My first thought when seeing the picture was "why the hell?" After reading that about the Lousiana duck hunters it all made perfect sense. I truly thought it was just another gimmick meant to make a quick buck, but birds have an extremely accute sense sight that goes far beyond our field of vision. Just ask turkey hunters, anything out of place or oddly colored will turn a bird quicker than Jack Bower can kick a commi in the crotch.

Downside is that you might set it down and step on it, but remember you would still have the reel attached, so it shouldn't be to hard to find.

There is another way to lose a rod faster than that, Joe,
Give it to you! (Just kidding)

There might be something to it for the duck hunter, but when you consider how much glare comes off the water and any number of other random objects you'd think that what little bit of flash comes off a fishing rod would be would be somewhat inconsequential so in my opinion it's probably just a mental thing but I agree with Troutrageous (killer name dude) So if it does something for your confidence then why the heck not. So long as the price is within reason. By the way what do they run for? Price is always a factor, especially in these tough economic times, and doubly so when you're considering something that is just inviting you to loose it at every chance. Then again, I'll bet there are some guys out there that harbor serious insecurities about how much there rod does or doesn't get noticed, and for these guys price will not be an option.

As for the so called "fishing guides" who recommend not wearing excessive bling when fishing gin clear waters...I'd be interested to hear their explanation for the success of the countless anglers who've had the pleasure of fishing from almost any bass boat made in the past quarter century. You know the type, with the sparkle paint job that has more glitter than a barbie-themed birthday party.

All joking aside, there may be a fraction more truth to the "guides" claim. However, the smart angler is the one who takes note of his/her position relative to the sun when approaching fish in these types of situations. With the sun at your back you will benefit from improved visibility for sighting fish but at the cost of throwing a more pronounced profile from a fish-eye-view. You can usually get away with it if you stay low, move slow, and are quartering up stream.

Definitely leaning more towards gimmick on this one.

I'm not sure I'd pay extra for it, but then again I had a light colored rod a few years back that I was using for small stream trout. I could tell that they were seeing the rod flick and spooking even when I was up against mountain laurel on the bank. Yes, I do wear camo for skinny water trout. I broke it up with some dark green bands and I thought it made a big difference. Of course, the trout could have just been hungrier those days.

Mostly sounds like gimmick to mr, except fishing the crystal clear beaver ponds with spooky browns. I alady don the camos and belly crawl in.

I could really use one of these. One of the ponds that I hunt ducks and geese over is too deep to wade in and with no boat access or dog, I need to cast a floating Rapala in order to retrieve downed birds. I don't know if my Ugly Stik has ever caused birds to flare it seems like a good reason for me to help stimulate the economy.

Just taking a moment to say thanks for all of the comments and thanks to Joe for the article . Every edge in fishing is an advantage . While camo may not be for everyone in fishing , we have discovered as mentioned that clear and smaller waters are more challenging than wide open areas . Here , anything dark camo would be more stealthy .

Also consider that magical bass spawn period too where sight casting becomes the method of choice and well , you get the picture.

Fly Rods , Casting Rods Spinning Rods and Offshore Gear all fit the bill for our styles of North American fishing and all have a place in our rod lineups and they are all more abrasion corrosion and UV resitant than any other rods in our history .

Though not designed for being stealthy , the ladies will be happy to know that Pink Camo Rods in three models will be introduced in April this year . They Look Fantastic !

So the next time your headed out to your favorite fishing spot consider USA Custom Rods and Mossy Oak " On the Water "