TackleTour

American made products built with quality and precision, by the hands of many skilled craftsmen and quality checked by the eyes of experience. Products that were and still are coveted by many anglers outsourced by mass manufacturing in china and the ever so popular and right fully so JDM market.
I still love american made. St Croix, G loomis and a few others that still build beautifully made rods that are a dying breed. I wonder if the anglers in japan like American made as much as we like japan made? The popularity of the quality made products in the USDM, are they any match for JDM? How much longer can great company's in the US survive in an ever growing competive market.I still love American made I believe them to be the best when it comes to rod building. Now reels that's a different story the engineering Japan is far superior. As for the Rods I continue to buy and love, it will still be USDM for me, at least...

I live in the EU and wish that more rods were made like - and styled as - the older/classic USDM models from St Croix and G Loomis. Wonderful rods... to use and look at.

Many of the JDM rods are nice but I just do not like the futuristic “Vanda Dendrobium” style looks. Some USDM brands are going for the look but it is just too much IMO.

Now, if only St Croix and G Loomis made some more BFS / UL trout casting rods.

I think the nostalgia of JDM is PARTLY because most of it’s available here or lack there of.
That being said Kistler Helium3 is a no bones better rod than some of the Megabass rods I have in my personal opinion.
I’ve said that before and I am saying it once more. St. Croix is one the best rod manufacturers out there. The jig
rod that I have from them is absolutely great and to me astetically pleasing.

Now some JDM rod are great and I’m not taking nothing away from them. One of my favorite JDM sticks is the super rekkai.
I’m looking on the rod rack now and I like the looks of the gambler 30th. I do fish with it but I don’t know of any American
rod manufactures that make anything that looks that good. If you look at the Gambler your wallet pukes money

So I have a mix of both to form my own personal opinion. For the reel market
Shimano has breathed life back into the USDM imho. The bantam and metanium have a good following. I have a couple of megabass
reels on the Steez platform and I love the Steez EX , followed by the Steez 100sha? I think the ability to upgrade Daiwa platforms is
What fuels them. I just procured two TDZ type R plus reels and had one for less than two hours before I started web surfing for parts
The fact that I can add parts to manifest an idea sounds good to me.
tune

easybassin wrote:American made products built with quality and precision, by the hands of many skilled craftsmen and quality checked by the eyes of experience. Products that were and still are coveted by many anglers outsourced by mass manufacturing in china and the ever so popular and right fully so JDM market.
I still love american made. St Croix, dobyns and a few others that still build beautifully made rods that are a dying breed. I wonder if the anglers in japan like American made as much as we like japan made? The popularity of the quality made products in the USDM, are they any match for JDM? How much longer can great company's in the US survive in an ever growing competive market.I still love American made I believe them to be the best when it comes to rod building. Now reels that's a different story the engineering Japan is far superior. As for the Rods I continue to buy and love, it will still be USDM for me, at least...

Just a friendly heads up, Dobyns rods are made in Korea.

goldrod wrote:I think the nostalgia of JDM is PARTLY because most of it’s available here or lack there of.
That being said Kistler Helium3 is a no bones better rod than some of the Megabass rods I have in my personal opinion.
I’ve said that before and I am saying it once more. St. Croix is one the best rod manufacturers out there. The jig
rod that I have from them is absolutely great and to me astetically pleasing.

Now some JDM rod are great and I’m not taking nothing away from them. One of my favorite JDM sticks is the super rekkai.
I’m looking on the rod rack now and I like the looks of the gambler 30th. I do fish with it but I don’t know of any American
rod manufactures that make anything that looks that good. If you look at the Gambler your wallet pukes money

So I have a mix of both to form my own personal opinion. For the reel market
Shimano has breathed life back into the USDM imho. The bantam and metanium have a good following. I have a couple of megabass
reels on the Steez platform and I love the Steez EX , followed by the Steez 100sha? I think the ability to upgrade Daiwa platforms is
What fuels them. I just procured two TDZ type R plus reels and had one for less than two hours before I started web surfing for parts
The fact that I can add parts to manifest an idea sounds good to me.
tune

I prefer Daiwa as well. Over the last 2 years or so, I acquired 7 Shimanos and currently have 4 (Aldebaran BFS, Antares, Bantam, Stile). It is really nice that you can bring 1 extra spool with you and slap it is most Daiwa reels. Most of my Daiwa reels are 34mm spools so, spapping and buying spools is a breeze. Shimano...each reel is specific...lame. I also would like for Shimano to up their anti-reverse. It always seems like they have more slop

Just a friendly heads up, Dobyns rods are made in Korea.[/quote]


My point Exactly! and thanks for the corection.

Many of us on TackleTour look for performance and also the mystique of products. Most US advertising for products talk about how much lone the reel holds or how a rod is unbreakable. Nothing truly about performance.

I used to work at Gander Mountain a few years ago. This guy asked me about a walleye jig rod. The Gen1 Omen rods were on clearance for a really nice price (like 70% off). As I was discussing the rod and how it is a steal at that price, he turns toward the Ugly Stix and gave it a wiggle. He tries to convince me it would be a better jig rod. Both rods were at the same price, the Omen may have been slightly cheaper. I went through the whole customer service process and kept professional, discussing the pros and cons of each rod. He then asked me if I get a commission off selling certain rods. I told him "I get paid the same whether I sell whole store or nothing." When he told me he has been fishing longer than Ive been alive and I dont know...stuff. I kindly asked him if he plays any sports. He proudly stated he played basketball and has been for 35 years. I told him he must he bettee than LeBron James then. A light went off in his head and he looked at the Omen one last time.

He went with the Ugly Stix saying "my friend has some and he loves them". I then asked him if his friend also plays basketball.

Customers like this drive the US market. Im not saying St Croix or other companies are defined by the above or arent quality. Companies including Daiwa and Shimano are going to advertise to the people of a specific market. Just saying a far larger percentage of US anglers arent as educated about tackle than other markets like Japan. Those of us that are, look to Japan for a lot of info about products.

Every now and then I hop over to the Tackle Warehouse website and check out their "JDM" items. I did so about a week ago and got a chuckle when seeing the 13 Fishing Archangel rods on the page for $699. Made in Japan. Today they are $300 off the price they were a week ago.
So here you have a US based company go out of their way to have something produced in Japan (with Chinese materials in all likelyhood). This for the sole purpose of calling it "JDM". I have never seen these rods for sale in a Japanese Proshop (I puruse about 25 shops), these are not marketed to the Japanese fisherman. It's a farce.
It seems there are pop up US based fishing companies every few months nowadays. It's mostly the same story. They find a China (or other foreign) based manufacturer who will whip together a branded product and market it domestically, usually with some gimic. Florida Fishing Products comes to mind.."3% back to Conservation" $180 for a reel, I can buy the EXACT same one off Alibaba for $60, $50 if I buy 10.
https://floridafishingproducts.com/
I have a bunch of friends in FL who bought into the crap.
I see new Ducket Micro Magic rods in Japanese Proshops for $50, you know why? Because it is a hop, skip and jump from China.

Kudo's to the few non-custom American based manufacturers who actually put out a QUALITY product, they are at a huge disadvantage. Although I've never owned one, Kistler is a brand that I do see for sale in Japanese Proshops, from what I understand they are made in the USA.

With all that said, check out my Mail Call in Enthusiast and Import Section in a couple of hours. Just got a shipment in from Japan.

easybassin wrote:American made products built with quality and precision, by the hands of many skilled craftsmen and quality checked by the eyes of experience. Products that were and still are coveted by many anglers outsourced by mass manufacturing in china and the ever so popular and right fully so JDM market.
I still love american made. St Croix, dobyns and a few others that still build beautifully made rods that are a dying breed. I wonder if the anglers in japan like American made as much as we like japan made? The popularity of the quality made products in the USDM, are they any match for JDM? How much longer can great company's in the US survive in an ever growing competive market.I still love American made I believe them to be the best when it comes to rod building. Now reels that's a different story the engineering Japan is far superior. As for the Rods I continue to buy and love, it will still be USDM for me, at least...

What exactly is your definition of a US made rod?

Falcon is another one that comes to mind. With the exception of their entry level rods, they are built here in the States. Their blanks are rolled in Oklahoma (by CUI Composites, iirc). But then you get into Fuji reel seats and guides, which are obviously made elsewhere, much the same as with St. Croix and G. Loomis. No one actually makes those components here anymore. Batson is a US-based rod components company, but even their parts are made offshore, mostly in China and Korea.

Kudo's to the few non-custom American based manufacturers who actually put out a QUALITY product, they are at a huge disadvantage. Although I've never owned one, Kistler is a brand that I do see for sale in Japanese Proshops, from what I understand they are made in the USA.

-This for sure. I see Japanese import Kistler and sell alongside their products. Like someone else said; they are performance oriented and Kistler is definitely a performance oriented USDM maker. I also see custom rod makers use NFC blanks in their builds—Devision Rebel Tackles Artex and J Custom NFC, and of course there’s the shimano-loomis marriage. So some of the main performance has made it there. Like others have said; emphasis here seems to be on going on the cheap with tackle. Among guys I fish with, no enthusiasts in the room. Guy tows a 60k boat to the lake and then pulls out the cheapest gear you can get away with and still cast bait. We all love to fish; but not all guys who love to fish take as much enjoyment in the gear and process as others.

pharmboy2010 wrote: Just a friendly heads up, Dobyns rods are made in Korea.

Exactly. And also made in China. And that right there says over priced at $109 when it should be in Walmart priced the same as Berkley's! I had one Dobyns rod- a FR734C- some years ago and quickly wore it out. The lower grade cork on it pitted badly and needed replacing, but the rod killer for me was when the painted on clear coating started peeling off the blank and looked like crap. It became one of my worst looking rods in no time. Must be this Florida sun or something???

And for custom rods we see the same problem as most are not made in USA. Even all of the MudHole blanks are sourced in China and foreign countries. Want a custom MudHole rod? Made in China. Assembled in USA by PAYING labor mind you!

So today the only blanks I purchase for my custom rods I make for myself come from North Fork Composites, and are made by Gary Loomis new corporation- one he actually contributes to these days, and in my opinion makes the finest blanks on the planet right now. All USA made too!

If Gary Loomis went to China- and opened up a new rod blank making company- and if he had his hands on the blank construction process, then I would think I was buying a quality rod. But only if Gary Loomis approved of it for release.

If the Chinese- or South Koreans- are in control of blank construction... well, I guess you know...

China/Korea = $$Quantity$$ over Quality

USA = Quality over Quantity

hoohoorjoo wrote:Falcon is another one that comes to mind. With the exception of their entry level rods, they are built here in the States. Their blanks are rolled in Oklahoma (by CUI Composites, iirc). But then you get into Fuji reel seats and guides, which are obviously made elsewhere, much the same as with St. Croix and G. Loomis. No one actually makes those components here anymore. Batson is a US-based rod components company, but even their parts are made offshore, mostly in China and Korea.

We can not count on Falcon any more either!

They now have only one line of rods still made in USA- their top of the line rods... the Cara, and maybe the Jason Christie signature series rods are still made in USA. My favorite the Bucoo rods once were made in USA and have now been switched over to China as well. I still collect older made in USA Falcon rods, but they have lost me for a customer of their new rods with their switch to China.

ShimanoFan wrote:

hoohoorjoo wrote:Falcon is another one that comes to mind. With the exception of their entry level rods, they are built here in the States. Their blanks are rolled in Oklahoma (by CUI Composites, iirc). But then you get into Fuji reel seats and guides, which are obviously made elsewhere, much the same as with St. Croix and G. Loomis. No one actually makes those components here anymore. Batson is a US-based rod components company, but even their parts are made offshore, mostly in China and Korea.

We can not count on Falcon any more either!

They now have only one line of rods still made in USA- their top of the line rods... the Cara, and maybe the Jason Christie signature series rods are still made in USA. My favorite the Bucoo rods once were made in USA and have now been switched over to China as well. I still collect older made in USA Falcon rods, but they have lost me for a customer of their new rods with their switch to China.

I wasnt aware. That's disappointing, since they are reintroducing the Expert series this year.

Lamiglas is still rolling most of their blanks in Washington, which is why I own 4 Lamiglas customs. Their Infinity blanks are on par with anything out there imho, and the XP Bass blank is an excellent series, as well. The sensitivity on the Infinity blanks is amazing to me; every blade of grass, every pebble, every bottom composition change is very noticeable. I don't care for their factory-built rods, but the blanks are excellent.