It is with a heavy heart that we, Tom’s family, inform you all that after his 6 year battle with cancer, our father has passed away and is now reunited with our mother and his wife, the love of his life.

Before my father passed, we had many discussions about what “he” wanted to say here. My father absolutely loved making fishing rods. But while he loved crafting his rods, with intricate wraps and cutting edge grips and guides, the part he loved the most was connecting with his customers, who almost always became close friends. He was always so enthusiastic about making a rod, letting you all pick out the blanks, grips, colors and guides and for some, even the inlay to the butt grip, like the special pin he used for his marines rod. He wanted you all to know how much you all meant to him, he loved talking about fishing, hot spots, and snake heads. As my father said in his own words, “I never met a person I didn’t like.” He truly loved you all.

As his son, I will say this. My father never bragged about his rods, he never talked about how great they were, though he was certainly proud of them and he was always a perfectionist, but the rods weren’t the most important thing to him. He loved how his customers and friends felt using them. I can’t begin to explain or tell you about all of the phone calls and text messages he would send me, showing me a photo of a friend who caught another impressive fish on a “TCR” special. It makes me smile just thinking about how excited he’d get when someone would send him a photo of a lunker with message that would read, “Caught this bad boy on the rod you made me.” What started as a hobby, because of his love for fishing (thanks, Mom), turned into a business that gave him such joy and brought him so many special friends. In his last days, all he could talk about was how many friends he made because of the rods he built. So I thank you, all of you. During these long 6 years, your requests for new rods or fixing broken guides gave him purpose, it gave him friends and most importantly, it made him HAPPY.

If you own a TCR Rod, use it, cherish it and think of my father with every cast and when you land that lunker, look up and show him, because he’ll be watching with the biggest smile on his face.

Lastly, as a promise to my father, I will be putting together a fishing tournament, one year from today. The First Annual Tom’s Custom Rod’s Fish Tournament. We want to make this a yearly tournament with a big payout that will also support a charity as a non-profit. Please continue to follow this page as it will eventually become the home for the tournament. Spread the word!

Sincerely,

Michael Wewerka
(Tom’s Children: Amy Martin, Wendy Capitano and Michael Wewerka)