Six gill?

[ampdreamer1]

What does everyone think of the six gill rods and reels? All made in America in Texas. I don't need anything but they are price reasonable and made in the USA

[reason162]

Garbage.

[Kyhokie]

Garbage.

Seconded.

[buzzin frog]

I have 2 of the Arrival reels and while I would say there are better reels for the money, I will buy more of them when they go on sale since they are made in the US.

[ampdreamer1]

Anyone try their top model spinning reel? I'm really hoping it's good because I'd rather by a usa made product. I've been most happy with my Quantum smoke spinning reels and was hoping they compare. The price is around the same if not a hair less.

[buzzin frog]

Last I checked, the US spinning reel isn't supposed to be ready until early summer. Only the Series 6 line is american made.

[ECobb91]

I have a buddy that’s sponsored by SixGill, so I take his opinions of the company with a grain of salt. I also fished a BFL with one of the first sponsored anglers and his stuff performed flawlessly. Reels are good for the sale price, but I wouldn’t pay full price for them as I don’t think their $200 baitcaster rivals a Curado or Tatula. On sale, they are good buys and I’d use them over Lews and Quantum.

One thing to note is they are not fully US made reels. Heres the description of the Arrival series “…balance from both Texas and wider US manufacturing, and components from global suppliers, all coming together with assembly and quality control at our Southlake Texas facility”. They can make that statement if only 1 screw comes from the US and they assemble it in house.

That said, none of the spinning reels are assembled in the US. The assembly and quality control for only 2 reels happens in Texas, the Arrival and Rebel both of which are baitcasters. All other reels are manufactured overseas.

[buzzin frog]

I agree with most everything said above, just have some additional input:
Based on pictures and information released during the build of the Arrival, I am under the impression that at a minimum the frame, thumb bar, and handle are made in the US. Only components I can think of they might struggle to source at a reasonable price(or at all) are the screws, bearings, and maybe some of the drag, levelwind and main drive hardware. Honestly, at a quick glance, the drag looks identical to what is on my Quantum Smoke reels.

[steve1206]

1. There are a lot of proven, high quality American-made rods.

2. Unfortunately, in the past, companies like Ardent proved that they could not compete in the reel market, building in the US, because they simply had to charge 2X for a similar technology level of Asian-made reels

[ECobb91]

1. There are a lot of proven, high quality American-made rods.

2. Unfortunately, in the past, companies like Ardent proved that they could not compete in the reel market, building in the US, because they simply had to charge 2X for a similar technology level of Asian-made reels

actually the comparison to Ardent is great. Similar business model. Most of the sales come from pro staff (50% off) and at the pro staff pricing, the reels are great. But definitely not worth full retail. Now that Ardent has gone 100% (Haibo) the quality plummeted and the pro staff deal gives them a bad rep. I’d still use them over similarly priced Lews (at the pro staff pricing)

[FALCONflyer200]

Tried the Rod me and a buddy got a BOGO and got the akylos rods. We both thought they were ok but were a bit heavy in the hand. Mine is now collecting dust and my buddy will pull his out for an appearance but it seems to go in the box and stay there with a bait tied to it that he has just incase but never gets used.

[willwork4fish]

I just replaced a guide on one. Pretty sure it's the first Sixgill I've ever had in the shop. 7'3" Heavy, don't remember the model. Other than that I don't care for the Fuji SK seat they use, the grip was too small for my tastes and it seemed a little tip heavy I didn't think it was built too bad. They did use a single foot for the stripper which was the one I replaced and to me that seems dumb so I replaced it with a double foot. Used Fuji Alconites, the wraps were clean and the guides were straight. You could definitely do worse for $150.