What actually makes a great bass rod? Navy veteran, tournament angler, and BardeRodz founder Brian Barde joins MONSTERBASS Live to talk about building rods for performance, sensitivity, durability, and comfort, not marketing.

Brian grew up fishing, camping, and hunting with his dad in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. After his dad passed, he went all-in on bass fishing, and that led him to building his own rods. Now he builds memorial rods with a loved one's ashes set into the grip. He built one for his own father so he could keep taking him fishing.

We also get into: 🎣 Brian's tournament run: representing the Straight Up Fishing Community on the BFL, a 2025 Regionals qualification, a Top 10 on the St. Lawrence, and the Greylock Bass Angler of the Year race

🧠 The mental side of tournament fishing
🤖 How AI can make you a smarter, more effective angler
💙 Kindlewood Cares and Cast for a Cause, an online bass tournament series that supports kids fighting cancer through the Jimmy Fund
🔗 BardeRodz: https://www.barderodz.com
🔗 Kindlewood Cares / Cast for a Cause: https://www.kindlewoodcares.org

If you're a veteran, or you love one, and things are heavy right now, the Veterans Crisis Line is free and open 24/7. Dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255. 

 **Chapters**
0:00 Intro
2:00 College football chaos: Oklahoma stuns No. 1 Texas
12:00 NFL Week 5: the Giants–Commanders tie
20:00 October baseball
24:00 Meet Brian Barde: Navy vet from the Berkshires 2
9:00 Fishing with Dad 34:00 BardeRodz: what actually makes a great rod
43:00 Memorial rods
48:00 Tournament journey & the mental game
56:00 AI for anglers
62:00 Kindlewood Cares & Cast for a Cause
68:00 Rapid Fire
72:00 Live chat Q&A
80:00 Wrap-up