A maker of high-end custom fly rods is opening a traditional retail channel for his small but growing business.
Gary Kiernan Jr., who founded Kiernan Custom Rods in 2008 after he was laid off from his job as a machinist, worked out a deal with Mark Fore & Strike of Reno to sell his rods.
Now he's busy building 20 rods to increase his retail offerings through the store.
Dave Piccinini, senior vice president of Mark Fore & Strike, says the rods help the longtime store differentiate itself from competitors.
"We thought there was an opportunity for us to have something on the shelf that is a niche item. Not that many people in the U.S. are doing that level of work, and it's important to have something different in this town when everyone has the same stuff." Piccinini says.
Even though the winter months are typically slow for sales of fly rods, Piccinini says customers check out Kiernan's rods every day.
Kiernan, who's been taking orders for custom rods through a Web site, www.renocustomrods.com, also plans to have a booth showing his poles with their exotic materials and custom inlaid handles at next year's Safari Club International meeting in Las Vegas.
Although a Safari Club booth runs $4,000, Kiernan says attendees at the expo are well-to-do outdoorsmen that his business targets.
"Those are the people who have money and want nice equipment," Kiernan says. "My rods, there is a lot of work that goes into them, and those people are looking for higher quality."
A lifelong fisherman who grew up on the banks of the Truckee River near Ambrose Park, Kiernan makes the rods using specialty materials such as high-quality graphite blanks, exotic woods such as maple and buckeye burls, elk, moose or mule deer horn, and high-density cork grips. A fully custom rod takes about 20 hours to complete.
Sales have increased every year, but Kiernan has had to work part-time jobs to make ends meet on slow months. Most of his business has been from word of mouth, but he says many sales have come from customers who saw his rods online and tracked him down.
Costs range from $200 to $1,200 depending on the amount of custom work. Kiernan acknowledges it's a lot of money to spend on a fishing rod especially during an economic downturn but his rods target fishermen who prefer top-of-the-line,one-of-a-kind equipment.
"For me to build a rod under $200, that is not going to work," he says. "If you get the guy who wants a real high-dollar piece of equipment that is absolutely perfect, he's the guy who should contact me."
