The Rod Built to Beat Big Fish Around Structure
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
- Found In: Fishing Tips, Inshore Fishing, Tackle & Gear, Rods, Weekly Newsletter: 08-10-25
If you fish around heavy structure or strong current (think docks, jetties, and inlets), then listen up…
Because this new Slot Machine Medium Heavy rod is an absolute BEAST when it comes to targeting over-slot snook, redfish, cobia, and other heavy hitters in tough terrain.
👉 Get Your Slot Machine – Medium Heavy
Want to see it in action? I recently had an epic fight with a large tarpon! Check it out here!
Here’s Why It Stands Out:
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Built for Power & Precision
This rod has a fast action tip for feeling subtle strikes — but don’t let that fool you… it’s got a TON of backbone to horse fish away from structure. -
Surprisingly Light
We’re talking under 5oz. That’s lighter than most medium-power rods, despite being medium-heavy. (Yeah, it’s that good.) -
Designed for 3000 Size Reels
Pair it with the Saltist 3000 or a BGMQ 3000 and you’re ready for battle. -
Perfect with 20lb Braid
Sensitive enough to feel the lightest thump. Strong enough to win the fight.
Insiders Save BIG
If you’re an Insider Member, you get $100 OFF the Slot Machine. That’s one heck of a deal for a premium rod with elite performance.
👉 Not an Insider yet? Join the Club here to unlock this discount and start saving on all your Salt Strong gear.
👉 Already a member? Click here to grab yours.
Tight lines!
Luke Simonds
Chief Fishing Addict
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STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
waiting for the travel version of this one…
You mention some “line check” to see if you have right size reel for the rod…. Can you explain that little more, how exactly you see that reel is correct size…pls
thank you
There isn’t a complete right or wrong size check… it’s more about simply maximizing casting performance vs not maximizing it. The maximization is achieved when the line can shoot through the guides as efficiently as possible. And the check for that is to pin the line down on the top center part of the spool with a finger so you can see how the center point of the coils goes through the first few line reduction guides.
Oh..i see.. than you so much
Looks like a killer rod, I’m gonna start saving my pennies:-)
Is this heavy enough for Carolina rigs? Maybe up to a 3oz weight? I have the medium slot machines and love them. But when I’m using a Carolina rig in deep water or lots of current, they are a bit light to cast.
Although this rod could cast a rig that heavy as long as it was a long/slow motion, I would not use it with that much weight because it’s far above its max recommended range.
Great video Luke! Maybe time for an updated video that truly shows the differences both pro/con of the Florida spinners vs the Texas casters and why that fixation continues.
It’s tough to argue against spinning setups for inshore saltwater fishing.
I’ve done both , spinning and baitcast for years. I enjoyed my bait casters but spinning follows the KISS system
Thanks for making time to post the helpful comment
That set up looks awesome. I’m looking forward to getting the set up so that I can catch some of those big boys thank you again.
We in Texas need more baitcast rods
Our goal is to have a custom baitcast rod before the end of this year. I have been using the Medium version of this one and have been very pleased with it’s overall value (performance to price ratio): https://fishstrong.com/collections/rods-1/products/tfo-pro-c-professional-casting-rods
Note: Just make sure to not get too fixated on bait casters because that was me for many years, and I realized that it was costing me lost of fish and money once I finally gave spinning tackle a chance after 10+ years of thinking they were just for newbies. There’s a lot of social pressure in TX for baitcast setups, but a properly paired spinning combo is going to get better results in many occasions (especially in windy conditions when the fish are focused on small presentations).
I think that a “Bass-fishing background ” actually makes it tougher to switch and learn how to use/rely-on the spinner as opposed to a high quality Baitcaster. To me, the fact that one can use a spinner with braid and Not get the coiled-loops of mono brings that setup as an equal with Baitcasters, as an angler will be hard pressed to use braid on a Baitcaster and Not have major overrun issues at some point during a day of fishing.
I use braid on my baitcasters, and it works nice… but I still prefer spinning over baitcaster for most of my inshore fishing needs. The only situation where I find that I catch more with a baitcaster is when I’m fishing docks with heavy jigs in deep water where I can pitch it in more accurately than what I can do with a spinning setup.
If you haven’t tried a good spinning setup with light braid for fishing flats, I highly recommend giving it a shot because the casting distance and especially the feel of strikes is going to be noticeably better than what a baitcaster can do with mono.
Nice!!!
sounds great