Mojo Custom Fishing Rods - About Us
How We Got Started
Like many other custom rod builders, I began building custom rods out of necessity. I have been fishing and hunting all my life and have been a tournament bass fisherman for the past 10 years. Like many other tournament anglers, I found that I couldn’t find the perfect rod needed a particular technique such as skipping docks, pitching jigs, Carolina rigging, and drop-shotting.
More importantly, after a year or so of use, I couldn’t find an exact replacement for a favorite rod if I happened to break a tip or needed a spare. On top of that, I am somewhat of a cheapskate and hate to pay the outlandish prices for top-of-the-line equipment from the catalogs or stores.
As a result, I started making my own rods, then a few for select friends, then for friends of friends, and so on, and on, and on.. you get the picture. After a couple of years, I realized that I was making a product that serious anglers were looking for.
Currently, Mojo Rods are in the hands of trout fishermen on the top fly streams of the northwest, muskie anglers in Canada, catfish and crappie anglers in Iowa and Nebraska, and walleye folks in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The overwhelming number of rods I build are, however, used by tournament bass anglers all over the upper Midwest.
What’s in a name?
For the first few years, my rods went unnamed. Most everyone referred to them as "Dale’s Rods." In the spring of 2003, tournament angler and West Region Director of the Minnesota BASS Federation Mark Gomez took possession of his first custom rod (a 6’ Spinnerbait rod) and, when asked how he liked it replied, "It was the best day of fishing I’ve ever had. This is the first brand new fishing rod I’ve ever seen that came with the mojo already on it." The rest, as they say, is history.
Webster’s definition of "mojo" is:
Main Entry: mo·jo
Pronunciation: 'mO-(")jO
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural mojoes or mojos
Etymology: probably of African origin; akin to Fulani moco'o medicine man
: a magic spell, hex, or charm; broadly : magical power
A well built custom rod truly is magical. The combination of a premium blank and quality components in the hands of an experienced rod builder who is also a practicing tournament angler results in a rod that cannot be matched by those mass produced for the general public.
I only have time to build about 50 rods per year and each one of them leaves my shop with a piece of my heart attached to it. Honestly, each rod I build I struggle over the temptation to keep it for myself. See for yourself what if feels like to hold a rod with the "mojo" already on it.
Dale Richardson
Mojo Rods
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