WHO IS LDB CUSTOM RODS
I've been fishing since a young age. My Grandpa Bakker had a 1969 Old Town Atlantis - the "LollyPop" it was called - rigged for salmon fishing on Lake Michigan and I always enjoyed getting up early in the morning and going out with my dad, uncles and grandpa in search of Great Lakes salmon. My Grandma and Grandpa Hall lived on Hamlin Lake in Ludington, and I spent countless hours every summer fishing from their dock. Grandpa Hall taught me how to rig my fishing rod, how to cast a spinning reel, and he even made his own fishing rods in his basement.
I still love to fish. I may not have as much time for it now as I was when I was younger, but I do it whenever I can. I love to take my daughter down to a dock and throw worms under bobbers for perch and bluegill, just like I spent so much time as a child at my grandparents house doing. And I still search used boat sales, hoping to maybe one day find a "LollyPop" of my own.
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That love of fishing turned me toward rod building several years ago, when I was searching for the perfect Walleye rod and couldn't find what I was looking for in any store. I started out building rods for myself, and family and close friends. I practiced, and studied various techniques and design aspects, and honed my craft. Some...my beautiful wife especially...may say I became obsessed with it. What others call obsession, I call passion. And I'm the kind of guy that likes to share my passion, knowledge and skills. And thus...LDB Custom Rods was born, with a mission to help other's get that perfect rod they can't find anywhere else.