TT Interview: Prototyping Rods and a Novel Approach to Tackle Development - Protos Founder Danny Uribe

Introduction: In today's reel and rod market there are only a small handful of brands that actually own and operate their own manufacturing operations. Big brand names like Shimano and Daiwa do, which is one of the reasons they can create, and control, such a distinct and diverse product line. Many other manufacturers are designing reels and rods and working with third party manufacturers, usually in Asia, but sometimes in the US on the rod side. These brands have the added benefit or flexibility and lower overhead costs, but also the challenge of designing a product that offers truly differentiated features and  styling.

Literally a Proto-type rod. Protos is putting their designs to the test with complete working test versions of their rods and reels

Creating a brand given these challenges has become only more complicated with today's rising material and labor costs. So how do both large established fab-less tackle companies and aspiring up and coming brands address this? One approach is to work with a design firm, one that can both design and source everything from the components in the product to the actual manufacturing. This is where design companies like Protos Fishing come into play.

Protos is experimenting with materials and designs, also rod weight reduction and ergonomics

I first learned about Protos when founder Danny Uribe reached out to show me some new rod prototypes that he was working on. If the name Uribe sounds familiar it is because prior to this Danny was one of those aspiring rod brands, and we even reviewed his Uribe spiral wrapped M2 Riverside rods back in 2018. Building on his experiences of managing his own rod brand as well as roles in other reel and rod manufacturers Danny founded Protos and started developing rods, reels, and even boats working closely with other brands. As we take a look at his latest rod prototypes I sat down with Danny to learn more about him and his latest projects.

Readers may remember Uribe rods, a brand Danny launched on his own nearly a decade ago

Zander: Thanks for sitting down with us Danny, before we get into some of the products you are developing let's start with your background. Can you tell us more about yourself and how you got into fishing?

Danny: My love for fishing started way back when I was 5 years old fishing for Trout in Sierra Nevada’s with my Dad. I still remember chasing down Trout in the Mountain Streams with a Trout Teaser (Mini Tube lure). Needless to say, I was hooked from a very young age and dedicated my life to the Sport. I grew up in Southern California and spent all my free time at any local pond, lake, stream I could get to, fishing for Bass, Trout, etc. By the end of High School I got a job working at the local market and purchased my first Nitro Bass Boat and signed up to Fish the WON Bass Pro/Am tournaments and did fairly well. I continued to fish the FLW Stren Series and local tournaments till I turned 19 and decided that I wanted to get into the design side of the industry. I devoted myself to all aspects of fishing from Salt to fresh, competing in offshore tournaments including numerous Tuna Club of Avalon tournaments, Bisbee Marlin Tournament’s, Tuna Jackpot’s and the list goes on. I did inshore fishing for Tarpon, Snook, Redfish, Trout, and expanded my Freshwater resume’. At 21 years old I designed and Patented my first reel, a drew my first rod pattern. I have been extremely fortunate to have worked with many great companies and had many great mentor’s that have taught me through the years.

Like many in the industry Danny cut his teeth on green fish

Zander: I think for many of us it all started with that first trout or panfish. These days what are your favorite species to target?

Danny: I will always say that I cut my teeth on the Green Fish (Largemouth Bass) and that fish really helped me dial in much of the technical aspects of fishing equipment, so I would say that Bass have done the most for me. However, I have been fortunate to fish in many parts of the world and all over the USA and without a doubt the fish I have the most fun targeting are Redfish. Redfish in my opinion are the Ultimate game fish. They can be caught in less than a ft of water and they can be in 60ft. They are extremely strong and hardy and will eat all sorts of artificials. They also teach you a lot about your equipment and many of the new designs of Rods and Reels we do at Protos are influenced by what Redfish have taught us and in fact many of the Bass/freshwater precision designs we have were extensively tested with Redfish. Sensitivity, lifting power, cranking power, lightweight, comfort, etc. all matter while fishing Redfish.

These days Danny's favorite species to pit the company's tackle designs against are big redfish

Zander: Let's talk about product and your new approach to tackle design. Can you tell us more about Protos fishing? My understanding is  you are developing a number of new products yet they may ultimately be introduced under different brand names. Can you tell us more about the company and what types of products you are or already have designed and helped launch?

Danny: Protos was started by myself and my partner Jeremy Nielsen. Both of us have extensive experience in the Design and Development field. We built Protos to be the forerunner on new equipment concepts using the latest technology in design, Materials, and production methods. We control Patents in the Rod Blank design, Rod components, Fishing Reel, Baits, etc. Protos has the ability to attain some of the best and newest material offerings which we use to develop the concepts seen in our Portfolio. A lot of the materials (Carbon & Resin) we use for Rods for example or not produced on production scale and the blanks in our design are in some cases year’s ahead. We work directly with many of the Best Carbon Fiber manufacture’s in the world to test and produce concepts for what could be future materials in the fishing industry. In fact, the Protos Riverside concept is developed from a blend of 4 different types of Carbon fiber, 2 of which are not widely available to the consumer market yet. The Protos guides are also a novelty as they have been designed and developed to be extremely light, corrosion proof, offer the best in sensitivity, as well as indestructible. We also have the ability to help customer’s bring their design and idea’s to life and to market. We know a lot of people have great idea’s and we built ourselves as the 1 stop shop for not only current manufacture’s but also for start up’s to bring a product idea all the way through development to production. Our focus is to be the best in Design and Development to our current and future manufacturing Partner’s.

The "Riverside" name returns on the Protos prototype rod project

Zander: It's fun to see the Riverside name come back in these prototype examples. Judging by the blank and components in this example is it safe to say that Protos is more focused on developing higher-end products?

Danny: Protos is definitely focused on very high-end products. Anything and everything that carries a Protos Logo we design using the best methods, materials, technologies. We are always in the works on the next best thing. For Rods We design all our own Rod pattern’s, Mandrels, etc. We work directly with the Carbon Factories to test new Carbon Fabrics and Resins.

A look at the sculpted EVA and carbon fiber handle/seat and anodized components

Zander: Can you give us an example of a product that you have designed and why a company would want to work with Protos?

Danny: While we cannot disclose who we work with from, the Protos aspect consumer’s will now be able to see our product’s as we will be more transparent in the industry moving forward. We design limited run’s of Protos labeled products for interested parties so they can see what our capabilities are dependent on needs. We also allow our customer’s to use any IP from our Patent Pool. Protos provides a turn key operation meaning we can take your idea and bring it through design and development and even into manufacturing and production.

One of the most interesting things about these rods are the proprietary Ti5 guides