Custom Fishing Rods: The Sunburst Builds

Garrett Honaker builds superb fishing rods. These two drew inspiration from his ardour for guitar.

MAYSVILLE, Ky. (December 22, 2025) – Sterling Grey Outfitters was created by Garrett Sterling Honaker, Brad Grey, and Dalton Grey – avid anglers who believed in the advantages of high quality tools. Brad and Dalton finally stepped away from the enterprise as different life priorities took over. Honaker, a 50-year-old US Coast Guard licensed captain and river transportation supervisor from Maysville, Kentucky, took over the enterprise.

“I’ve been constructing rods since 2021. So, nonetheless type of inexperienced,” Honaker says, “however making an attempt to be as inventive with it as I can. I’m constructing about 40 or 50 rods per 12 months and actually having fun with it. I hope to commit extra time to it in retirement.”

Honaker, a musician and a woodworker, additionally builds and repairs guitars. These influences and abilities usually reveal themselves in Honaker’s customized rods. Like most customized rod builders, he says fishing has additionally been a lifelong ardour.

“Like many people, from the time I can bear in mind, I had a pole in my palms, normally fishing with my father,” he says. “I grew up fishing that approach, , panfish and stuff as a little bit child, after which, in fact, I acquired into bass fishing and the illness that’s. I would exit and do a little bit of ocean fishing or one thing else infrequently if I’m on trip or one thing, however for me, it’s just about solely bass fishing.”

Honaker’s work, it’s arduous to consider he’s been constructing rods for simply 5 years.“I went to ICRBE, the Customized Rod Builders Expo in Winston-Salem, just a few years in the past. I noticed all of the customized rods that individuals had constructed and discovered that they’d an annual competitors,” Honaker remembers. “As a guitar participant, I assumed, that is type of like music. If I need to be an excellent musician, I must get in a room with the very best musicians I can. So, I must get into this rod-building competitors, compete towards among the greatest on the planet, and see the way it seems. That first 12 months, I completed within the high 10 and it gave me a way of affirmation for my creativity and abilities.” 

Honaker lately accomplished a pair of builds on St. Croix blanks from Rod Geeks. He constructed a 71MF casting rod on a Darkish Blue SCIV+ USA clean and a 610MLXF spinning rod on a Pure-Matte SCV USA clean. He included guitar-inspired flame maple accents in each rods.

“Performance is the primary factor for me on any construct,” Honaker says. “I desire a rod to operate and fish nicely. I don’t assume there’s any aspect of a rod construct {that a} buyer will join with greater than that. For these rods, I constructed the 7’1” medium energy casting rod to be tremendous versatile. I constructed the 6’10” spinning rod primarily for drop shotting however to additionally excel in a whole vary of finesse methods. The SCV 610MLXF is an exceptionally mild clean that gives nice sensitivity. Typical of St. Croix rods, this extra-fast clean transitions into the ability part in a short time, offering a tip that’s extraordinarily correct and delicate. This permits for nice bait presentation, whereas offering the ability to hook up on drop shot in deep water.”

Honaker chosen Fuji titanium Torzite guides to maximise efficiency and save weight on each builds. He chosen a nylon Fuji ECSM uncovered clean reel seat for the casting rod and a carbon fiber American Deal with Apex reel seat for the spinning rod.

“Once I construct spinning rods… particularly finesse fashions, I attempt to decrease weight,” Honaker says. “That’s why I went with the American Deal with carbon seat. I additionally went with their G2 preventing butt, which permits me the flexibleness so as to add the flame maple wooden aspect.

“On each rods, you’ll see that very same accent on the reel seat nut and on the insert beneath the true seat. The inspiration comes from the favored sunburst paint scheme on many guitars. You’ll see the sunburst sample proceed on the wraps of the spinning rod.”

Whereas these two specific rods had been constructed as spec rods, Honaker says Sterling Grey Outfitters takes satisfaction in spending ample time with the shopper earlier than and throughout the construct to verify they get the rod they really need.

“Generally clients name as a result of they simply know they need a rod in my model, however I all the time take time to get to know the shopper rather well and discover out as a lot as I can about the best way they and what they need,” he says. “We sit down and type of map that out the place we’ll define all the course of and construct. I then keep in fixed contact with the shopper all through the mission. We’re consistently exchanging footage forwards and backwards and doing mockups and ensuring they’re getting the rod they need.” 

Honaker says each construct begins with selecting the best clean.

“St. Croix anglers are type of like a cult,” he says. “The tapers on the rods and blanks are simply so totally different than everybody else’s. Their extra-fast blanks are an excellent instance. St. Croix’s extra-fast taper might be the quickest clean round. A number of the anglers who throw St. Croix rods merely gained’t go to something else. They’re additionally very constant, which is one thing else that St. Croix anglers discover and respect, as I do as a builder. I’ve been instructed that St. Croix workers really deflect each single clean on a deflection board and every particular clean of a given mannequin has to have precisely the identical deflection arc and sample. So, after I construct a customized rod on a SCV USA 610MLXF clean, that signifies that rod goes to have an identical flex traits to a factory-built St. Croix Legend Elite 610MLXF rod.

“The opposite factor about St. Croix blanks from Rod Geeks is that they’re nice high quality, and have tons of American-made choices, which is necessary to me,” Honaker continues, “as a result of I attempt to maintain every thing that I can stateside as a lot as doable.”

Contact Garrett Honaker and Sterling Grey Outfitters by way of his web site, or be a part of the dialog and see extra of his superb work on Fb.

About Rod Geeks

Delivered to you by the individuals, experience and expertise of St. Croix of Park Falls, Inc., Rod Geeks has delivered handcrafted, high-performance fishing rod blanks to customized rod builders since 2014. Backed by almost 80 years of expertise in designing and constructing the Finest Rods on Earth, we personal and function fashionable, state-of-the-art fishing rod factories in Park Falls, Wisconsin and Fresnillo, Mexico the place we mix the very best uncooked supplies, tools, applied sciences, experience, and skilled craftsmanship to provide 1000’s of uncompromising fishing rods and blanks each week. No matter your subsequent journey or mission, belief Rod Geeks to supply a basis on your ardour and creativity that’s worthy of your skills. The St. Croix Household of Manufacturers contains Rod Geeks, St. Croix Rod, SEVIIN Reels, St. Croix Fly, and the St. Croix Manufacturing unit Retailer.