OWAC Welcomes Emmrod, Home of the 2’ Pole with the Action of a 6’ Rod

Emmrod LLC Fishing Gear is OWAC’s newest supporting member. The company manufactures unique compact fishing rods that are somewhat unconventional in appearance. I’m not from Missouri, but seeing is believing as they say, and I’d been stopped in my tracks at ICAST 2006 when I caught company president Duane C. Markey threading casts along the show’s crowded aisles.

At Duane’s urging I swallowed my pride and picked up one of the stubby fishing rods. I felt more ridiculous than usual while holding Emmrod’s Packer Pole in hand, and that’s no mean feat. The rod butt is normal enough; it’s the pole that is the departure. Rather than six feet of whippy graphite or fiberglass, about 18 inches of crooked stainless wire perches in front of the reel. Take your pick; it resembles either a bed spring that’s poked its way through your college dorm room’s flea bitten mattress, or the filament from a giant incandescent light bulb.

I reached back and promptly fired a missile into the ceiling. Hey there! Just like the longer models I’m used to. Duane then showed me a trick that would shatter the tip of a graphite rod faster than an errant car door. He took the lure in hand, pulled back and took aim like a slingshot. The trash can 100 feet down the hall didn’t stand a chance.

There’s no doubt Emmrod’s compact fishing rods are unusual. Nor is there any question they cast with all the power of traditional gear. Emmrod offers four models: the Kayak King, a straight-handled spinning rod; the Mountaineer, with an ergonomic bent handle, Packer, a slick-looking pistol-grip casting stick; and the new Gulf Master for those offshore adventures. All break down to 13 inches and can accept Emmrod’s full line of interchangeable stainless steel rods. A fly rod is in the works; word has it that OWAC president Gary Graham was seen flinging flies more than 100 feet with a prototype.

Take a look at www.emmrod.com. If you’d like to try one, call Duane at 509-979-2222 or email emrod@comcast.net.