Graeme Paterson, co-founder of Lanza Rods, is returning to the passion he and daughter Chloe worked on for almost 12 years building high-quality, bespoke fishing rods with Kiwi ingenuity at its core.
Graeme Paterson, co-founder of Lanza Rods, is returning to the passion he and daughter Chloe worked on for almost 12 years building high-quality, bespoke fishing rods with Kiwi ingenuity at its core.
When Graeme Paterson made the decision to close his and daughter Chloe’s bespoke fishing rod business Synit Rods back in 2018, he said it was one of the hardest decisions he has ever had to make.
After suffering from sciatic arthritis and Chloe being seriously injured ina car accident, Paterson knew he had to put his family’s health first after almost 12 years in business.
But that passion for the art of crafting fishing rods never left. After years away from building and designing, Paterson, with the help of newly trusted business partner Mathew Hewetson, knew the time was right to jump back in and reel up the next big thing.
Lanza Rods is the pair’s new venture: they make handcrafted carbon fibre fishing rods that take nearly a year to design, paint and perfect.
“I never lost touch with what was happening globally, and I’m lucky enough to have my finger in the pie anyway because I’m semi-retired. I work part-time three days a week for Hunting and Fishing,” Paterson said.
“I’ve always kept tabs globally on what is happening and that’s what triggered the start of Lanza. I had this idea and I put it to him [Hewetson] and I said, look, this technology, it’s basically brand new, it’s not in New Zealand and I’m going to have to learn the whole curve of carbon fibre development again to develop it.”
Graeme Paterson, co-founder of Lanza Rods, is returning to the passion he and daughter Chloe worked on for almost 12 years building high-quality, bespoke fishing rods with Kiwi ingenuity at its core.
Key to the new rod technology is less reliance on what’s called “hoop strength”, essentially the resistance in a rod to do its job.
As to how this has been achieved, Paterson explained his work starts with the blank, the main structural component of a fishing rod. The blank determines the rod’s strength, sensitivity, responsiveness, and overall performance.
Traditionally this section, from the fore grip to the tip, is hollow. Lanza Rods blanks are solid, making them thinner, lighter and stronger per volume of carbon than other rods on the market.
“We use a totally different build method than any other rod manufacturer that’s out there, and I’ve developed that here.”
“I was never out to design a cheap rod. It was a rod that was going to be fit for purpose, and that’s where we have a point of difference.”
The rods are also built to manage point loading, which occurs when the load from the fish or lure is concentrated on a small portion of the rod’s length, typically the tip, rather than being distributed evenly across the rod. Paterson said the new technology will reduce its influence by roughly 70%.
A lot of the designing and techniques needed to create the blanks rely on Paterson’s decades of knowledge.
He’s been fishing since he was 4 years old with his father, a marine engineer who Paterson said knew how to read the sea before technology like fish finders were invented.
That passion extended to daughter Chloe, who started fishing at 3. Paterson has a granddaughter and he’s already made her a rod for when she’s ready to get out on the water.
Originally planning to showcase the new technology at the Hutchwilco Boat Show last year, Paterson made the call to hold back until he was 100% happy that they could perform to his high expectations.
Quality has been a hallmark of Paterson’s designs, stretching back to Synit Rods. That business was built between him and another keen designer, Norman Coe, nicknamed Tiny.
“I met Tiny years and years ago, and he had a passion for wanting to start a rod building business because he loved his fishing, but Tiny never had two pennies to rub together. I was in a position to help so I financed him.”
Tiny was also responsible for teaching Chloe how to build rods; she quickly became known for her artistry. Paterson said her skills were sought out around the world.
Lanza Rods utilise unique technology that reduces point loading by an estimated 70% while using a solid carbon tip to boost effectiveness.
Synit Rods, jokingly spelling Tiny’s name backwards, became a renowned business not just among the local fishing community here in New Zealand, but globally.
Paterson credits a meeting between Tiny and the man who invented the art of mechanical jigging, Yoichi Mogi, for sparking their popularity.
After offering one of their rods for Mogi to use while in the area, all it took was for three photos of him using the rod for them to gain global recognition.
“He bought the rods. This is a guy who charged US$15,000 (NZ$25,000) a day to test other people’s gear. He bought two other rods from us.”
“That gave me immense confidence that I was designing and developing these carbon fibre rods down the right track.”
For Paterson, he said the opportunity to return to the business made him feel like a teenager again.
“Even though I’m 64, it’s like a new beginning. I’ve always surrounded myself, when I’m doing this, with the younger generation, because to be honest it’s them that this is targeted at because they’re the innovative ones that like new styles of fishing.”
Lanza Rods has its official launch at Stand 501 at the Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show in Auckland from May 15 to 18.
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
