Power: Out on the water, the Money Maker has more than enough power to drive single, jig style hooks home. When I finally was able to wrack the rod and work up its deflection chart, I was able to confirm my initial impressions that this stick behaves more like a heavy powered rod than medium heavy - at least when compared to the averages developed from the last ten plus years of testing rods.

Checking out that tip

Design & Ergonomics: Ark Rods has engineered the Money Maker with very good weight and balance. In fact, though the stick's power falls more in line with a heavy, than medium heavy stick, its weight is right in line with our historical average for medium heavy sticks while its balance is right in line with the average of heavy powered rods we've fished and tested over the years.

The split rear grip is made from EVA foam

The Money Maker's foam grips and reel seat are super comfortable for a full day of fishing and the monotone color scheme gives the rod a refined and expensive feel even though it's a more value driven proposition.

The reel seat is a custom design and made from graphite

Guides are Fuji F-Rings

Price & Applications: Speaking of that value proposition, the TS73MHFC Money Maker won't cost you a lot of money as retail for this stick is only $129.99. I found it useful for typical heavy powered rod applications like pitching jigs and Texas rigged plastics around docks and medium to heavy cover. If you're fishing grass beds, it's also very good for pitching and flipping along the edges or into pockets of weeds. It's just a really good stick for vertical presentations.

Conclusion: I'm not sure how the publishing order for Ark Rods's Randall Tharp Honey Badger Series of rods will happen, but this is the third rod of the series I've fished and now written up.

I am honestly surprised at the performance and overall feel Ark can deliver at this $129.99 price point. For the Money Maker specifically, my only criticism is this stick is a heavy powered rod, not a medium heavy as our deflection chart illustrates.

Fished with that in mind, the Money Maker really is money for vertical bait presentations and a difficult stick to not recommend for these applications

Fished with that in mind, the Money Maker really is money for vertical bait presentations and a difficult stick to not recommend for these applications. At 7'-3" is good for casting or pitching and gives you a lot of leverage to work your catch away from and out of cover. Come to think of it, now that I'm writing it up, one technique I should have tried with this stick was fishing a hollow bodied frog! Thinking of it as a medium heavy instead of a heavy powered rod kept me from trying that but after some thought, I bet this would make an excellent frog stick too. If you're looking for a set of sticks to fill out your arsenal without spending a lot of money, you should consider Ark's Randal Tharp series of rods. I've yet to be disappointed.

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