Trolling for striped bass with bunker spoons takes specialized tackle: the spoons themselves, rod holders called outrodders, and rods that stand up to wire line.

Until now, Tony Maja’s Custom Bunker Spoons and
E-Z Outrodders fit two-thirds of that bill.

Only the rods were missing.

Tony “Maja” Arcabascio, the company’s owner, is introducing custom rods for trolling bunker spoons.

Like his bunker spoons and outrodders, the rods are built not only to do the job, but to do the job better.

Tony Maja’s Custom Bunker Spoon Rods are created to make his bunker spoons dance like no other rod can, he said in a press release about the rods.

“Years ago there was only one rod that the very
best striper fishermen used for trolling,” he said
in the release.

The old rods were hand-crafted for special action
that enhanced the spoon’s swimming.

The old rods out-fished any other rods Tony ever
used for trolling, he said.

The maker no longer exists, but Tony still owns
those rods.

He spent the past two years trying to reproduce them.

He’s been fishing the prototypes alongside
the originals during the last year, and they’re
absolutely identical, he said.

An 8-foot “thing of beauty,” the release said,
the new rod is built from a blank made from a proprietary blend of E-Glass made for perfect
action, and durability.

The rod features top-of-the-line Pacific Bay
hardware: Carboloy guides, a Carboloy tip,
a heavy-duty, aluminum reel seat, and a slick
butt with an aluminum gimble.

The guides and tip are made to stand up
to years of wire-line trolling, and are fully
under-wrapped to protect the blank.

The gloss-black blank features a color scheme that’s red over yellow, like the original rods, and a beautiful diamond wrap.

The new rods were not cheap to make, the release said, and quantities will be limited for now.

But Tony worked to make the rods available for an affordable price:
$199 suggested retail, it said.

Tony Maja’s Customer Bunker Spoon Rods will be available at select tackle retailers this season.

The popularity of Tony’s bunker spoons and outrodders took off like wildfire in recent years.

That's because the tackle caught stripers, and if the rods perform the same, they will set a standard like the spoons and outrodders did.

For more info about Tony Maja’s Custom Bunker Spoon Rods,
visit Tony Maja’s E-Z Outrodder’s Web site.