I fish fresh water but was curious if it would make a difference at all if i used a rod that was a saltwater rod. Thanks.

It will most likely have corrosion resistant components and a little more backbone. But if I remember right that's about it.

If you are just doing salt water inshore fishing a fresh water bass rod would be just fine for saltwater.  I use G Loomis CBR, GLX, Cumara, Dobyns DX, Phenix UMBX for saltwater and they just work great. 

I use a saltwater inshore rod for my bass fishing.  I find the only difference between a saltwater and freshwater rods are the guides.  I would not use a bass rod exclusively for saltwater fishing.  Some forget all about rinsing the rods when they rinse down their reels after fishing saltwater.