The three co-founders and owners of Cipher Fishing share a passion for fishing but also consider themselves “tackle junkies.” Ryan Chris, Cody Meyer, and Cody Murray bring different experiences in the industry to Cipher Fishing, and that combination has made their business manufacturing tungsten fishing products a success.
Three Different Experiences in the Fishing Industry
Ryan Chris is the CEO of Cipher Fishing and has spent over twenty years in the manufacturing and business development business. He also owns Idaho Rod and Reel, a tackle shop that manufactures tungsten products under its own brand.
Cody Murray is the president of Cipher Fishing. He is a professional angler who had a decorated amateur career before becoming a pro. He has placed in the Top Ten in West Coast tournaments, placing in the Top Three five times. Murray is also the owner and teaching pro for Idaho Rod and Reel.
The director of product development is Cody Meyer, a seventeen-year professional angler with over forty Top 10 finishes and $1.6 million in earnings. He was second in Angler of the Year points for the BASS open in 2024, where he fished using products from Cipher Fishing. Meyer also recently qualified for the 2025 Bassmaster Elite series using Cipher products and claims they played an important role in his success.
The inspiration for Cipher Fishing happened during a conversation when Meyer and Murray shared their thoughts with Chris on the quality of the equipment they used as professionals and their concern about the lack of quality.
“Pros pay considerably more attention to their hook and terminal tackle choices,” Ryan Chris from Cipher Fishing says. “Meyer mentioned his frustration with the lack of quality tungsten nail weights that he could use with Neko rigging, one of his signature fishing techniques, and the lack of quality hooks used in tungsten ball heads for fishing soft plastic minnow baits — a technique that is insanely popular because of forward facing sonar (FFS).”
After hearing Meyer’s thoughts, Chris had an inspired idea. With the help of the two professionals, the products that Meyer wanted could be developed and manufactured. Chris already had experience in manufacturing. The result of that conversation was the foundation of what would become Cipher Fishing.
The two keystone products, the tungsten nail weight and the premium custom Kotae hook, became their focus. Meyer and the team worked on designs that would appeal to professional anglers and everyday fishermen. Their final products were a success, with the Kotae hook becoming the MVP of the Cipher fishing line of products.
Cipher Fishing’s High-Quality Products
Though Cipher Fishing had two professional anglers helping with product development and design, the new company faced many challenges. One was competing with much larger established brands that the three men felt produced “mediocre products as fast” as they could.
Their goal was to offer high-quality products designed by professional anglers to appeal to pros and everyday fishermen, improving the fishing experience for everyone.
“We consider the details that larger companies simply choose not to in their haste to make a dollar. Our focus is on creating products that have been engineered and designed to the highest level so that all anglers can fish what the pros are fishing,” Ryan Chris from Cipher Fishing explains.
