Kerry Burkheimer

It has been almost a genetic inevitability that Kerry Burkheimer ended up in the rod making business. Catching his first fish at the ripe old age of 2 lit a flame that still burns exceptionally brightly. Always a passionate angler and a tinkerer, Burkheimer spent years learning the rod design and manufacturing business, including years at Loomis Composites as well as nearly a decade under the watchful eye of his mentor, legendary rod maker Russ Peak. Largely now overlooked by today’s generation of anglers, Peak was the rod designer that all others of his era, from Fenwick to Orvis, looked up to and consulted with. Eventually, Burkheimer purchased Peak’s business and inventory, which morphed into the CF Burkheimer Rod Company of today.