About Us

A Little History

The Rod Rack first opened it's doors in May of 1979 in a 200 square foot store on San Carlos Street in Castro Valley. This was strictly a part time business as it is today. In May of 1982 we moved to a larger, 1100 square foot store on Castro Valley Blvd, where we stayed for 8 years. With construction on the Boulevard taking place and parking becoming a problem we moved to our next location in Hayward, a 1700 sqare foot store in May of 1990. We stayed in that store, growing, for the next 12+ years. In March of 2003, we moved into our present location, with over 4000 square feet, which is next door to our old smaller store.

I built my first custom rod in 1968 and became hooked on this new pastime. In fact I went to work for a local Tackle Shop, Castro Valley Sportsman's Center, in 1969. There I repaired reels, rods and made new custom rods for many customers of the store. After about 4 or 5 years of this, I became tired of never being able to get out and hunt and fish myself, so I retired from this sideline. In early 1979 we were in a gas rationing period, and since I couldn't travel and do the types of outdoor activities that I like, I thought that I might open a part time business. Since I was a frustrated rod builder who had to travel all around the S. F. Bay Area to find what I needed to build rods, I thought that a store that catered to the "Custom Rod Builder" might succeed. Myself, I have an aversion from buying parts by mail order, preferring to choose from a selection of blanks for example, or having a choice of other guides if the ones I wanted were not available. Thus was born The Rod Rack.

The only type of tackle that we carry is for the Baja, Long Range, or Big Game fisherman. I think you will find that we carry one of the larger supplies of tackle for this type of fishing in the San Francisco Bay Area, along with having extremely competitive pricing.

Steve Volkers
Owner