His philosophy of operating Rodmakers is very uncomplicated: "Keep it simple", and he loves to share his knowledge of rod building and fishing (especially fly fishing) with others. You'll rarely see Dennis out of shorts and sandals, even in the middle of a Texas winter!
Dennis will provide casting instruction for beginning Fly Fishers when purchasing a fly rod built by Dennis.
Dennis is a dealer for Fuji, and Struble Rod Components; Rod Blanks from Sage and St. Croix; Tibor Reels and Sage Fly Reels; Royal Wuff Fly Lines; Wonderfurl Leaders; Sage Rod and Sage Reel Cases.
Dennis has just received the first edition of his new book entitled "CUSTOM RODMAKING and OUTDOOR ADVENTURES". It is a 212 page instructional on custom rodmaking that takes the reader step by step, just as Dennis has for nearly 1,000 others he has taught the craft during the past 20 years. This book describes in detail how 'The Rodmaker' builds a Sage 590-4 Z Axis Freshwater Fly Rod; a Sage 1090-4 Xi 2 Saltwater Fly Rod; a 7 foot St. Croix Casting Rod; and a 7 1/2 foot St. Croix Spinning Rod.
Between the various steps in Rodmaking, Dennis tells of hilarious adventures he has experienced hunting and fishing, and of many life lessons learned, in 50 different short stories from humble beginnings to a life of custom rod making.
A great read for anyone that enjoys the outdoors, and that has 'been there, done that', only it is doubtful if any reader has shot a small herd of cattle on a debt collection; hunted wolves in the far, far north commercially; loaded up an unruly guest on a commercial airliner flying him 'one way' to Anchorage; tried to land a certain world record Northern Pike with a broken hand; landed the largest Lake Trout in all of Canada over a two year period; spent 6 weeks in Alaska traveling without reservations or agenda, with humorist and past president of the National Outdoor Writers of America; Gulf Coast Bed and Breakfast operations, and many more.
