ON THE HOOK: It's the science that turns this rod, into a different kettle of fish.

• Author: Williams, Allison
• Position: PICTURE THIS

When Matthew Cashion graduated with a doctorate in chemistry from Virginia Tech amid the recession of 2009, he created his own job opportunity: Cashion Custom Lures & Rods LLC, based in his Clayton onecar garage.

Ph.D. to angler hadn't been the plan, but jobs were elusive and Cashion was chasing a big fish: an American-made fishing rod.

Though recreational fishing is more popular than ever in the U.S., and professional tournaments fetch thousands in prize money, few rods are crafted domestically. Cheaper competition overseas scares off many manufacturers, but most of them didn't spend six years studying epoxies, the material that makes a rod great.

Cashion demonstrates by standing in the middle of his Sanford warehouse holding the tip of his bestselling "worm and jig" bass rod against his throat with a visitor holding it by the grip. As he talks, a vibration runs down the rod, transmitted by the epoxies--sticky resins Cashion has formulated--bonding carbon fiber and metal.

It's this thin wand that stands between man and fish, and the process of making one is fairly simple. Sheets of carbon fiber are treated with an epoxy then sandwiched in two layers and rolled like a cigar around a metal tube to produce what's known as a "blank," or the rod's core. The cylinder is then wrapped and heated, "baked" in an oven. Guides to hold the fishing line and a "seat" to hold the reel are attached later.

Cashion only recently began installing the equipment to make the blanks in house and eventually hopes to produce all components at his Lee County warehouse rather than importing them. The bigger dream is that his high-end rods will one day compete with cheaper overseas models thanks to an as-yet-developed invention.

"My heart is in the materials," Cashion says. But the 37-year-old company president is also chief salesman, marketer and plant manager who occasionally drives the merchandise truck to weekend tournaments Cashion organizes. The business is small but profitable and growing after moving from Pittsboro to Sanford in November 2016. Revenue passed the million-dollar mark last year, and orders occasionally outpace what Cashion's nine workers can produce. His rods sell for $120 to $200 at sporting-goods chain Bass Pro Shops, where they've been sold since 2014, plus independent tackle shops and through Cashion's website. Driving sales are the amateur tournaments the company holds as far north as New York and west to Tennessee. Cashion also sponsors...