I have purchased a few rods from Falcon over the years and the biggest reason was they weren't over priced, made in USA light weight and felt good. So last year I needed to replace a few lost rods and purchased 2 Falcons from cabelas and to my shock they had made in China on them. WTF Falcon has lost my business.
2019 PHEONIX 921 WITH SUZUKI 250SS
Me too. Moved to ALX Zolo and Ikos last year and haven't looked back. I still have a couple of US made Caras but I always prefer to support home grown fishing manufacturers/companies when possible.
They went away with US made rods back around 2018/19. The Cara T7’s were the last ones being made here and they kept raising the prices there at the end and were getting harder and harder to get ahold of. I’m with AMS. ALX are good rods if you want to stay with US made. Haven’t tried any of the Zolo’s, but have three of the Oxims and I think they’re good sticks. Also, have quite a few Alpha Angler’s that I like as well
Also we landed on the moon.
Sapphire Blue/Black Bottom Vexus AVX 1980, Mercury 150 Pro XS
LMAO..."I'm the Boss here, I need the INFO..."Originally Posted by Cbump
Curious where all the components from them great USA made rods come from ????
2008 Stratos 201 Pro XL
Evinrude 250
The Caras were made here in Harrison at Ark-Rod, Inc. now they make the Virtus Jewel rods which look identical and are obviously made in the US.
https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Jewe...e-JEWVIRT.html
I took a long look at them but decided to try out the ALX rods. Not going to say which one is "better" (US Falcon vs ALX) but they are both very nice rods. Just very sad Falcon moved overseas.
I hear you Southcoast. I wish there were a US company that engineered and manufactured a smooth, quality casting reel!! I know Ardent is here but for some reason they don't get much love (good reviews). I doubt anyone can compete with Shimano and Daiwa on the high end front but how about in the $200-ish baitcaster market, and a reel that's bulletproof and flat out works? Surely we have the home grown tech and machinery to get it done.
Never used these reels but they are made in Texas with a CNC machine. https://batesfishingco.com/
Ardent used to be in Macon Mo. That has been closed for years and I believe they moved overseas or at least the name anyway. They never were a player in the market anyway.
St Croix Premiere model and up are made in US. There are at least 6 of the old US made Falcons in my arsenal. There are very well made and were a good bang for the buck. Have not bought one in 15 years as they kinda disappeared for awhile then moved to Mexico I heard and now China. After finding St. Croix again it has been their sticks since. As for reels........would love to try the Bates line but have not read any reviews or used one.
Personally, I think the performance of the newer Falcon rods is as good as the USA made ones--it's just the durability and quality I worry about. Their customer service is great, so there's never a worry about them being willing to replace a broken rod (at least in my experience). But when all the supply chain stuff started it was hard to get replacements of specific rods from them. That's when I wonder if I want to bother with a company that might not be able to replace their own rods since they don't do the manufacturing themselves anymore. I feel like if they had kept making them here and just gone up in price they might have stayed here. I'd pay more for the USA made ones--they're worth it.
I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.
Every rod in my box is a US made Cara, once they stopped making them here I've started buying Loomis. I really need to buy an ALX. There's a bait store on the property of the rod factory here in town where they made the Cara, I've scored a few ones still on the rack since they quit making them the most recent (last year) was a Reaction Swim Jig 7'2" MH. Those days are gone now unfortunately.
Yeppers...the days of OG Made in USA Warrior Rods, Falcon, All-Star, Kistler, Castaway, Rogue...
Bates reels are not made in the USA. They are made by Doyo in South Korea. They are a rebadge of a very high end reel, but nevertheless a rebadge.
Can you cite your source to confirm your statement that Bates are a Doyo reel? This would be very interesting news if so. It's my understanding that this is not in fact the case.
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Of course now I look at the Doyo site and it doesn't match as well as I thought. You may be right that it is not a Doyo. It still has that vibe for me, but you know way more about tackle than I ever will. However, I still think there is a 99% chance Doyo or a similar company is making it for them. Also on the Bates site it confirms they are not made in the USA:
"As it stands, it’s simply cheaper to make reels overseas than to do so domestically, which means more accessible prices for you, the end user. To be clear, our desire is to be 100% American made, and we’ll get there, but for now our manufacturing is a global process, no different than many of the biggest brands you’re already fishing: Shimano, Daiwa, Quantum, Lew’s, etc."
The balance alone in the Cara rods regardless of era make them a step above.
Of course I’d rather use a USA made rod …
crazy thing is most of the components on the “USA “ rods come from other countries anyhow.
Nothing worse than a rod that feels cumbersome…
Falcon has always produced an incredibly balanced rod. 100% !!!
2008 Stratos 201 Pro XL
Evinrude 250
US made? Loomis is owned by Shimano, a Japanese company. Any high quality blank will use Toray, another Japanese company. Fuji guides (Japanese) are considered the best guides and a lot of high quality US companies will use those components. Best corks come from Portugal. Any generic component is likely Chinese. Doyo, a Korean company, makes a lot of reels for “US” reel companies. I think one would be hard pressed to find anything completely “made in the USA” these days. We’re a world economy now, and we’re starting to see some companies deceptively using the “Made in USA” cliche now.
Also odd when some insist on a USA made rod and then turn around and put a Daiwa or Shimano on it. Are there even any freshwater bass reels made in the USA these days? I know there are some great fly rods and fly reels made in the US (“assembled”), but can’t think of a bass reel.
Last edited by JJohnSind; 04-09-2023 at 12:57 PM.
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