Help me out on this- I think I know of a few made in America rods that are all really good.... Loomis, St. Croix, Kistler, All Star, Castaway, Lamiglas, and Falcon. Are there any others? Did I mistakenly think some of these are made in America when they are really made in China or Taiwan or some other Asian country? Are there any reels still made here? Does Penn still make any of there stuff here?

ya left out two of the best - g-usa & rogue - as well as seeker, possibly calstar too. and to clarify, castaway builds rods on american-made shikari blanks while rumour has it that kistler uses rogue blanks. on the flip side, not all loomis & all-star blanks are made in the usa, but shimano v-rods were made in WA ...

lot of real and rod companys like browming,bass pro shops,ardent reels,u.s reel,pflueger,quantum,zebco,mitchell,berkley lighting rods,ugly stik,and pinnicale.theres lots more.

>ya left out two of the best - g-usa & rogue - as well as
>seeker, possibly calstar too. and to clarify, castaway builds
>rods on american-made shikari blanks while rumour has it that
>kistler uses rogue blanks. on the flip side, not all loomis &
>all-star blanks are made in the usa, but shimano v-rods were
>made in WA ...

I've been doing a fair amount of research on this lately. Calstar is made in Long Beach, CA. I've been to the factory. Seeker is made in Texas.
Most Lamiglass, though not all are made in Washington. G-Loomis use to be made in Washington and perhaps still are but they are owned by Shimano. There are are actually a huge number of American blank manufacturers.
But ALL guides & reel seats I have found so far are imported. If anyone knows of a quality American manufacturer of guides & reel seats, please let me know.

I have a question though.
How many of you would buy only American products, with quality on par or better, regardless of price.

>Help me out on this- I think I know of a few made in America
>rods that are all really good.... Loomis, St. Croix, Kistler,
>All Star, Castaway, Lamiglas, and Falcon. Are there any
>others? Did I mistakenly think some of these are made in
>America when they are really made in China or Taiwan or some
>other Asian country? Are there any reels still made here? Does
>Penn still make any of there stuff here?

Of the rod companies you mentioned above, Loomis is owned by Shimano. And those companies above also use Fuji components (guides, reel seats). The cork used for handles is Portuguese.

You also mentioned Penn--they're owned by Master. You know, the overseas manufacturer of cheapo combo outfits often sold at Big 5, Longs Drugs.

Even the premium Japanese companies like Daiwa and Japan are outsourcing the manufacture of their lower end series to countries with cheaper labor like Malaysia and Thailand. ABU from Sweden did this as well.

Another thing: although the package on some of the premium Japanese lures (from big names like Shimano, Daiwa, Lucky Craft, Evergreen, etc.) say "made in Japan," they're actually made in China.

As I understand it, All Star rods are no longer made in the USA since the Kistler family sold it. Kistlers are made in Magnolia, Texas.

Dan

"Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less"

Deo Vindice

Isn't Magnolia, Texas in the U.S.A.? :+