Glass Builder - Gypsy Rod Works

I've been saying for some time that they are coming...and this is finally the first installment of the "Glass Builders" posts.

Over the course of the next few months I'll be interviewing builders that concentrate their craft on fiberglass fly rods to give T.F.M. readers a better idea where these builders come from and their history in rod making, what they do best, and some photographic examples of their work.

The first installment of the T.F.M. "Glass Builders" posts is with Mark Malczynski of Gypsy Rod Works. I've known Mark for several years now and find his work inspiring and nearly flawless.


OK, let's start at the beginning, where did the nickname "Gypsy" come from and where did you get your start in rod building?

From the time I left the East coast on a motorcycle until I got married I spent most of my time working on boats in Alaska and traveling throughout America and Mexico in between fishing seasons. I guess "drifting" would more accurately describe how I traveled because I never had a specific destination to travel to. Most times I was looking to get away from the wet and cold of Alaska so heading south towards Mexico seemed like a good idea. Anyways my co- workers and friends started calling me Gypsy after awhile and the name stuck.

It's easy for me to remember when and where I started rod-building because I built my first fly rod right after our first daughter was born. If I remember correctly the first rod I made was an 8' 6 weight that I made as a Christmas gift for my Dad back in 2001.


Did you have any mentors that you have either worked with, studied their work, or have given you guidance while learning how to build fly rods? Is there someone who still inspires you today?

Honestly, I have had no rod-building mentors or guidance from anyone other than a few rod builders whose work I admired on the internet. I've actually never even seen another person build a rod in person. I'm not saying that I'm self-taught. Without the incredible rod-builders who give advice so freely over the internet I would never have gotten to where I am today. Even though I don't build bamboo rods I've learned a lot about finish work and working with silk thread from the guys who do. Although his focus is not on fly rods, Tom Kirkman publishes Rod Maker magazine and maintains a website which both are great sources of info on anything that has to do with rod building.

A mentor certainly would have shortened the learning curve. HA! I'm the king of learning by trial and error. I can't tell you how many rods I've built then rebuilt because I thought the rod would cast better with different guides, shorter/longer grip, uplocking or downlocking reel seat. I once re-wrapped a blank 6 times before I was happy with how it turned out.


When did you make the transition to fiberglass and what do you like about it as an angler and rod builder?

My interest in fiberglass came after we moved to Maine and I started fishing small streams for native brook trout. 99.9% of these streams are crowded with Hemlock, Pine or Alders and I wanted a rod that would load with just a foot or two of line out of the tip. Fiberglass is the best material for fishing situations like this not to mention that playing a fish on a glass rod is so much more fun than it is with graphite. Of course, fiberglass is great for bigger water and I routinely fish heavier weight fiberglass rods on the local ponds and rivers.


What are the artistic techniques that you do with Gypsy Rod Works that set your builds a part from other builders?

I think my finish work is getting to the point where I'd be comfortable comparing it to some of the Masters of the craft like Mike McFarland, Dave Lewis and Tom Morgan’s wife Gerri. Nice finish work is really the icing on the cake and the perfect compliment to a rod built as well as one can be built. Of course the primary goal of a rod builder is to make the best casting/ fishing rod possible so proper guide size and placement along with other tricks of the trade are more important than cosmetics, but talented rod builders should be able to make a fly rod that looks as nice as it fishes. I think the legendary Russ Peak was and is the perfect example of this.

In addition to the finish, other artistic techniques that I employ that set my fly rods apart are wrapping the guides with silk thread, fine four turn tipping, feather inlays, and I custom-turn a wide variety of woods on my lathe for the reel seat insert. If someone wants a custom rod built I'll make it any way they want it: silk thread, nylon thread, custom cork grip, rattan grip, feather inlays, tipping, signature wraps, custom wood reel seat insert.


Typically, from the time of order to rod completion how long are customers waiting for their orders?

Currently I'm building fiberglass rods on blanks from Steffen Brothers, Diamondglass, and Lamiglas. Dave Redington, under the South Fork Rod Company label will be introducing a 3 piece unsanded black fiberglass rod in the next couple of weeks. I plan on having blanks from Steffen, Lamiglas, S.F.R.C , Tom Morgan Rodsmith and a couple of yet to be announced fiberglass blanks from some very knowledgeable West Coast rod designers in stock during 2010.
So to answer your question it usually takes me six to eight weeks to make and ship a fly rod after I have the blank in my hands. Sometimes less, sometimes more depending on how many rods I have waiting to be built. By the way I'm happy to have people send me blanks that they have in hand and build them out. It's actually fairly common for a person to contact me and ask me to build a fly rod on a blank that they already have.


What would you like prospective customers to think about as they make a decision about a custom fly rod build and what should their expectations be?

I'm going to take a little liberty with your question and broaden it to "buying a custom fly rod". First, people should deal with legitimate licensed rod builders. Besides the obvious reasons for doing this 10% or $10 of every fishing pole, whichever is less, is paid to the U.S fish and wildlife service which is automatically redistributed to the states. This pays for a lot of stocking and habitat restoration initiated by the local agencies. Second, any Tom, Dick or Harry can claim to be a rod builder over the internet but having a license at the very least adds some legitimacy to their claim. I won't go into the details but I've repaired numerous rods for people who bought poorly made fly rods off the internet and when the fly rod "broke" the builder was nowhere to be found. A reputable licensed rod builder will always stand behind his work.


Moving on to the fun part of buying a custom fly rod I would say besides having a licensed reputable builder make your fly rod you definitely want to let your builder know what your intended species is, blank preference (slow, medium, fast), fishing conditions, how far you intend to be casting, likes/dislikes with such things as up-locking or down-locking reel seats, and grip shape. As a rod builder I enjoy talking with potential clients about the rod build.

Finally, it always helps the consumer to know what a well-made fly rod is. The guides should be aligned and sitting straight on the blank, grip comfortable, finish work smooth and level, minimal epoxy or varnish creep up the guides, well-fitted grip and reel seat. Of course, there is no such thing as perfection so if a rod shows a couple of minor flaws in it than that is understandable but overall the fly rod should exhibit a quality of being well-made.

For more information on Mark Malczynski's work please check out the Gypsy Rod Works website or send him an email at gypsyrodworks@yahoo.com.