Custom Fishing Rods: DIY Projects for Your Survival Skills

In a crisis, you may need to make a fishing rod out of whatever you can find at home. This post outlines a great way to learn how to make your own fishing rod with material you can find in your garage or home. This skill can be used at any phase of life if you need to go fishing in order to survive. Special thanks to Ricky at homereviews.com for sharing this cool project with us here.

You can use wood or PVC as your rod’s material. Remember that while using wood as the material, you need only a single rod instead of two. Today, we are going to use PVC to make the fishing rod, or you can replicate with wood as well. The process is simple, and outlined below.



Making a Fishing Rod Using PVC Pipes

Like other natural products like wood, you can make use of PVC pipes to make a fishing rod. As the main ingredients, you need PVC pipes, fishing line, cutter, and sandpaper to prepare the rod.

You need two PVC pipes with different diameters, so one can be inserted into another. Cut the pipes using a cutter to the length you prefer.

To cut pipe the right way, you should choose a cutting method you can use with one hand. Hacksaws in most cases come in handy.  A hacksaw can cut the pipes effortlessly. However, you a Scissor-type or ratchet-style cutter works well too. Even better a power miter saw which you can buy from homedepot or sawadvisor, is amazing to cut a large number of PVC pipes because they are fast enough to slice the batches.

So let’s imagine that you have your preferred length of pipes and the method to cut the pipe. Remember that both pipes should have equal length. After cutting, it is time to smooth the PVC rods using sandpaper.

Getting to the Further Steps

Next, you need to have the threaded connectors. These connectors come to secure the male and female joints so one pipe can fit into another. You don’t need to use any glue or duct tape, just the connectors is enough.

Get a hand drill and make 3 to 5 holes on the entire pipe keeping equal space between each hole. These holes need to be drawn on the thicker pipe. Use these holes as the installation space for the guides on the rod. You can either take paper clips or binder clips and shape them in a way that they form a loop or circle.

Secure the guides with tape, and then with thread. It is the easiest way to do it DIY. Secure the guides even more by using  strong glue over the threads, so they don’t come off. Now you are set to get your reel and install it near the handle at the reel spot.

Get the fishing line from the first eyelet from the beginning of the pole and all the way through each eyelet until you reach the reel. Secure the fishing line at the reel and you are ready to finish your fishing rod with the bobber, sinker, and the hook. Make sure everything is secured and ready to function before you go fishing.

Making a Fishing Rod Reel at Home

You don’t need a reel already. You can make one at home. Here are the easy steps-

Use a can made of plastic or metal and a PVC or wood pipe of the same length as the can. Shape the pipe to make it the rotator to loosen or tighten the fishing line.

Insert this modified pipe into the can and close the can with its cap. The rotator should be arranged in a way that it comes next to the can’s cap. Cut the can in the middle so you can place the fishing line inside it. Secure this creation on your fishing rod beside the small horizontal tube on the rod so the reel does not slide here and there. Secure the reel from both sides on the rod so it stays in place.

Once you insert the fishing line through the guides to the reel, and if you are able to move the line using the rotator, you are done with your homemade rod and reel. Go out and try and catch some fish.