It all started when Frank Legault (no, his real name isn't Francois, but everyone asks) broke his finger and couldn't work as a tow truck driver for several months.
"I had some free time," he said. "Instead of doing nothing, I decided to build myself a rod and build some for the kids."
Legault, an avid fisherman, watched "countless" hours of videos and read several books on rod making, and worked painstakingly at creating his own masterpieces.
Eventually, he began posting his own rods on TikTok and Facebook, and people started calling.
"One guy in Toronto wanted two rods, and it started from there," he said. "I'm stuck at home, [and] I'm making less money. Might as well have some type of sideline business."
In nine months, he's sold 60 rods, and the order book is full for the next two months.
He said customers love the attention to detail and originality of his rods as well as the feel.
His rattlesnake skin rod is a fan favourite.
"The feel is really unique," he said.
Working out of his small home in Chambly, Legault has had to transform his bedroom into his assembly plant.
His business is growing so quickly he had to give up his bed and sleep on the couch, though it's his dream to eventually get his own workshop.
Each rod takes 15 to 40 hours to make, and they start at $500.
If they aren't flawless, Legault doesn't send them out.
"If it's not perfect to me, I'll take it apart and start over," he said.
His success, he says, is a dream come true.
"Unfortunately, it doesn't leave much time for fishing."
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
Han Dong is threatening legal action against Global News and its parent company Corus Entertainment after the media outlet published an allegation the Toronto MP spoke to a Chinese diplomat about delaying the release of two Canadians.
Flying over the Grand Canyon was a highlight for the Gellisen family during their trip to Phoenix, but their flight home to Toronto was a much different experience, with several family members forced off of the flight over tensions related to a teen's wheelchair.
Despite delayed decision-making by parliamentarians, Canada's massive renovation of Parliament Hill's Centre Block is being effectively managed so far, according to a new audit. However, 'rigorous' cost management will be needed as the work proceeds, cautions auditor general Karen Hogan.
A nine-year-old girl has died after a snow fort collapsed in a forest behind a rural Quebec home.
Another harmful substance is spreading within Canada's unregulated street drug supply and, without more aggressive intervention from policymakers, one expert says a growing number of people could be at risk of serious illness, injury or death.
King Charles III's coronation will be held on May 6 at London's Westminster Abbey. Here are some little-known facts about the ceremony:
Lettuce prices are likely to rise next month and could stay high into the summer, agriculture experts say, as flooding in a key California farming area becomes the latest example of extreme weather's effect on the food chain.
Police have identified a teenager who died after being stabbed in an ‘unprovoked’ attack at a Toronto subway station Saturday night, and have charged an adult male suspect with his murder.
A truck driver has pleaded guilty to careless driving causing the death of a 65-year-old animal rights activist.
For the second time in under a week, police were called to a Hamilton school that received a bomb threat.
Nearly two dozen small municipalities in Ontario will share $5.5 million to help with recovering from extreme weather.
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
An emergency alert involving “a dangerous female with a handgun” in Indian Brook, N.S., has been cancelled, police say.
A Royal Canadian Navy frigate departed Halifax today as part of the federal government's wider strategy of boosting its presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
The victim of a suspicious death in London over the weekend has been identified and police have now deemed the incident a homicide.
A man is recovering in hospital after being hit by a vehicle in London early Monday morning.
London fire crews made a rescue in frigid waters on Sunday, saving two people after their kayak capsized in the Thames River
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
Ontario has reached a funding agreement with optometrists that increases some payments to them, but reduces some coverage for patients, including less frequent general eye exams for seniors.
Inflation is now forcing some Canadians to find different ways to afford day-to-day expenses.
Calgary emergency crews are on the scene in the community of Marlborough after an explosion and fire at a home.
The appreciation and respect shown by the public after two Edmonton Police Service officers were killed in the line of duty has not gone unnoticed, their families said in a statement ahead of the regimental funeral on Monday.
A KLM flight bound for Calgary was delayed Sunday morning when an unruly passenger forced the airline to return to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
Stratford police are praising a cashier at a St. Marys Foodland that recognized a case of fraud and helped stop it.
A truck driver has pleaded guilty to careless driving causing the death of a 65-year-old animal rights activist.
Norfolk County OPP have shut down a road near Six Nations of the Grand River after a dump truck got caught in hydro wires.
A fire in Vancouver’s Chinatown neighbourhood on Sunday evening is being investigated as suspicious.
Burial plots have become such a hot commodity in Metro Vancouver, one spot in a Burnaby cemetery is being sold privately online for $54,000.
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
The appreciation and respect shown by the public after two Edmonton Police Service officers were killed in the line of duty has not gone unnoticed, their families said in a statement ahead of the regimental funeral on Monday.
The procession for two Edmonton police officers who were killed in the line of duty is scheduled to leave the Alberta Legislature grounds toward Rogers Place at approximately 11:45 a.m.
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
A 23-year-old man has been arrested after Windsor police say he used a Taser during an altercation with employees at a downtown grocery store.
The Windsor Spitfires are back in the OHL playoffs.
No injuries are reported after a garage fire in Windsor on Sunday night. Crews were called to the scene near Langlois Avenue and Ellis Street just after 10 p.m.
A fifth and final flight of displaced Ukrainians will arrive in Saskatchewan on March 27, according to the province.
The Village of Liberty is grieving the loss of its rink after it fell victim to a late night 'inferno' over the weekend.
Construction efforts are expected to begin on the south section of Regina's Ring Road.
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
Despite delayed decision-making by parliamentarians, Canada's massive renovation of Parliament Hill's Centre Block is being effectively managed so far, according to a new audit. However, 'rigorous' cost management will be needed as the work proceeds, cautions auditor general Karen Hogan.
About 3,000 education workers at Carleton University will strike on Monday after the union and the university failed to come to an agreement by the midnight deadline.
The Saskatoon Blades' last two home games of the season have been against the Regina Pats, and with top NHL prospect Connor Bedard drawing big crowds wherever he's playing, almost 30,000 fans have come through the turnstiles at Sasktel Centre.
City administrators are calling for a design change on Main Street and Clarence Avenue that would prevent vehicles from using Main Street as a thoroughfare rather than 8th Street.
The Village of Liberty is grieving the loss of its rink after it fell victim to a late night 'inferno' over the weekend.
