She started making her own rods when she was competing in bass fishing tournaments and taught herself her craft from a VHS tape purchased online . And although she hasn ’ t fished in more than two decades , she ’ s still honing her craft for friends , family and a very few select clients .
MaryLou VandeReit was a civil servant working for the Air Force for 24 years , in medical logistics in 1980 setting up MASH units . The stress was getting to her , so she looked around for a hobby to relieve her stress and started fishing once a month . Her first fishing trip was on Richland Chambers Lake with a guide .
“ It was my stress management ,” she said . She began fishing bass tournaments in Texas and wanted better equipment . She joined a Bass Club at Sam Rayburn Lake but couldn ’ t afford the equipment she wanted , so she said , “ I ’ ll just make my own rods .” She ordered a rod blank and a VHS tape from Cabela ’ s and a small business was born .
She found her first customers by crafting new rods and repairing other rods . After attending a seminar given by the Small Business Administration , she changed her business when they told her she wasn ’ t controlling her customers and was letting her business control her . She simply had too much going on , and now she limits the number of custom rod orders she takes .
“ I ’ m my own worst enemy . If someone gives me $ 300 to $ 400 to make a fishing rod , I want to make sure that rod is worth it and more . It has to be perfect ; I want to make sure they are pleased and satisfied ,” she said . Crafting a custom rod takes at a minimum eight weeks , and some rods she has worked on for years . The cost starts at $ 400 for a basic bass rod , $ 600 for one with a snakeskin on it . “ The sky ’ s the limit ,” she said .
Most of her customers are bass , crappie and catfish freshwater fishermen . She bases the rod strength on what they want to fish for . The rod blanks she starts with are graphite . She also fashions new rods from broken rods collected from manufacturers . Some of the handles of her custom rods are covered with snakeskin , specifically east or west Texas diamondback rattlesnake skin , or even beer cans . When working with beer cans , she said , “ The first thing you have to get is a box of Band-aids ; you could really get cut with those . You have to be careful .” Her
Mary Lou ’ s workshop . Photo by Melissa Moormn
snake skins are mostly skins from roadkill reptiles .
As her children moved away from home , she appropriated each of their two bedrooms for rod building . In one she glues and attaches the pieces of the rod together . Medium-heavy or medium-light are two of the choices , which depends on what kind of fishing the future owner does . Each one is handmade and unique .
In the other room , she wraps the line guides onto the rod blank with a choice of colorful metallic rod-wrapping threads . She had on her worktable a special rod for her hairdresser Buffy that was accented with bright colors like pink and purple . In the second room is also where each one is personalized with the future owner ’ s name , and she also signs each one .
One of her custom rods was recently given to longtime Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler . She decided that she wanted to make a rod for him because of a profile article she read in Parker County Today . “ I read that and thought what a wonderful person . I thought that man gets nothing but plaques . That man needs a fishing rod . I think first of all he is a good person . Second of all , I think he ’ s a great sheriff ,” she said . The finished product was customized with his name , office and a verse from the Bible . The verse was Matthew 5:9 , which reads , “ Blessed are the peacemakers , for they shall be called the children of God .” Her signature is underneath . It was her signature rod with the diamondback rattlesnake grip . “ I had more fun making that rod for the Sheriff . It took me eight weeks to make that ( rod ),” she said . When she presented it to Fowler , he had a big grin on his face and she accepted as payment five or six hugs and a big kiss on her cheek . “ That ’ s the kind of rod building I like ,” she continued .
Her clients have taken her rods as far away as Africa and her kitchen is decorated with license plates she has collected from Wyoming and Montana . “ I always wanted to live in Wyoming . There are no people . Wyoming and Montana have the least populations ,” she said . She enjoyed a past visit to Glacier National Park in Montana and would like to return there . And although she makes fishing rods for other people , she hasn ’ t been fishing since she retired . She ’ s currently planning a fishing trip to Graham Lake .
“ There is an old bridge up there . I ’ m taking my chair , my big hat , my umbrella and that fishing rod with me . I really don ’ t think I ’ ll catch anything , but it ’ s either take a road trip to Wyoming or go up to Graham Lake ,” she said .
When you find her on Facebook , it says that her shop is closed to the general public . “ I don ’ t find customers , customers find me . I don ’ t go out of my way to sell rods . I ’ m happy with my Facebook page . I get as much exposure as I want .”
You can find MaryLou on Facebook at Cross Timbers Custom Fishing Rods .
SEPTEMBER 2018 PARKER COUNTY TODAY
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