“It’s kind of like a chop shop – for fishing rods.”

That’s how Ted Zack describes some of the work he does for anglers looking to customize their fishing rods and add their own style to them.

Ted’s rod-building company, Aquidneck Island Rod Builders, branched out from Crafty One Customs, where he and Ralph Craft made “functional angling art.”

The work Ted does is truly spectacular. After painting the entire blank a certain color or adding marbling or flames, the finished product is, for lack of a better word, bad-ass.

Ted says the paint doesn’t affect the action of the rod one bit, and he’s painted everything from small fly rods for the Wood River to 11-foot surf rods for the Rhode Island surf. One project at Crafty One customs involved painting an entire offshore trolling rod in mahi-mahi colors.

Aquidneck Island Rod Builders will be exhibiting at the New England Saltwater Fishing Show (March 9 to 11) with Wood Boat & Motor. Wood Boat & Motor is their West Bay center for repairs and custom work.  Finished rods will be for sale along with specials on repairs and custom art.

Every other Monday we’ll be featuring a Northeast local lure or rod maker on Fishing On The Job. Know a local company that should be included? Shoot me an email at jimmy@onthewater.com