Altenkirch Precision Outfitters has been making legendary rods for legendary fishermen since 1930 but over the years their story has become a legend of its own. It all started with a weakfish rod... Charles Altenkirch, who sold the family gravel business in Bayside to open a garage in Hampton Bays in 1929, was an avid fisherman who preferred to make his own rods. He soon began making them for others and once the word got out, his garage on the canal was producing more than just repaired engines. His weakfish rod - more sensitive and flexible than any other available - was legendary and in high demand. Soon the car business was no more, replaced by Charles Altenkirch and Son, Precision Built Fishing Tackle. Charles expanded to making rods for porgy and other bay fish. After the hurricane of 1938 permanently opened the Shinnecock Inlet to larger boat traffic, he began producing the off-shore rods that would make his work even more renown. He was even courted by Abercrombie and Fitch in the early 1940s to produce their rods for them - under their name only - but he wasn't interested. Anyone who knew anything about fishing had an Altenkirch in his arsenal. The legacy of the custom rod was carried on by his son, Mickey, who kept the hand-made quality while moving the materials with the times. Bamboo and hickory were replaced with a new material: fiberglass, which wouldn't rot or take on a permanent bend. Mickey bought the fiberglass blanks from a manufacturer because he said, "I couldn't make them any better myself". The on-site machine shop still provided all the precision-cut hardware for the rods, now using space-age nickel silver acquired from Grumman for the guide frames with a lining of ceramic or agate. The internal construction, however, stayed the same with wooden dowels and glue providing the sturdy core that holds the grips and the blank together. Mickey's sister, Miriam, was a well-known fisherman in her own right and was an expert in attaching the guides to the blank with silk wrappings. Mickey's fishing acumen went beyond the rod itself when he devised the first drop-back fighting chair after seeing a man break his neck battling a tuna. It is now the standard for the for the chairs used today. Today, Mickey's son Hank has assumed the mantle of master rod builder. He also has moved with the times, replacing his father's fiberglass blanks with Lamiglas, graphite or composite graphite and fiberglass ones. It is even possible to have a blank made of boron or titanium, if money is no object. Traditional wooden and cork grips have been augmented with exotic woods unavailable to his grandfather. The guides and reel seats are no longer made in-house, but Hank selects only top-of-the-line hardware, since the Altenkirch name is still on every rod. The internal construction using wood and glue (never tape) hasn't changed in over 70 years and Hank or his daughters do all the wrapping. Creative like his father, Hank devised the first swivel rod holder, a real breakthrough for deep-sea trolling with multiple lines. In 2004 Hank decided to leave the distraction of the retail business and focus exclusively on rod building. His workshop is a fisherman's paradise where the business of rods is conducted over friendly banter, all overseen by an oil painting of his father and mentor, Mickey. "I just love making the rods," said Hank, a sentiment that has amazingly carried on through three generations or Altenkirchs. |
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