1984 or '85 is when Stowe started making money by selling his creations to the greater public.
"I’ve designed some ice fishing rods that are extremely long and limber, and everybody that uses them down here likes them a lot because when they go around on the ice and fish hole to hole, they don’t have to bend over. The rod's long enough where they can stand up straight and fish with it."
Stowe's oldest daughter takes care of finances and online advertising, he said. When somebody reaches out on Facebook, she’s the first point of communication before she passes on the customer's info and Stowe calls them to get details of the order.
Over the years, Mike’s Custom Rods has had to change suppliers, Stowe said.
"Back in the '70s and the '80s, you could get blanks from almost everybody, and pretty soon, those people started producing their own rods. And when they started doing that, then they didn’t want to sell the blanks to us," Stowe said.
Much more recently, the prices of materials climbed, so Stowe had to adjust his prices.
"Two or three years ago, most of my rods sold for between 250 and 300 (dollars), and now they sell for 300 to 350," he said.
The cost and time it takes to assemble a rod depends on how highly-decorated it is, Stowe said. Colorful threading, sports team logos and names are common embellishments.
Mike's Custom Rods has become a family business; his youngest daughter and her husband also make some of the fishing poles to fill orders and have on hand. As Stowe is almost 80, he hopes to retire soon and let his daughters and son-in-law take over running the operation.
On Nov. 6 and 7, attendees of the U.P. and Ice Fishing and Hunting Expo will have the opportunity to meet Stowe (and possibly his family) and shop from about 50 rods he'll bring with. This will be Stowe's fourth time traveling over 400 miles to come to the show, held at the fairgrounds in Escanaba.
Last year, on the drive back down, he stopped at several bait shops and found a few retailers who agreed to carry his products. Mike's Custom Rods are now sold at Blade's Bait and Tackle in Kipling and Captain Chuck's in Ludington.
Shows are a great way to meet clients, and Mike’s Custom Rods started attending a few more this year, Stowe said, including the Berrien County Fair.
Mike’s Custom Rods is on Facebook; the artisan can also be reached at mikescustomrodsmi@gmail.com and 269-591-5569.