TexasKayakFisherman.com

whatwake wrote:kistler rods

not.

I guess most kayaks are made in the US.

I think this sticker is cool though.

Its not manufactured here, but it was designed right here in TEXAS.

US Reels, Rockport Rattlers, Deadly Dudley,

Tombo wrote:US Reels

not.

My brand brand new Penn 309M. Guess where from?
Guess? Anyone dares?

Big ol' CHINA!

Crazy Yak wrote:Penn

Not sure about their new Inshore Baitcast and Spinning Reels, have not confirmed yet.

BENNY wrote:

Tombo wrote:US Reels

not.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Tombo wrote:

BENNY wrote:

Tombo wrote:US Reels

not.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Sorry Tom.
Straight from their website:

Where are these reels made?
"The reels are made in China, where many of the highest quality reels from the major brands are produced."

From what I've found virtually none of the rod companies other than a few notable exceptions such as Falcon, St. Croix, Scott actually build their blanks in the US. They may assemble the rods here in some instances but I believe even companies like G Loomis import their blanks and assemble them here in the US.

Avet reels and Seeker rods.

Loomis is a Shimano company.

txlawman78 wrote:Falcon rods.

From the Falcon website:
"Thank you for purchasing a Falcon rod. We manufacture all our blanks and build the finished rods in the USA."

I think they meant to say "We manufacture all of our blanks in China and build the finished rods in the US using components we get from China."

Avets are made in CA.. thats my excuse for the addition as they are made in the usa!

backlashcharlie wrote:im surrprised minnow hasnt posted up

any way i think most of ttf is made in TEXAS ....... even better

Sorry to burst the bubble dude.........



I really hate to disappoint you guys, but damn near every rod each and every one of you own was built in China or Japan. They might assemble some of them here, however there just aren't many blanks being built in the US. You guys want lighter, better, and CHEAPER....there ya go.

FOC, that is very admirable of you. I know it is difficult buying all that is made in the good ole USA. By golly, we sure can try as much as possible. One thing for sure, it is the only way to keep our citizens working and our economy in good shape. I for one am not a purist, I do try as much as possible and sincerely promote the habit...............

Best big trout lure ever invented....Corky's!

St Croix rods are made in the USA. I have a Tidemaster, made in Wicsonsin. A lot of fly gear is still made here. Simms waders are made in Bozeman, MT. Ross reels in Montrose Colorado, Sage -Bainbdridge Island, WA, Scott fly rods are also Colorado. All of these products carry a higher price tag, but I do think the quality is there as is the warranty for all of these products.

I think some of the high end Orvis rods made in Vermont.

With very few exceptions there are no rod companies in the US that aren't buying some blanks overseas. Even fewer exceptions that aren't assembling their rods overseas. For you high end rod owners that think you are holding a piece of Americana in your hand, inspect the rod very carefully, does it have cork on it? What kind of guides are on it? I wonder where the thread and glue came from? Yes, the blank MAY be from one of the handful of companies in the US that still make blanks, but odds are.....
Does that mean it's not a high-end rod and worth $300?? Absolutely not, it a high quality blank, grade A cork, high end Fuji components and very precisely assembled.

I get "buying American", but I also get "value" and "buying quality". If some of these American based companies moved their production factories to say....Baytown, they would have to triple the price of goods at a minimum. Also from what I have seen, and I have been in the industry for a little while now, the quality coming out of some of the factories in Asia is second to none. The companies are basically just outsourcing labor. Design and quality control is not.

What bugs me, is there are some companies for instance with "American" or "US" in their names that try to veil where their products are made. I know of at least two that make products in our factories. At least companies like Kistler say "Engineered, Designed and Inspected by our staff here in the good ol’ USA while Hand Crafted by our factory trained and experienced rod technicians in China."

Of course I am biased as on of the fishing companies I represent isn't American at all, they are based in Indo-China, just like many other very good fishing companies.

so in other words Benny, Trey should fire that staff he has...Cause they are not making rods up there in Magnolia?

hmmm.. I bet that is news to him..

What the guy above is telling you... He sells Shimano... (Japanese), and doesn't understand why your worried about the lineage of your products...

He wants you to buy Shimano.

Kistler's Graphite Plus series is made overseas... But Trey's staff if putting all the Helium and Helium II Rods right here in Texas..

Buy Local....

harv418 wrote:so in other words Benny, Trey should fire that staff he has...Cause they are not making rods up there in Magnolia?

hmmm.. I bet that is news to him..

What the guy above is telling you... He sells Shimano... (Japanese), and doesn't understand why your worried about the lineage of your products...

He wants you to buy Shimano.

Kistler's Graphite Plus series is made overseas... But Trey's staff if putting all the Helium and Helium II Rods right here in Texas..

Buy Local....

Harv, either you didn't read my post or didn't comprehend it.
My point is about dilution. Trey makes great rods, as do most of these companies....but he's not making a rod "made in the USA". Is he assembling rods here? Sure...lots do, but unless Kistler is about to produce cork, high quality guides, ect. here in the states, it's not truly.."Made in America". It's not semantics either...it's either American made, or it's not..simple as that.

To your comment about "He wants you to buy Shimano"...sure I do, as much as you want NASA to succeed, it pays the bills. I also think Daiwa makes a great product and several others....in this business you have to sell on quality not origin.

Harv, what's the name of your rod sponsor?? I think it starts with a "K" and ends with a "istler"?

I am with you fellers. I would love a Kistler with a Curado

If all else is equal I try to buy American or at least a product from another free country A good amount of the other talk is either personal interest or at times good intentions. I have no problem with either.
I worked a job at a union shop when I was in college and could not park in the front lot with my made in Tennessee with American parts Camry but I could park the Made in Canada with Mexican parts Z28. Moral: some foreign companies (not the Chinese ones) provide a lot of American jobs and some American labels provide foreign jobs. The union had a problem (personal interest) with the non-union jobs in America but not the Canadian union jobs.

Scott said this the below the other day on another post and I personally thought it could translate to MANY of the posts I have seen over the last years. He hit the nail on the head:

"I hate to pick on one person here, but I also hate the way these message boards get a bunch of crap started by folks who don't really know what's going on. Sorry, but this post was just a really good example. It happens all the time. One person has a bad thought, whether warranted or not, and posts it. Next thing you know it gets spread around as gospel. Sorry for the bit of a rant, just tired of this kind of BS."

I commend anyone that supports the local economy and their favorite country. I think that is an attribute that more people need to have; however, it is easy to spout off "I'll only buy American" and get a mob to follow you because it sounds patriotic. I pray that one day this will happen. The fact is, as long as there are 3rd and 4th world countries where men make 50 cents a day there will always be sub-contracting. The key board you are typing on, the shoes you wear (I personally saw the Nike plant in Indonesia), the gas and oil you buy, the t-shirt you are wearing......hardly, if any of it is made in America.

I've been simmering my thoughts on this all morning and here's another take on the whole thing. It really doesn't matter where it comes from all that much when you look at the entire chain of events.

A company gets an idea for a new product. The people running the company are here. The people that come up with the design are here. The people who fly to China to broker the deal are from here. The product is built in China for far less than could be accomplished if it were built in the US. It is then shipped via container to the US where it is unloaded at a port manned by people from here. American truckers then deliver the goods to the distribution point where people from here send it out to retailers via another US trucker. The retailer who owns the store is here and the sales clerk who waits on you and then takes your money is here.

Given all of the above, the actual manufacturing of a product is a very, very small piece of a very large pie. The rest of the pie (money) goes into American pockets and is spent in America. It isn't as if you just paid $100 for a rod and it all went to China. Truth be known, a very small percentage of that $100 ended up overseas. The rest went to the owner of the company, the employees of the company, the broker who set up the deal, the dock workers, the truckers, the sales reps,the marketing firms, the magazines where the ads are placed, the store owner, and the employees of the store...all of which make substantially more than the Chinese dude who wrapped the eyes and glued the cork.

I didn't think my original question was going to stir up some of these kinds of feedback. meeooowww even! I do appreciate all the comments though.


Let's go, your last comment did open my eyes a bit. thanks. I guess I just WANT ALL the money to stay here.


...by the way, I did go out this morning and caught a few. Two 15 and change, and a scrappy little one that was real hungry. One hit on the liquid shrimp killer flats minnow, and two hit on the small clear DOA shrimp with tiny red glitter.