July 17th Chapter Meeting - Dennis O. Freeman, Custom Rod Builder

By: Todd Fleming

The July meeting of the Alamo Fly Fishers will be a special treat for all those who attend. Our guest speaker is none other than Mr. Rodmaker himself, Dennis O. Freeman. Dennis is a walking encyclopedia on custom rod building, and all things related to fly fishing. He could be our meeting speaker every month for a whole year, and you would never tire of his messages. You would never hear the same fishing story twice, and after twelve presentations, you would still be asking for more. You might say he has forgotten more than we will ever know about fly fishing, except that I don’t think he has forgotten a thing. Come to the July AFF meeting, ready to hear from a fly fishing master. You won’t want the evening to end.

It is clear that Dennis has a passion for fly fishing – especially saltwater fly fishing. He sees his role as teacher and counselor to the executive world by offering “stress management”. He believes it is important that everyone include separate personal activities amid a busy schedule. Fly fishing is that perfect diversion from the business world. Fly fishing is a way for us to stay healthy! The more the better, I’d like to think.

Dennis Freeman is a motivational speaker who doesn’t need a bunch of pretty pictures to capture your attention. His presentation for us will be about inshore, nearshore, and offshore fly fishing. He is going to discuss what equipment is required for each, and highlight the fly rod technology that is available now, compared to technologies of the past. Dennis will compare what gear is necessary versus what equipment you would like to have. He will share his opinions on selecting a rod and reel that you are likely to use often, and what is really necessary for the species you are after. Of course, Dennis will also discuss the basic nuances and nuisances of rod building, discuss some options available that are superior in performance to “off the shelf” rods, and highlight the advantages of custom built rods – particularly rods for women and fishermen in general. Dennis will show examples of ultra fast, very fast, and fast action rods, and share his opinions of each.

Dennis has a colorful past with details that I will let him embellish. He was born in North Dakota, grew up in Minnesota, tried some college, and then stopped off for four years with the Marine Corps. At the suggestion of his father, Dennis got into insurance and banking. In time, he did very well in both, and then branched off into real estate where he hit some very low points. Understandably, Dennis needed a change of direction, and found rod making to be just the therapy he needed. In 1989, he opened Rodmakers in Austin, and ended up selling it six years later to one of his customers. From there, Dennis moved to Rockport/Fulton and opened a Bed and Breakfast – primarily for fly fishermen. The B&B kept him way to busy, and when he was offered a deal too good to refuse, Dennis sold the B&B and went on an extended vacation. In 1997, Dennis moved to San Antonio, got back into rod building, and tried working for someone else for the first time since he was in the Marine Corps. Dennis taught rod building and trained other employees at One Shot Outdoors for a few years until they closed the doors. A short time later, Dennis found a spot close to home in a shopping center on Blanco road, and opened Rodmakers – San Antonio, where he continued to build rods, and sell fly fishing equipment and fly tying materials for three years. The shop location has since closed, but Dennis still builds rods from his home. He claims to be building more rods now than ever before from referrals he receives from a list of nearly 1000 clients. Many of those rods are designed, built, and shipped to customers he never meets in person. Fortunately for us, Dennis is available to us in person, and he is giving a live performance for the Alamo Fly Fishers meeting on Tuesday July 17th. It will be a very entertaining and educational evening!

The Rodmakers website (www.rod-makers.com) is still up with a variety of useful information including contact numbers, and a way to sign up to receive Dennis’ newsletter.