Okuma has been making the popping rods for a while and they have been well regarded on the long range boats when the tuna were boat shy, a lot of guys were using larger poppers to cast to boiling tuna 100 yards away and for a few months that was the only way to get them. The overall fit and finish of the rod is great, they use nice ALPS guides and an aluminum reel seat. They are light weight and thin but still provide you with enough backbone to work a popper and bring in the bigger fish.

I’ve got to give Okuma a lot of credit, it’s been fun watching them develop and grow. It’s my feeling that they got spanked so hard a decade ago that they learned a most important lesson, they listen.  No doubt they innovate, too. But, key for them has been listening and then coming to market with things we’ve (collectively) asked for.

“Our customers are the source of our most valuable input and it’s your needs, goals and desires that drive Okuma product development.” That’s their philosophical statement, and I do believe it’s followed as evidenced by the firms great progress over the past five or six years. Okuma is the sleeping giant of fishing tackle. And, they’re not sleeping these days. They are providing saltwater anglers excellent gear.

The PCH Custom Series Rods were designed with the latest technology and insight from leading fishermen around the country. The backbone to the PCH Custom Rods is the patented blank construction process dubbed Unidirectional Fiber Reinforcement. Owned by an Okuma engineer, the patented process blends unidirectional fiber over 24-ton carbon in the extended tip section of the rod to increase lifting strength and power by as much as 400%. This technology provides for the ultimate in strength without sacrificing sensitivity so that you can feel even the lightest of bites.