Marketers will tell you that in today’s market, "green sells." Speaking of course about the overwhelming urge of society to head in the direction of environmentally friendly products.
Few probably knew that even fishing rods are headed in that direction.
Professional Angler Boyd Duckett has an eye for effective products and has turned his attentions toward the development of a "bio-rod" marketed as "Carrot Stix."
"We started desiring a chemically made nano-tube fiber, but that was real expensive that was going to be an 800-dollar fishing road," said Duckett in a recent interview while fishing Stonewall Jackson Lake. "Rod designer Ken Whiting discovered that there were vegetables like beets and carrots and roots and they were extracting that product in Europe and using the nano-tube fibers from the carrots."
So, Duckett and Whiting decided to use that technology in creating a fishing rod. The results were impressive.
"We’re able to make the wall-thickness a lot thinner and get the strength from the bio-fiber," Duckett explained. "You end up with a super-light, super-strong rod."
Duckett had all of the technology and r-and-d data when he made a presentation to the company E-21. The company had never made fishing rods, but is well known for golfing equipment. The project rocketed from there and initially the company, buoyed by Duckett’s marketing on the Bass tournament trail, initially sold ten thousand rods a month.
The process is fairly simple. Carrots are crushed into an emulsion to extract the fibrous material. The material is then formed into the rod blank. Titanium rod guides are added for additional strength and reliability.
There are three separate models, the original Carrot Stix retailing for about $150, a second model called "21 Carrot Gold" featuring some minor improvements that retails for $200, and the top of the line Duckett signature model which retails for $250.