Q&A With our Staff

ProLine Fishing is making them. Gary used to "endorse" rods made by Berkley. Gary no longer endorses rods - he actually designs every single last detail of every rod we make. ProLine Fishing is the manufacturing and distribution company that carries this out, so Gary can spend his time fishing and hunting. Gary designs, tests, and approves each rod, and uses them exclusively for his tournament and personal fishing. Gary is not endorsing this line of rods - he is an active partner in the process and enjoys full control over all of the design, right down to the fact we don't use hang tags on most rods because Gary said "you can't feel the rod in a store with one". Sometimes we make suggestions, but most of the time Gary has a better idea. He has so many ideas, we need to travel with a notepad at all times!

It depends on the rod model. Our Series and Mrs Walleye products are made with 100% graphite blanks. Super RTR is a composite material that is about 94% graphite. Icepro is a hybrid material, a solid glass core with a 100% graphite outer sleeve. We don't use the "IM" classification because it has been poorly applied in the industry. There is no exact standard for any IM rated graphite. Different carbon fiber (graphite) makers all have one or more variations of graphite that could fall into a particular classification. Because of this, a rod blank advertised to be IM7 may or may not match up against another rod claiming to be IM7, because the graphite cloths are different, and they may have differing tensile strengths, elongation, resin content, and thickness. For example, you could have one type of graphite cloth that has 560kgf/mM2 tensile strength, and 31% resin content, and another that has 460kgf/mM2 tensile strength and 24% resin content. The graphite with the lower resin content is the one we would want to use, because it has more graphite content by volume, despite the other having a greater tensile strength. Any rating on graphite is based on the raw cloth itself, and not a finished rod, which is constructed of several pieces cut into triangles and squares, and rolled several layers thick. Therefore we do not use an "IM" classification because we do not wish to fall into a category where consumers and buyers make comparisons between apples and oranges. Some rods are also made with a bit of glass fiber in the base or handle sections, or the blank does not extend all the way through the handle, because it's cheaper to make rods that way. Our Series and Mrs Walleye rods are made of 100% graphite, with no glass fiber filler in the base, and all of our rods are constructed so the blank goes all the way down to the butt of the handle.

When we see a claim that a rod is 60 million modulus, the first thing that comes to mind is "60 million what?" Modulus is a measure of elasticity, which is a stiffness to weight ratio. A modulus ratio has to have a metric or imperial measurement, but no one lists what it is! That would be like you asking someone how fast their car goes, and them answering "96,000". 96,000 what? With no unit of measurement, it's hard to understand just what that is. In this case, 96,000 is in meters per hour. Sure, it's a true measurement, but we would better understand this as either 96 kilometers per hour, or 60 miles per hour, if you convert it. So, in order to properly understand what you're being marketed and sold on, you should understand the measurement.

So a claim of "some million modulus" is misleading, because we do not know how it is being measured. Second, knowing that a modulus figure is a measure of elasticity, we can deduce that a higher modulus figure should mean a less elastic blank. But less elastic doesn't mean better graphite or a better rod! Remember the specification is based on the raw graphite fibers in the cloth itself, not the finished blank. There are times when you want a stiff, or less elastic rod, and there are times you want a more flexible, or more elastic rod. For example, in our 9'6" leadcore trolling rods, you want a nice, soft bend throughout the rod so it acts as a shock absorber for the lure, as your boat trolls through the waves. We control the elasticity of our rods by the design and cut of the graphite cloth used to roll the blanks. Change the shape and cut, and you can change the properties of the rod. Because modulus is a misleading term, we won't use it in our advertising.

Of course! He isn't a one-dimensional fisherman. Gary fishes for everything, and that includes fish through the ice. He also has some very unique ideas when it comes to ice rods. He prefers a much more solid blank than what's found in the industry today. Where rod lengths are getting shorter, Gary wants his longer. The reason? Most permanent ice houses are large enough for a longer rod, since you're pointing it at the hole anyway, or it's resting in a holder. Even the portable shelters have a fair amount of room and don't require you to use tiny, short rods that don't have any backbone. Another reason is they lend themselves well to "stand-up fishing", which is what many professionals do. This is where you go out and drill 8-10 holes, spaced apart, and you go from hole to hole to fish them with your camera or flasher. When you do this, you want to be able to stand more upgright, and not have to squat down on the cold ice, or drag a bucket to sit on. Fish the hole, and move on - comfortably! Try it, you'll find it's quite easy!

The final reason for Icepro is there are no long ice rods on the market anymore. No one makes a spooning rod, or a good rod for lake trout. Gary wanted to cover that as well, since he does a fair share of it himself.

We get asked this all the time. We approached our rod components with a set of criteria from Gary. Each rod had to have certain properties, and meet certain requirements. Gary wanted the stainless steel rings in our Series, Super RTR, and Icepro rods, because they're light, and durable enough for use with mono, fluorocarbon, braided "super" lines, and leadcore. There is no issue with rings popping out of guides. Gary made the point of noting that to most professionals, and himself, a brand name guide means nothing. Therefore we get the guide performance Gary demands, and it helps keep the cost of the rod down to earth. When it came to reel seats, Gary had a list of reels that the reel seat must lock securely. We tried and tested many different reel seats. We found the reel seat we use on the Series spinning rods worked perfectly, and it also allowed us to coat it with our rubberized PVC coating, which helps keep the reels even more secure. On casting rods, it was more difficult, as most reel seats did not secure all of the line counter trolling reels. Even the Fuji reel seats allowed some reels to become loose and pop out, or the hoods broke altogether under pressure. The reel seats we use were one of the only ones that locked all of the reels in solidly. We use what worked the best, and secured all of the reels.

They're on hiatus for a while. Basically consumers weren't out spending money on high end rods, they were asking Gary for low-cost models instead. We talked at length, because Superpro is the finest rod produced, in our opinion. People who have picked one up and compared it to other rods from top brands costing $250 or more have told us they prefer Superpro hands down. Gary also uses mostly Superpro for his own fishing. It was a hard decision, but we thought long and hard and decided it would be best to shelve both programs in light of the economic conditions, and look to produce a lower cost offering that people were asking for. So Gary created Super RTR. If you're partial to Superpro or Select, we continue to sell the remaining stock we do have, and there are some retailers and distributors that still carry the remaining models. They'll be back eventually, when the industry recovers a bit and folks have more disposable income for buying a higher end rod. For those who have bought one and need warranty service, don't worry - we kept some just for that purpose!

Gary did that (and caused the engineers headaches) because it preserves the intended action of the rod as much as possible. By utilizing the guide wrap as a ferrule, which is already a dead spot on the rod, we eliminate the usual ferrule joint, which just destroys rod actions on 2 piece rods by putting 3 dead spots in close proximity - as the ferrule joint is usually right between two guides.. On our engineering deflection tables, our 2 piece rods are within 3% of their 1 piece counterparts. If you can tell the difference between the two without looking at the label, we'd be genuinely surprised. The 2 piece rod is made so you can transport it easier, and you can! The rod halves don't have to be of equal length for you to fit it in the trunk of your car.

It's all about how you want to fish. Super RTR is an all-around rod that can be used for just about any fishing, whether it be jigging, trolling, casting, or rigging. Series rods are designed to fill a specific need, and each one is just a bit different. That's how Gary fishes - each of his rods is set up for a different purpose. In his own boat, he's got a rod locker full of Series and Superpro. Each rod already has the proper reel and line on them to suit a specific style of fishing. Series rods will give you that extra advantage when you're using the right rod for the job, but the Super RTR rods are more forgiving under hard use and varying conditions, and suit the consumer that wants one rod to do it all. Both series of rods catch fish, they just fill different needs.

There are many retail, internet and catalog locations to find them, but your best bet would probably be to try our store locator first. Click here and a new window should open up to the store locator for you. Just enter your zip code, or as much of an address as you can, and it'll try to find the nearest stores. The store locator is good to help you find a retailer, but it isn't perfect - we have many smaller bait and tackle shops that handle our products, that don't get listed because they order from one of our distributors. As much as we try to get a listing, it's not always available. There is also the list of interet retailers there as well, so even if you can't find a store near you, there is an option for you to purchase one online!

Lastly, if you're having trouble finding one - Call Us at 1-866-464-3746, it's a toll free call and we'll be happy to help!