Casting a New Career
Jeff Allen's Fish Stix
Written by Brian Bushard
Photography by Kit Noble
Jeff Allen knew something was wrong the morning he fell out of bed at 2 a.m. Allen, a veteran Nantucket photographer, was losing not only his balance but his vision. The thing he needed more than anything else as a photographer was fading. The problem, it turned out, was an advanced case of Lyme disease that had damaged his cognitive functioning and would require months of physical therapy and vision retraining. But he wasn’t going to let that prognosis defeat him.
Allen—an artist, sculptor, photographer and craftsman—needed something to do before he went stir crazy during his months-long recovery. If he wasn’t able to take photographs, he thought he could still work with his hands in some way. He called up his friend, longtime fishing rod maker Barry Thurston, with an idea to make custom fishing rods himself. Thurston, who had retired from making rods, showed him the ropes. Allen was hooked.
“Some people say I’m making art, but I’m making toys; it’s just very well thought out,” said Allen, who builds rods under the name Fish Stix. “These things will last.” In the 15 years since his initial conversation with Thurston, Allen has turned his house on Somerset Road into a studio and a workshop where he cranks out 50 custom fishing rods of all sizes every year. “I didn’t want to be on my computer—I wanted to be outside,” Allen said. “I like to fish and I have fished all my life.”
Not only has Allen produced hundreds of rods, he’s also amassed a household of equipment, from lathes to sanders. It takes a special breed of craftsman to fully commit to the craft the way Allen has. Handy? He built his house, though he claims it’s still a work in progress after three decades, and likely will be until he decides he’s had enough projects for one lifetime. Resilient? He once lost three fingers in a machinery accident while making furniture. He carried his fingers in a helicopter to Boston to have them surgically reattached.
Currently, Allen is the only custom rod maker on Nantucket. “It’s night and day, the difference in how the rods perform compared to a commercial rod. It’s like if you bought a Ford Fiesta instead of a Hummer or a full-blown Mercedes,” Allen said. “A lot of the time I’ll go out fishing on a friend’s boat and they’ll have commercial rods that aren’t custom, which drives me crazy. I’m rarely surprised at how good they are.”
Earlier this year, Allen introduced students at the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club to the art of custom rod making, donating materials and labor to give kids the opportunity to create something all their own, and potentially inspire a younger generation to take up the craft. Later this season, the Boys & Girls Club will take the students on a charter fishing trip where they will be able to use the new rods they made with Allen’s assistance.
“Living in a fishing community like Nantucket, there’s something powerful about getting kids out on the water, learning how to cast a line and understanding the importance of our local fisheries,” said Boys &Girls Club CEO Jamie Foster, crediting staff members Joe Headen and Ian Graiff for making the partnership with Fish Stix possible. “It’s more than just fishing—it’s about connection to place, to tradition and to new skills. This is exactly the kind of unique, hands-on programming that sets our Club apart and creates lasting memories for our kids."
At his studio, Allen has a stockpile of blanks, grips, reels, reel seats, threads and titanium guides. He imports Portuguese cork and has a wide array of wood to work with, like Honduran rosewood, ambrosia maple, Patagonian rosewood, Bolivian rosewood, palm and mahogany. Each rod blank (the long pole) is painted a unique color and attached with a thread color of the customer’s choice. The rods can also be accessorized with personalized scrimshaw or abalone.
As for the types of rods, Allen has made them for surf casters, inshore fishermen, kayakers, fly fishermen and people who prefer the deep sea. The rods typically take two weeks to a month to produce from start to finish, starting at $895.
Allen also uses his rods, a family legacy he’s taken from his father, who taught him to fish in the lakes around Middleborough and Brockton with a custom-made rod. He still holds on to the first rod he made on his own, which he fondly calls “Number One.” Since launching Fish Stix 15years ago, Allen said the craft has changed his approach to fishing. The idea is that a custom rod, even if it’s more expensive, will suit your needs better than any other rod that’s out there.
After a tour of his basement workshop, it’s clear making rods has become more than just a hobby. “You can catch a fish on anything,” he said. “Commercial rods are fine, but if you come to me, you’re going to get something that’s a legacy rod. If you take care of it, you’ll be able to pass it down."
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