The recent announcement of B’n’M’s new Duck Commander Series of crappie fishing poles has taken the angling world by storm, although some remain skeptical of the qualifications of well-known duck hunters.
It was their love of fishing that led the Duck Commanders to approach B’n’M with their ideas for the rod designs.
Jay Stone, grandson-in-law of Duck Commander patriarch Phil Robertso, heads the design team. John Godwin, a team member and a regular character on the hit TV series Duck Dynasty, joins him. Both have a solid background in fishing.
“I’ve been pretty serious about crappie fishing for several years,” said Stone. “We’ve all been hitting them pretty hard down on our local lakes. By now we’re eat up with it and when we’re not killing ducks, we’re catching crappie.”
Godwin returned to his roots, crappie and bream fishing, after competing in bass fishing tournaments.
“I always remember fishing with dad as a kid, starting off with cane poles and bobbers and crickets,” said Godwin. “I got into spider rigging in a big way and been catching a lot of crappie. That’s when you start thinking, ‘I wish there was a rod that would let you do this or had that feature.’”
The Duck Commanders found their way to Jack Wells, president of B’n’M Poles in West Point, Miss. It didn’t take long for Wells to see these guys were serious anglers who had some good ideas for a new rod design. The reputation behind the name didn’t hurt either.
“Everyone knows these guys hunt,” Wells. “But they’re also avid anglers. When they approached us with some of their design ideas, I was amazed at what they had come up with and wondered why we hadn’t thought of some of their ideas before. I’m really excited to see these rods hit the market.”
B’n’M Poles’ Duck Commander Series features four rods — the Double-Touch Crappie Jig Pole; a telescoping panfish pole; a Duck Commander Trolling Rod; and, an ultralite crappie rod.
All of the Duck Commander rods feature chartreuse depth monitor wraps at 12 inch intervals to know precisely how much line is out.
For more information visit www.bnmpoles.com.
