Bass Fishing Forum

I am not trying to stir anything up at all, just been thinking lately after all that has been going on that I would like to try to stick with American made products as much as possible from here on out.  Each night I have been sitting down looking on the web to see what companies I can find that are manufacturing their products here in our great country.  The only thing I am seeming to have problems with are reels and line.  I highly doubt there are reels made here for the most part, but there has got to be other companies other then Stren that make their line here.  I guess what I am asking is do any of you have companies you know and trust for line that is made in our great country?  Thanks in advance!!

Many higher end Penn Reels used to be American Made, but I'm not sure anymore.

As to line, I haven't a clue to an American made line company.  Most of the better lines come from Japanese mills.

I believe Stren is still made in the USA, however, they're probably one of the biggest line companies that I do not trust at all. Line is something that I have to have full confidence in how its going to perform, so where its made is the last thing I'd ever care about.

While I like to try and buy "made in America " as much as possible I have to agree with Fishballer about Stren lime.

I have tried just about every one of their lines over a lot of years and they have given me nothing but problems. I have zero confidence in them.

Another thing to take into account is "made in America" doesn't necessarily guarantee you are getting an "all" American  product.

Some American companies buy their parts or materials from other countries and assemble here.  Others use Americam made base materials then send them to other countries for assembly.

This came up about Lew's when they first came back big. They touted the made in America theme then it was revealed their rods were being assembled overseas.

These days it's pretty tough to get a product of most any kind that is 100% American.

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Smallie brings up a good point.  I have noticed this same thing with dog food/treat products.  You really have to do your homework.   It is the same with the "Made with Real Wood" and Organic labels.

Like Smallie said a lot of companies get the parts for somewhere else and say made in America because they put the parts together here. Like has been said it might be hard to find a good line or reel that is made in America. I too try to buy American made things but sometime we don't have a choice.

Yes I am figuring this out now that I have really looked at things here lately, I guess maybe I will just focus on baits made in the USA and rods made here the next time I need one, which is awhile I hope.  Was just wondering if any of you guys knew of some company that I did not.  Thanks for the responses!!!  It is sad that there is so little made in this country for the fishing market.  I can use Cortland line out of NY for braid, but wasn't seeing much in the way of mono or flouro made here, worth a shot to ask others.  There are plenty of baits made in the USA though so i guess that is where the majority of my money is spent in a given year, so I will focus on those companies when buying baits.

I'm waiting to try a new rod that will be made and distributed here in the Ozarks.
I'm not sure of the guides and reel seat until get more info but they will be rolled and assembled here .
I hope to have one to try in a couple weeks.

Anyone else remember when Zebco/Quantum was made here in USA (OK) by Brunswick before they sold out to WC Bradley in 2001? I think a majority of us here learned on a Zebco brand at one point in our lives. I remeber my grandfather telling me what ZEBCO stood for, Zero hour Bomb CO, as they used to make mining charges/bombs before reels.

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TufLine braid is still made in the US. It's what I use and really like it. My only complaint is that I wish the green was darker in color.

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Berkley Trilene & Fireline; SpiderWire; Stren... lots of choices in those brands made in a little town in NW Iowa

Quote from: OkobojiEagle on April 26, 2020, 09:32:40 AM
Berkley Trilene & Fireline; SpiderWire; Stren... lots of choices in those brands made in a little town in NW Iowa

Unfortunately this is no longer 100% true. Some of the components of these lines are sourced from other countries including China.

All of these brands fall under the parent company of Pure Fishing and I am part of the Pure Fishing Select Angler Program.  As a result I am in semi-regular contact with Pure Fishing and I receive all company emails related to sales, product changes etc.

In a move of retaliation to the tariffs imposed on them China raised the cost of these source materials by 5 % and we were advised to make customers aware that ALL products would show a 5% price increase shortly.

In the case of the various lines all of the Dyneema used to make the braids and the fused Fireline all come from China. Some of the nylon and related materials for making mono also come from China.

I have included 2 pics from some Trilene Sensation line I recently got directly from Berkley. On the package you can see it says it is made from a combination of domestic and imported components. Those imported components come from China.

The problem with the term made in America these days is the word "made" that is the source of confusion. It is being used to substitute for assembled in some cases, and in other cases it is being assembled in other countries from materials that are American made. And the worse situation of all is an American company that has their products assembled in a foreign country from components made from foreign countries and then shipped back here. Because the company is based in America they will toat their products as American products.

The sad fact is that almost nothing is truly 100% American made anymore.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200426/e5721a7119891dd4a2dab9d9ed695a43.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200426/96065a9d71c318b23b15e7bf150cb4f4.jpg)

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Bud, what is the practical difference between the fused 4 carrier and the newer 8 carrier?

Quote from: nats on April 26, 2020, 03:30:08 PM
Bud, what is the practical difference between the fused 4 carrier and the newer 8 carrier?

I honestly have no idea since I haven't got my hands on any of the new 8 carrier stuff yet.

I'll shoot off an email and see what I can find out. Not everyone at Berkley is available due to this dang virus and general inquiries like this are getting pushed to the back of the line.

When I hear something back I'll let you know.

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Thanks for taking the time to give me the explanation on the Berkley line.  Sad that we can't make something fully in the USA!  Sorry just with all this virus, it has opened my eyes a little with supporting companies in this great country with my money now!  So am trying to figure out where I can buy tackle and baits that are made here!

Quote from: FishinBuck07 on April 26, 2020, 04:23:43 PM
Thanks for taking the time to give me the explanation on the Berkley line.  Sad that we can't make something fully in the USA!  Sorry just with all this virus, it has opened my eyes a little with supporting companies in this great country with my money now!  So am trying to figure out where I can buy tackle and baits that are made here!

I hear ya brother. I'd like to keep as much of my money in America as possible.

The trade off here is whether the stuff made in America has quality that is as good or better than what is being made in other countries.  I'm all about supporting American manufacturing, but only if the product is good.  I'm willing to pay more for American made, but not if the quality isn't on par with what I can get elsewhere.  I'm not buying garbage just because it's made in America....

I have had no problems at all with Stren Mono. I have no experience with their braid or fluoro though. I use mostly PowerPro and P-Line fluoro. I picked up some of Stren's Crappie Mono and let me tell you that stuff is fantastic. I've had such good luck with it crappie fishing that I'm considering getting some of the 10# and trying it out on some of my lighter bass rigs.

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I'm not suprised on the stren mono, over 25 years ago I caught a 40 pound striper  from the plum island surf with 12 lbs. stren mono. Obviously the penn 750 ss drag had a lot to do with it but the line held up.

Quote from: nats on April 27, 2020, 12:25:40 PM
I'm not suprised on the stren mono, over 25 years ago I caught a 40 pound striper  from the plum island surf with 12 lbs. stren mono. Obviously the penn 750 ss drag had a lot to do with it but the line held up.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200427/1ac410918db7be0b7b062ae66d082852.jpg)


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Well no wonder you caught that huge striper. Look at the size of that hook you were using!  :o  ~roflmao

kinda off topic, but not too, but there is not one piece of silicone skirt material made here in the U.S.A..  sad, but true.  if it is not an eagle claw hook, then it came from offshore also.

so, with that said, NuTech Elite Series of course have an eagle claw hook,  and our other models have either an owner or mustad hook.  our casting and painting, packing materials, and packaging are all done here.

if it were possible to buy silicone that is actually made here, i would.  there are three main skirt companies here, but all their manufacturing facilities are off shore.  so, when we did buy from one of these companies, we were just basically going through a middle man.  now, we buy direct from a manufacture.  just one of those things that i might not like, but when it is all made off shore, one has to buy there.

bo

Unfortunately there are no ( fresh water )reel manufactures in the US. Penn may still be here in the US but they only make a couple of saltwater reels here and the rest of their stuff is made over seas. There are a few other companies in the US but they are limited to fly reels and saltwater reels.  Most of the fishing reel manufactures are in China, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, and some in the Uk. KastKing, Stren, and Vicious fishing lines are made in the USA.

Quote from: Smallie_Stalker on April 27, 2020, 02:59:14 PM
Well no wonder you caught that huge striper. Look at the size of that hook you were using!  :o  ~roflmao

.   Jim,  have you been to plum island?  That pic is from surf land

Quote from: nats on April 27, 2020, 04:09:51 PM
.   Jim,  have you been to plum island?  That pic is from surf land

I have only been there one time when I was a kid. I don't remember much about it other than my father and uncle went there for a fishing trip and took me along. I don't even remember if anyone caught anything. Since I don't remember ever have a bad time fishing with my dad I'm sure it was a lot of fun though.

Quote from: Jared LeBlue on April 27, 2020, 03:29:53 PM
Unfortunately there are no ( fresh water )reel manufactures in the US. Penn may still be here in the US but they only make a couple of saltwater reels here and the rest of their stuff is made over seas. There are a few other companies in the US but they are limited to fly reels and saltwater reels.  Most of the fishing reel manufactures are in China, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, and some in the Uk. KastKing, Stren, and Vicious fishing lines are made in the USA.

I can't speak for Kast King or Viscious Fishing, and I'm not trying to be argumentative here in any way either but Stren line is Made in the U.S.A the same way that Berkley Trilene is and here is why I can say that.

Stren Is owned by Pure Fishing (see pic below) the same company that owns Berkley. And Pure Fishing buys some of their source materials for all of the brands that fall under their umbrella from overseas.

Stren is no different. It is made in America but from a combination of domestic and imported products. Another one of those situations like I mentioned earlier where the word "made" is being substituted for "assembled.

So it too is not 100% American made.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200427/871e9dabc8d011f7ea5acb8503fe6def.jpg)

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My Grandma's cookie ingredients were not sourced entirely within her kitchen, but her finished product was the best "home made" cookie I've ever eaten.

Quote from: OkobojiEagle on April 28, 2020, 07:28:57 AM
My Grandma's cookie ingredients were not sourced entirely within her kitchen, but her finished product was the best "home made" cookie I've ever eaten.

Good One!!

Unfortunately It goes way beyond Fishing Line.

Some of you may already know this, but our FDA now Approves the use of Made in America where the Pigs, Chickens, and Beef is grown here then shipped to China for processing.

It is then re-sent to America and the FDA welcomes it back in with little to no oversight. What they do and how the Process it is not made to be up to Our Standards so it is cheaper to send it there and ship it back.

Crazy Right?

Goes beyond that however. I recently ready a piece where it was revealed that now a HUGE amount of our Food Meats are now actually Lab Grown from Animal and Poultry Cells. That's right they make  Burger from a Cell that they design to grow into beef that never is actually a cow. WOW.

Wow guess I opened up a can of worms with this simple question, sorry guys! 

Quote from: FishinBuck07 on April 28, 2020, 09:34:51 AM
Wow guess I opened up a can of worms with this simple question, sorry guys!

. Are they real worms ?  Or those fake worms bass fishermen use? :)

Quote from: FishinBuck07 on April 28, 2020, 09:34:51 AM
Wow guess I opened up a can of worms with this simple question, sorry guys!

Not Really.

It's just hard to find anything that is totally made in America anymore.

There used to be a Commercial about TV's. It went along the lines of "people say that you can't buy a good TV made in America anymore. At Zenith we politely answer BUNK!"

Zenith the Quality goes in before the Name goes on. That was their Moto.

You can't find anything made with the Zenith Name on it anymore. WalMart started with selling all American Made Goods for less. Then after Sam Walton died his Heirs were more about the $$$ than the Country and took it to the limit and honestly We The People followed.

I don't know if this was true or a fake site, but I saw a Report that said WalMart was sold out to China for 500 Billion. Why I think it was Bull was it also said they were changing the name to China Mart. LOL.

I guess I was just looking for products mostly made in US, I am not naive in the fact that there probably aren't fully made in America anymore, which is very sad. But I guess that is what we get when profit rules everything.  I know not all components are going to be from the good ole USA, but want to support companies that try to do as much as possible here. 

The next time your looking for a rod, Think of St.Croix , Loomis, or Kistler. St.Croix does send some of the lower end models to Mexico but I believe everything above the Mojo is made in Park Falls.

Quote from: FishinBuck07 on April 28, 2020, 10:15:45 AM
I guess I was just looking for products mostly made in US

good luck with that...but it appears you really meant 'assembled' in the USA, which you've more or less stated. 

Quote from: Deadeye on April 28, 2020, 09:14:09 AM
Unfortunately It goes way beyond Fishing Line.

Some of you may already know this, but our FDA now Approves the use of Made in America where the Pigs, Chickens, and Beef is grown here then shipped to China for processing.

It is then re-sent to America and the FDA welcomes it back in with little to no oversight. What they do and how the Process it is not made to be up to Our Standards so it is cheaper to send it there and ship it back.

Crazy Right?

Goes beyond that however. I recently ready a piece where it was revealed that now a HUGE amount of our Food Meats are now actually Lab Grown from Animal and Poultry Cells. That's right they make  Burger from a Cell that they design to grow into beef that never is actually a cow. WOW.

I guess they don't call you Deadeye for nothing Fred. You are spot on with this. it is also true that the vast majority of the generic prescription medications that Americans take are made in China and shipped here and many of them contain ingredients that are in no way necessary. Many of them have long term cumulative effects that are harmful at best and most likely fatal at worst. >:D

Quote from: loomisguy on April 28, 2020, 01:36:03 PM
The next time your looking for a rod, Think of St.Croix , Loomis, or Kistler. St.Croix does send some of the lower end models to Mexico but I believe everything above the Mojo is made in Park Falls.

Yeah I will definitely do that!  I am set for rods right now but some time down the road I will want new ones!  Pretty sure Cashion also!

Well isn't Dobyn's rods made in America

                                Any day fishing, is a good day.

Quote from: apenland01 on April 26, 2020, 10:46:19 PM
The trade off here is whether the stuff made in America has quality that is as good or better than what is being made in other countries.  I'm all about supporting American manufacturing, but only if the product is good.  I'm willing to pay more for American made, but not if the quality isn't on par with what I can get elsewhere.  I'm not buying garbage just because it's made in America....

I'm with you on that one. I don't mind paying for "Made in America" products, it's not so much about the quality to me, but more about there needs to be some pride/craftsmanship of the product too. Not, "Hey, they want American, let's just pop out some of this & that as cheaply and fast as possible!" No, I would prefer "Hey, they chose American over Foriegn, let's give them something to make the competition jealous and wow the consumer!"

Let's take Japan for example (yeah, I know, I know, Asia is not a great topic of discussion right now..), the Japanese are extremely proud people, who have a system of honor in everthing they create. That's why they try to excell, the "creator's" reputation is everything.

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Quote from: Captsteve on April 28, 2020, 04:33:35 PM
Well isn't Dobyn's rods made in America

                                Any day fishing, is a good day.

No

Quote from: FishinBuck07 on April 28, 2020, 04:24:05 PM
Yeah I will definitely do that!  I am set for rods right now but some time down the road I will want new ones!  Pretty sure Cashion also!

Yep Cashion and possibly ALX.  Cashion is a nice rod.. There aren't many rods I haven't fished but ALX is one.
There can be slip ups in any rod but overall the craftmanship of St.Croix, Kistler and for the most part GLoomis is really good. Although some of the NRX's I've seen are no work of art.
And to give credit where it's due Megabass builds a beautiful rod.

Kistler and Loomis have both sent their blank manufacture off shore. As far as I know ALX still uses the better St. Croix blanks in their top rods, wish I could afford them. Most of our politicians are all home grown, the rocks they crawl out from under have been here for millions of years.
Rodney

Quote from: Oldfart9999 on April 29, 2020, 07:27:34 AM
Kistler and Loomis have both sent their blank manufacture off shore. As far as I know ALX still uses the better St. Croix blanks in their top rods, wish I could afford them. Most of our politicians are all home grown, the rocks they crawl out from under have been here for millions of years.
Rodney

Kistler uses NFC blanks made in Washington at least from the KLX up. Loomis also builds it's blanks in it's original facility in Washington.
ALX never used St. Croix blanks to my knowledge they use hydra blanks made in SC . I believe some of the less expensive models may use a off shore blank.

I'm crushed, I use STREN because I thought it was still made in the  USA

KastKing KastPro Braided Fishing Line is made in the US

Quote from: Jared LeBlue on April 27, 2020, 03:29:53 PM
Unfortunately there are no ( fresh water )reel manufactures in the US. Penn may still be here in the US but they only make a couple of saltwater reels here and the rest of their stuff is made over seas. There are a few other companies in the US but they are limited to fly reels and saltwater reels.  Most of the fishing reel manufactures are in China, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, and some in the Uk. KastKing, Stren, and Vicious fishing lines are made in the USA.

Wrong irt spinning reels are made in usa but they are several hundred dollars and more so meant for saltwater

Quote from: Esox obsessed on June 02, 2023, 06:14:54 AM

Quote from: Jared LeBlue on April 27, 2020, 03:29:53 PM
Unfortunately there are no ( fresh water )reel manufactures in the US. Penn may still be here in the US but they only make a couple of saltwater reels here and the rest of their stuff is made over seas. There are a few other companies in the US but they are limited to fly reels and saltwater reels.  Most of the fishing reel manufactures are in China, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, and some in the Uk. KastKing, Stren, and Vicious fishing lines are made in the USA.

Wrong irt spinning reels are made in usa but they are several hundred dollars and more so meant for saltwater

Read the post again, especially the middle part.