Rod-Builder Profile: California Custom

 12 seconds ago by Chris Munchow 

Modified Feb 5th, 2026 at 1:22 PM

Rod-Builder Profile: California Custom

Retired USAF Airman and firefighter, Mike Crosby, highlights a versatile salmon and striper slayer.4

YUBA CITY, Calif. – February 5, 2026 – Mike Crosby selflessly served our Nation and the residents of California in a career that spanned 36 year. Now, he serves the wants and needs of anglers, building practical and beautiful custom fishing rods that deliver pride and performance in the specific ways they fish.

Crosby enlisted in the U.S. Air Force out of high school. He wanted to train to become a diesel mechanic like his father, but plans changed when he got a taste of firefighting. Crosby served as a USAF firefighter for six years before returning home and going to work for Cal Fire, the state department responsible for stewardship and fire protection on over 31 million acres of California’s wildlands.

“I enjoyed my career,” says Crosby, who retired in 2019. “We had a pretty significant fire here in Northern California in 2014. I had two crews cutting a line down to the American River Canyon. I took a fall and didn’t know it then, but I boogered up my hip and knee,” Crosby recalls. “I worked another five years through some pretty severe pain before having that hip and knee replaced. That’s what retired me.”

Crosby says he got a boat, started fishing more, and began building fishing rods. “I started building for myself because I wasn’t liking too many rods available on the market,” he says. “I told my wife, ‘I’ve got to have a pastime, something to keep me occupied.’ And here I am now. I’ve enjoyed rod building since day one, so I turned it into a business.”

Crosby does rod repair and sells a few custom rods through local tackle shops, including Johnson’s Bait & Tackle in Yuba City. “I was hanging around Johnson’s one day last July when three guys from the St. Croix marketing team came into the shop,” Crosby recalls. “I started chatting with one, who turned out to be the company’s VP of Marking. He explained they had made the trip out to visit some of their dealers and to fish the UFC tournament with some of their pro staff. Even though they were there to meet the store owners and staff, they took an interest in me and my rod-building business and reminded me that St. Croix owned Rod Geeks. They also told me about the changes they were planning for Rod Geeks that have since happened… a lot more St. Croix blanks, made-in-USA options, new colors, the new website that shows the St. Croix rod and model equivalent for every blank… that kind of stuff. They offered to send me a blank to try out and build something on, which I thought was pretty neat.”

Crosby wanted to concentrate on a versatile build with striper and salmon in mind. “We have some great bass fishing out here, but we also have really good king salmon and striper fishing on the Sacramento, American, and Feather Rivers,” says Crosby, who also loves sturgeon fishing. “I like to build versatile rods that work for most types of striper and salmon fishing, from trolling, jigging, or soaking bait. I also like to build rods that perform great, are comfortable, and that people can afford. After talking with the St. Croix folks, I decided on a 7’6”, heavy power, moderate-fast action SCIII Freshwater blank in an olive-green color. I’ve learned that SCIII is St. Croix’s most popular carbon-fiber material because it’s kind of the perfect blend of lightweight sensitivity with extreme durability, which is important because our rods can get banged around out here and we’re targeting fish that can go over 40 pounds and live in current.”

Crosby starts every build by finding and marking the spine of the blank. “A lot of rods aren’t spined right,” he says. “Either from the manufacturer or by the rod builder. Do it wrong and the blank wants to twist. Some are so bad you can feel it want to twist at the handle while you are fishing. That’s a deal-breaker for me.”

Crosby fit his MXJO76HMF blank from Rod Geeks with a carbon fiber rear grip. “It’s an Alps, and I think they’re far superior to cork and EVA for durability and sensitivity,” says Crosby, who opted for an Alps AGC nylon-graphite size-16 reel seat. “Then on the foregrip, I used Batson EVA. I like the carbon on the rear grip but just think EVA is more pleasing to the hand when fighting a fish. For the decorative wrap I went with a new pattern I hadn’t done before in emerald-green with orange accents. It turned out super nice and makes the rod pop.”

Crosby opted to use durable, Alps LXN double-foot guides. “I’m a pretty good advocate on those because I’ve had good luck with them,” he says. “I went from size 16 down to 6 on the tip.”

Now that the rod’s completed, Crosby says he can’t wait to try it out. “Our striper season is just starting to get going,” he says. “I’ll try the rod out, but everything I build is for sale. At the end of the day, I just want to put a rod in my customers’ hands they’re happy with. I’m a people person. I enjoy finding out all the details about how they fish and what they want, then it’s my job and my satisfaction to please them. When they come in to pick up their rod, I love seeing the expression on their face, and then they can’t wait to go fish it. I’ve got one kid I’ve probably built 15 rods for. He’s a big-time bass fisherman but I have a lot of customers who just want one or two really nice rods designed for the ways they fish, so if they want to change techniques they can just tie on a new leader or setup and the rod performs just as well. That way they’ve only got a couple of rods in the boat and you aren’t worried about stepping on one or a fish flopping on one and breaking it. That’s what this 7’6” heavy, moderate-fast is. I can’t wait to see it in action. It’s just a super nice blank and a really versatile rod.