An Introduction to the Mr. Walleye Rods

by Gary Roach

Not that long ago an angler came up to me and asked me if I was still designing rods for a fairly popular tackle maker. When I told him I hadn’t been doing any rod design for them for a few years he looked sad. A few seconds later he had a smile on his face when I told him I was now designing rods for my own brand and because I didn’t have any limitations on my ideas, so I could offer the very best rod on the market for an exceptional price.

That is the beauty of the Mr. Walleye series of rods. Before, I was endorsing a rod that I had little input into. Now I have full control over the design from the top to the bottom. All the specifications are mine and I work with ProLine in the development of these great rods. Now I can put my name on something I am totally involved in.

Let me start by telling you that my rods aren’t for the angler who wants one rod that will work for every situation. That’s just not feasible. But it is what a lot of companies try to do. They try to make that “one rod fits all” and I can tell you from experience that every species is different, and every tactic takes a different approach so you need a rod that will work best for a specific presentation.

Sure you can just buy one of those other rods, but you will discover that it only works marginally well for most techniques and performs poorly on the others. You need a rod that fits what you’re doing so that you can achieve the highest ratio of success when you’re out on the water.

For instance, you won’t find the rod action for Superpro rods. Superpro rods were designed to be different. Each rod was designed to be used for a specific purpose, so there was no need to offer a 6'3" rod in several actions. That rod is made for live bait rigging. If you're going to be vertical jigging, I designed the jigging rods just for you. The 7'0" is my number one choice, and I love the 6'0" for windy days or shallower water. If you go to the product page and click on the rod photos it will display my tips for each rod. There you will find what each one was designed for. The idea with Superpro is that you don't need to know what action is right for a particular fishing style or application. I’m already giving you the info you need to select the right rod for the job.

I’m often asked how I pick the components for the rod. Each rod had to have certain properties, and meet certain requirements. I wanted the stainless steel rings in our Series rod guides, 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. For Superpro, I wanted a guide with those same properties, and more. I wanted to reduce the amount of friction the guide ring puts on the line, because friction causes heat and wear on the line, and that can lead to premature failure. Our testing found that the TiCH vapor coating on the Pacific Bay Zirconium guide rings produced less friction and heat than a comparable Fuji ring. The deep-pressed mounting of the rings also ensured they would be extra-strong even under huge loads. They are also half the cost, and weigh in within a gram overall. I tested several different guides, and selected these as the best performing. I make the point that to most professionals a brand name guide means nothing.

When it came to reel seats, I 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 the entire group of 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. On Superpro trolling rods, we had the same issue, and we use a skeleton-style reel seat, with a carbon fiber tube insert and rubberized PVC coating. We use what worked the best, and secured all of the reels.

And check out that thumb pad on the Superpro rods. The thumb pad is not a gimmick, it's a real working part I designed that sits in the foregrip, and directly contacts the blank inside at two points which are surrounded by a rock hard epoxy compound that "welds" the two together. The pad works because when the tip of the blank vibrates due to the line pulling on the top guide, that vibration is transmitted (resonates) throughout the entire blank. The pad has a base that conducts the vibrations from the blank, up to the surface of the pad, and onto your thumb or forefinger. The large surface area gives your finger or thumb a greater area of contact, meaning more of your more sensitive nerve endings are receiving the vibrations. The pad actually enhances the vibration from the blank, much in the same way the leaves at the top of the small tree shake when you rap on the trunk. The trunk might not move much, but the leaves at the top do. It's a Mr Walleye exclusive.

So know that every rod I have designed and put my name on has been field tested by some of the best anglers in the world including myself, and I have put my seal of approval on them all. You can’t go wrong with a rod that has had this much attention to detail and all of my years of experience behind it. The immediate benefit is you will catch more fish and the long term benefit is that your rod will bring you joy for the rest of your life.