TACKLE
TECH
Like Davis, Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit pro Ryan
Salzman has a long, heavy-power rod he loves for throwing
swimbaits: a 7-foot, 8-inch Cinister Rodz model with moder-
ate to moderate-fast action and a ton of parabolic bend.
“It’s really moderate, but it’s still got a fast tip,” he says. “It
throws the 5-inch through the 9-inch [swimbait]. It’ll throw it
all. That’s why it’s so cool. It’s heavy enough to throw those
big ones, but it fishes to the bait it’s throwing.”
So much so that Salzman also likes to throw big spinner-
baits (3/4 to 1 ounce) on the same exact rod, especially in
stained water.
The other specialty rod Salzman is most excited about is
the rod he uses to throw walking topwater, which he says is
a favorite of “every really good topwater Tennessee River
fisherman.”
That rod is a Redemption Rods Brent Anderson Custom
Series Big Topwater model.
“It only has one thing tied on it, and that’s a Spook,” he
says. “It’s 7-foot, and it’s not a medium, but it’s not a medi-
um-heavy. It’s somewhere in the middle. It’s a noodle where
it needs to be, and it’s stiff where it needs to be.
“It’s the absolute best topwater rod ever made.”
WHEN IT
MAKES SENSE
NOT
TO SPECIALIZE
62
RYAN SALZMAN’S
ONE-TWO PUNCH
JOHN COX’S
FINESSE POWER-FISHING GO-TO
John Cox makes his living fishing shallow, but staying
away from deep water doesn’t mean he’s not versatile and
adaptable. Cox is just as likely to throw a wacky rig as he is
to pick up a frog or a swim jig.
As such, he’s more than willing to turn to “finesse power-
fishing” techniques when the conditions call for it. And for
those applications, he keeps a couple shorter rods in his box,
including a 6-foot, 10-inch, medium-power Abu Garcia Veracity.
“I’ll throw my Berkley Choppo 90 on it. I’ll throw the
Berkley Spin Rocket. And I’ll throw my 1/4-ounce traps all on
that same rod,” he says. “A lot of those baits are smaller. It
allows me to be more precise with the casting. You can be so
accurate with a 6-10.”
When Cox is using those baits, he’s usually casting to
specific targets such as docks and laydowns. In those situa-
tions, precision is far more important than distance. The
action of the rod also allows a little more delay in the hook-
set, which means fish are able to get a bait deep before the
rod loads up.
“Having a shorter, softer rod, your hookset is going to be
delayed a lot more than if you have it on a 7-6 or an 8-foot
rod,” Cox adds. “So your hookset timing when you feel that
bite or see that bite is going to be better than if you had it on
a stiffer, longer rod.”
Specialization is a function of design. If a particular technique calls for specific design elements, modern
technology has found a way to produce a rod to match. But what if versatility actually makes more sense?
For Ehrler, that tends to be the case when it comes to spinning rods.
“I’m probably known more for finesse-type stuff,” he admits. “I would probably lean toward that because I
think I’ve probably won a lot more money on that than other things, but I don’t necessarily enjoy it.”
Ehrler doesn’t want to have three or four spinning rods on his deck, even if he’s catching a lot of fish on
spinning gear. Instead, he worked with Daiwa to create a spinning rod that can do it all – and do it well.
It’s the Daiwa Tatula Elite Signature Series Dropshot rod, and despite the name, Ehrler doesn’t stop at
drop-shotting.
“We classify it as a drop-shot rod, but I also throw a shaky head and a wacky rig and a Neko rig and
swimbaits on it,” he says. “This one is the perfect action that is right in the middle that you can do everything
with it.
“I used to carry three different actions of spinning rods. I’d carry a medium-light, a medium and a medi-
um-heavy. It’s the one rod that I use for everything now.” n
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