Cashion Fishing Rods introduces the Urchin X, a limited-edition addition to its Cashion Customs lineup designed around one of the most talked-about bait styles in bass fishing. Built and tested at Cashion’s Sanford, North Carolina, facility, the Urchin X combines a technique-specific design with new blank technology and details shaped by time on the water.
Urchin-style baits have quickly earned a place in anglers’ tackle boxes, and Cashion set out to build a rod specifically for fishing them. The result is a 7-foot-2-inch Medium Heavy rod with a fast action, developed and fished by the Cashion team before being released to anglers.
The Urchin X is available in a limited run of just 100 rods, with a retail price of $349.95.
Built Around the Way Anglers Fish
The Urchin X was designed to accommodate the different ways anglers work urchin-style baits. Its 7’2″ length and fast action support two distinct presentations: holding the rod tip high and working the bait like a jig, or lowering the tip and working it more like a jerkbait.
The fast tip provides the snap needed to bring the bait to life and trigger reaction strikes. Rather than adapting a general-purpose rod to the technique, Cashion developed the Urchin X around the specific demands of fishing these baits.
The Cashion team spent considerable time fishing the rod before making it available, refining the design around its performance on the water.
Introducing the CR8B Blank
At the heart of the Urchin X is Cashion’s brand-new CR8B carbon fiber blank, rolled in-house at the company’s North Carolina facility. Designed to deliver a lightweight, highly sensitive platform, the blank helps anglers detect the subtle bites that can make the difference when fishing a technique that demands feel and control.
The CR8B reflects Cashion’s commitment to developing its own blank technology and manufacturing its products in the United States. By keeping blank production in-house, the team can develop and build rods around the performance requirements of specific techniques.
“At Cashion, we believe the best products come from being on the water, listening to anglers, and having the ability to turn an idea into a finished rod right here in our own facility. The Urchin X is a great example of that. We saw a technique gaining traction, put our team to work developing a rod specifically for it, and built it around the performance and details we knew anglers would appreciate. With our own blank manufacturing and rod-building capabilities, we can do things that simply aren’t possible when you’re relying on someone else to build your product. The Urchin X represents what Cashion Customs is all about — purpose-built innovation, American manufacturing, and doing things our own way.”
— Dr. Matthew Cashion, Founder and CEO, Cashion Fishing Rods
Purposeful Components, From Grip to Guides
The Urchin X pairs its new blank with a cork and carbon fiber combination grip. Cork provides comfort where anglers want it most, while carbon fiber in the sensitivity zones helps transmit vibration directly to the hand.
An ECS-style reel seat provides direct blank contact, further supporting the rod’s emphasis on feel. K-Frame guides with silicon carbide inserts offer a high-performance guide system, finished in custom blue to complement the rod’s matching blue wraps.
The custom finish gives the Urchin X a distinctive look, but one of the rod’s most practical details is found lower on the blank.
A Small Detail That Makes a Difference
The Urchin X features a low-mounted hook keeper designed specifically with urchin-style baits in mind. By positioning the keeper farther down the rod, Cashion helps keep the bait out of the way when the rod is laid on the deck or stored in a rod locker.
The placement is intended to reduce the chance of the bait catching on neighboring rods or getting damaged during storage. It is a simple design choice that addresses a real consideration for anglers who fish and carry these baits regularly.
Custom Solutions, Built In-House
Cashion’s in-house manufacturing capabilities offer opportunities that extend beyond its standard product lineup. With blank design and rod production under one roof in Sanford, North Carolina, Cashion has the ability to develop specialized rods tailored to the needs of individual retailers and their customers. The company has worked with shops across the United States to create rods built around specific fishing techniques, regional preferences, and customer demands. That hands-on approach to design and manufacturing allows Cashion to deliver more than off-the-shelf products, creating purpose-built solutions backed by American craftsmanship and the expertise of a team that builds its own blanks.
Limited Production, Built in Sanford
The Urchin X is part of Cashion Customs, a lineup that allows the company to bring specialized rod designs to anglers. Each Urchin X is built at Cashion’s Sanford, North Carolina, facility, reflecting the company’s focus on American manufacturing, hands-on craftsmanship, and technique-driven design.
Production is limited to 100 rods. Once the run sells out, the Urchin X will no longer be available.
The Cashion Customs Urchin X is available for $349.95 at cashionrods.com.
About Cashion Rods
Cashion Fishing Rods was founded in 2010 by Dr. Matthew Cashion, who holds a Ph.D. in chemistry with a concentration in polymer science from Virginia Tech. Cashion designs and manufactures carbon fiber blanks and finished rods at its facility in Sanford, North Carolina, making it one of the few rod companies in the industry that rolls its own blanks domestically. The company builds freshwater, inshore saltwater, and kayak rods and is grounded in Christian values of humility, honesty, integrity, respect, kindness, and community responsibility. Learn more at cashionrods.com.
