By Joey Blanco

Gary and Brent Moorehead set out to create the very best handmade rod made in the USA. They have succeeded with the ESOX rod. Their philosophy is simple. If they were going to go into the rod building business, they were going to "do it the best", let me tell you, these rods are the best.

I tested two rods from ESOX. The first a 7' medium power, moderate fast action casting rod, also known as the BE. I paired it with a Shimano Chronarch 50MG baitcast reel spooled with 12lb Suffix Elite. Right off the bat I could tell a difference with my casting accuracy and distance. I was putting my Lucky Craft Sammy in the tightest of spots with little effort. "Walking the dog" was a bit easier with the moderate fast tip and when I got my first strike of the morning, the hook set was solid. This rod has great backbone. After the morning topwater bite ended I switched to a skirted grub on a 1/4 oz football jig head. Again casting was smooth and accurate. At this point I really got to test the sensitivity of the rod. It was truly amazing, I could feel every little piece of structure my grub was hitting. The feedback you get from these rods is unmatched. After about 30 minutes, I got my first hit. It wasn't your typical thump, these fish were lethargic. The fish picked up the grub and just sat there. Had I been using any other rod, I probably would not have felt the fish take it, but after feeling every bit of structure on the bottom, this felt different. I reeled in the slack and set the hook. Again, the backbone of this rod ensured a solid hookset. After I released the fish I put the rod back in the rod locker and took out the second rod from ESOX.

The second rod I tested was a 7' medium/heavy, fast action casting rod, also known as the CD. I paired it with a Shimano Curado 200 baitcast reel spooled with 30lb Power Pro. I moved out to deeper water to see if the rod was sensitive enough for me to feel structure on the bottom in 25 to 30 feet of water. I found a deep ditch with brush piles in it and started to fish it with a Zoom Brush Hog rigged "Texposed" with a 3/4oz bullet weight. I fished the brush piles vertical, dropping my Brush Hog between every branch. After catching some more aggressive smaller fish, the big bite finally came. Again it was a really lite bite, just a slight bump. The medium heavy rod had more than enough backbone to pull the fish from the brush. After a good fight, I got the fish in. 5 1/2 lbs is what my scale weighed her in at. Not bad for a pretty slow day with a light bite.

In conclusion, I am very impressed with the rods I tested from ESOX. They are lightweight but yet strong. I fished with both these rods all day and never tired out. The guides they use are top of the line, they were not affected from the Power Pro braided line. The only thing about the 7' CD rod that I really didn't care for was the split ring on the hook hanger. It rattled a bit and was bothering me. I simply took it off. Other than that, these rods are outstanding. I was so impressed with the performance of these rods, I became an ESOX Pro-Staff Member. If you would like more information about these handmade rods or if your a tournament angler looking for a rod sponsorship, e-mail me at JagsJoey@aol.com