Garrett Honaker builds amazing fishing rods. These two drew inspiration from his passion for guitar.
MAYSVILLE, Ky. (December 22, 2025) – Sterling Gray Outfitters was created by Garrett Sterling Honaker, Brad Gray, and Dalton Gray – avid anglers who believed in the benefits of quality equipment. Brad and Dalton eventually stepped away from the business as other life priorities took over. Honaker, a 50-year-old US Coast Guard licensed captain and river transportation manager from Maysville, Kentucky, took over the business.
“I’ve been building rods since 2021. So, still kind of green,” Honaker says, “but trying to be as creative with it as I can. I’m building about 40 or 50 rods per year and really enjoying it. I hope to commit more time to it in retirement.”
Honaker, a musician and a woodworker, also builds and repairs guitars. Those influences and skills often reveal themselves in Honaker’s custom rods. Like most custom rod builders, he says fishing has also been a lifelong passion.
“Like many of us, from the time I can remember, I had a pole in my hands, usually fishing with my father,” he says. “I grew up fishing that way, you know, panfish and stuff as a little kid, and then, of course, I got into bass fishing and the disease that is. I might go out and do a bit of ocean fishing or something else once in a while if I’m on vacation or something, but for me, it’s pretty much exclusively bass fishing.”
Looking at Honaker’s work, it’s hard to believe he’s been building rods for just five years.
“I went to ICRBE, the Custom Rod Builders Expo in Winston-Salem, a few years ago. I saw all the custom rods that people had built and learned that they had an annual competition,” Honaker recalls. “As a guitar player, I thought, this is kind of like music. If I want to be a good musician, I need to get in a room with the best musicians I can. So, I need to get into this rod-building competition, compete against some of the best in the world, and see how it turns out. That first year, I finished in the top 10 and it gave me a sense of affirmation for my creativity and skills.”
Honaker recently completed a pair of builds on St. Croix blanks from Rod Geeks. He built a 71MF casting rod on a Dark Blue SCIV+ USA blank and a 610MLXF spinning rod on a Natural-Matte SCV USA blank. He incorporated guitar-inspired flame maple accents in both rods.
“Functionality is the number one thing for me on any build,” Honaker says. “I want a rod to function and fish well. I don’t think there’s any element of a rod build that a customer will connect with more than that. For these rods, I built the 7’1” medium power casting rod to be super versatile. I built the 6’10” spinning rod primarily for drop shotting but to also excel in a complete range of finesse techniques. The SCV 610MLXF is an exceptionally light blank that provides great sensitivity. Typical of St. Croix rods, this extra-fast blank transitions into the power section very quickly, providing a tip that is extremely accurate and sensitive. This allows for great bait presentation, while providing the power to hook up on drop shot in deep water.”
Honaker selected Fuji titanium Torzite guides to maximize performance and save weight on both builds. He selected a nylon Fuji ECSM exposed blank reel seat for the casting rod and a carbon fiber American Tackle Apex reel seat for the spinning rod.
“When I build spinning rods… especially finesse models, I try to minimize weight,” Honaker says. “That’s why I went with the American Tackle carbon seat. I also went with their G2 fighting butt, which allows me the flexibility to add the flame maple wood element.
“On both rods, you’ll see that same accent on the reel seat nut and on the insert beneath the real seat. The inspiration comes from the popular sunburst paint scheme on many guitars. You’ll see the sunburst pattern continue on the wraps of the spinning rod.”
While these two particular rods were built as spec rods, Honaker says Sterling Gray Outfitters takes pride in spending ample time with the customer before and during the build to make sure they get the rod they really want.
“Sometimes customers call because they just know they want a rod in my style, but I always take time to get to know the customer really well and find out as much as I can about the way they and what they want,” he says. “We sit down and kind of map that out where we’ll outline the entire process and build. I then stay in constant contact with the customer throughout the project. We’re constantly exchanging pictures back and forth and doing mockups and making sure they’re getting the rod they want.”
Honaker says every build starts with choosing the right blank.
“St. Croix anglers are kind of like a cult,” he says. “The tapers on the rods and blanks are just so different than everyone else’s. Their extra-fast blanks are a good example. St. Croix’s extra-fast taper is probably the fastest blank around. A lot of the anglers who throw St. Croix rods simply won’t go to anything else. They are also very consistent, which is something else that St. Croix anglers notice and appreciate, as I do as a builder. I’ve been told that St. Croix employees actually deflect every single blank on a deflection board and each specific blank of a given model has to have exactly the same deflection arc and pattern. So, when I build a custom rod on a SCV USA 610MLXF blank, that means that rod is going to have identical flex characteristics to a factory-built St. Croix Legend Elite 610MLXF rod.
“The other thing about St. Croix blanks from Rod Geeks is that they are great quality, and have tons of American-made options, which is important to me,” Honaker continues, “because I try to keep everything that I can stateside as much as possible.”
Contact Garrett Honaker and Sterling Gray Outfitters through his website, or join the conversation and see more of his amazing work on Facebook.
About Rod Geeks
Brought to you by the people, expertise and experience of St. Croix of Park Falls, Inc., Rod Geeks has delivered handcrafted, high-performance fishing rod blanks to custom rod builders since 2014. Backed by nearly 80 years of experience in designing and building the Best Rods on Earth, we own and operate modern, state-of-the-art fishing rod factories in Park Falls, Wisconsin and Fresnillo, Mexico where we combine the best raw materials, equipment, technologies, expertise, and experienced craftsmanship to produce thousands of uncompromising fishing rods and blanks every week. Whatever your next adventure or project, trust Rod Geeks to provide a foundation for your passion and creativity that’s worthy of your talents. The St. Croix Family of Brands includes Rod Geeks, St. Croix Rod, SEVIIN Reels, St. Croix Fly, and the St. Croix Factory Store.
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