Fishing Gear Support

[Crankbait]

I don’t want to get into a political debate just curious on what you guys think. I have always thought it’s important to support the mom and pop shops…..the local guys ya know. It’s just really started to come to me how much foreign (Japan, Korea, China) gear I buy. This being both rod and reel and recently tackle. I got a chance to look at an Ardent that an angler was unhappy with. From a breakdown stand point it wasn’t my favorite. Never got a chance to put it on the water put had several guys complaining about it. Made me think how much talking they did with making their reels. Not Bashing at all my experience with them is small. Do we as Anglers need to look at USA brands. Don’t get me wrong I love Shimano and some of the others but what can we do to support ourselves?

[Tavery5]

Build it and they will come...........

[Handlebars]

I'm all for supporting the small local shops. Unfortunately it gets tougher all of the time. Buying power, larger consumer base and online price shopping and cheap labor make it very difficult for them to be competitive on any level. Another thing is no matter what you buy, you really have no idea where it was made anymore.

*this message was made in china

[bassinbob]

Last time I bought from the local tackle shop the skirts fell off the spinnerbaits from old age. I bought 2 packs of a frog bait made by Renofsky (sp.) and I didn't notice till I brought them home one of the packs was open and the frog was broke. It's hard to pay one to two dollars more for lures they sell. I would never buy line there as it might be ancient. I do take my rods there for rerpair though. If something is made in America and it serves the need I have for it I'd buy it.

[WTL]

I remember when ardent came out, it seemed to me that their main marketing push was "buy this, cause its American."

And while I am sympathetic to buying American products if all else is equal, they never made the push in my mind that these reels were equal to their japaneese counterparts.

So in effect, their advertising campaign - in my mind - led me to think of Ardent as wanting me to accept perhaps a lesser quality of product just as a token of my patriotism. I softly resented that notion.

I think that quality is the one thing we as Americans should always aknowledge. After all, this country was founded on the basic principle that we look to your quality, your character, your skill, your knowledge and not unimportant old world concepts of class, race or other attributes that have no effect on making society actually better.

So to me, it is patriotic to respect and revere quality. And if the japaneese or the swiss or the mongolians make better fishing gear, I'm buying that.

This country was the first and only to put man on the moon, we engineered the panama canal and hoover dam, and we created the most successful constitution and form of government in the history of man. These are all accomplishments to be proud of. They speak to the ingenuity of Americans when such ingenuity is called for.

But we have become the nation we are by demanding quality. And we should continue riding the horse that got us so far, even if that horse is from Japan. If you want me to switch horses, I will consider it...just dont ask me to accept a lesser quality animal.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

As for ma and pa tackle shops, that is more of a local matter. I benefit from the specialized knowledge that these shops have. That is what I buy when I go there. I usually don't get that knowledge at Walmart or BPS. So there, both the merit and the good feelings so to speak are on the side of the local shops, if they are offering something I want at a price I care to pay I will jump through those doors to pay it.

Now if its just a pack of hooks, I might go with walmart, and if its something that is drastically cheaper online, I might buy it there - the ma and pa shops are not immune from having to compete price wise - but they still have a definite market niche to take advantage of. The key for them going forward is to find those products that they can offer at competive prices, offer the services that the big boys can't or wont (such as scheduling guide trips, tutorials, ect) and create a business model that allows them to put food on the table for their family.

[nofearengineer]

Supporting your local mom and pop place was a smart thing to do when information was hard to come by.

Now that we have the web, I have access to a thousand times more information than mom and pop have in their heads about whatever I want to buy this week.

Why would I pay them for what I can get for free?

It's just economic Darwinism, the way business should always be.

The best blend of quality, price, and service almost always wins, except when some outside force interferes.

[joedog]

I really hesitated in getting involved with this one, but here I go.
I personally will do anything I can to buy local and American. But I also expect and insist on getting a fair price, maybe not always the rock bottom price, but fair. Our country's economy really was built on ingenuity and quality. Now mass production drove the the speed of growth and maybe cost but the emphasis was still quality.

I live in a river town, 55,000 people, two bait and tackle shops, a Walmart, Gander and thats it for fishing supplies. Niether bait shop is even owned buy a fishing person. Zero knowledge and personality by owners or staff.

Gets better, like a complete fool I had a small reel challenge, ( spool cap pop off while fighting fish, could of done some drag assembly harm but thought it just needed a new spool cap but felt I should have a " pro " tell me for sure, even offered to order cap and pay him a marked up installation to make up for it). After three weeks and three phone calls from me, calls back and tells me I need a new spool, not drag assembly the spool, ya all know this ain't right and then tells me that if I want I can order it because even tho he's a quantum wholesaler parts can take a month or two. Says nothing about cap at all. Still don't have reels back. Did all this local because we have 14% unemployment and part of my retarded mind set. Oh ya, says he's been doing reels professionally for 17 years also.
Needless to say, buying local has to be justified by more than just "being local or American" I have found this out by true trial and error.

[TN_Bassin]

Well until Abu starts making their, swedish engineered made in korea sold in america marketed by australians, reels in the U.S I'm stuck buying outside of the U.S made market. That being said, if a company was to open up that rivaled the quality of my revo's and shimano's I would give it a considerable look, even if the price was higher. The problem with the whole situation seems to be labour is not cheap here in the U.S. Why pay 200 people each 10 bucks/hr when you can pay 200 people 10 bucks. And companies that manufacture in the US seem to take a hit somewhere along the line when making reels due to the labour costs; quality, price, etc.

I'll say this too, when your on the road and you need a bait asap and there isn't a bps within 50 miles it's nice to have a ma and pop store there to fill your needs.

[kennethdaysale]

Question #1 Should we buy from local/ brick mortar/ chain of one store?
Question #2 Should we buy made in USA?
I'm guessing I buy as much stuff online as anybody, not to snub local guys its just usually cheaper and more efficient, not to mention selection. Lots of traditional "bait and tackle" stores around here have deterioted to the level of just selling a few crickets, wigglers and crappie minners. However there are a few places around here that have adapted.......one of those local shops now runs a 8,000. sq ft store that is a knock your socks off customer service and sportsman's dream. Top drawer selection of fishing and hunting stuff, friendly knowledgeable staff, outfitters, guides, gunsmith, indoor outdoor shooting range, concealed carry certs., rodbuilding, reel service etc etc etc. ...and their business is booming.(incidentally they are more than happy to actually negotiate prices!!??) I guess the owners decided they could sit around smelling dead crickets and minnows while lamenting the good old days and cussing China and the internet and the big box guys....OR..ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES AND FIGURE OUT A WAY TO PROSPER! As far as buy american...if its good stuff at a fair price I'd love to.

[johnD]

I support my local shop , if he don't have it, or can't get it, I don't need it.
I buy American made rods (st.croix/loomis) and shimano reels from them.
They do rod/reel repairs ,and line spooling, which is important for saltwater fishing gear.
When I'm on vacation one of the first things I do is find that towns local tackle shop, its always interesting
to see how the rest of the world fishes.

[Crankbait]

All good responses…….i was just curious not going one way or another. I have all Pflueger but I’m looking at replacing them with Shimano. I looked at the ardent but I don’t have money to throw around and see how it works…..again I was just curious.

[BERKLEY83]

Crankbait I have a xs600 it is a good reel but my daiwa super tuned reels are way better and cheaper. So until the quality catches up with the price I will not buy another I am all for buying American I use falcon rods which I love.

[BigBassin144]

I agree with what many have already said, when it comes to fishing gear, quality is more important to me than country of origin. I know in-store experience is no replacement for on the water experience, but if I don't like how a reel feels in the store, I won't be spending my money to test it out on the water. This is exactly the case with Ardent. The vast majority of the Ardent's I've held in the stores did not feel that great. In fact, an Ardent would be one of my last choices and the fact that they are made here doesn't change that. A quality reel from any of the big three, and even other smaller reel manufacturers would be my choice.

When it comes to rods, what a lot of people don't realize is their "Made in the USA" rods are only assembled here. Sometimes the blanks are made here too, but most if not all of the components are foreign. Take Fuji for example, many many rods on the market, even many "Made in the USA" rods utilize Fuji guides and reel seats. Although if you're just going for American made, then I guess assembled here is better than nothing.

As for small mom and pop shops. My main problem with these around here is the overall lack of bass equipment, especially good bass equipment. Most of the small shops around here cater to walleye and perch fishermen, seeing as we're so close to Lake Erie. When the shops do stock some bass gear, these small shops can't afford to stock the rods and reels I'd buy because that's not what the majority of fishermen are after. Buying online is also more convenient and usually cheaper. I also buy a lot of used gear, so I get better gear than I could afford retail.

BB

[Dogmatic]

I frequent my local shops, and throw biz their way when I can, as for equipment we all know how it is, but I'm sure many of you have seen the program on ABC News called "Made in America"(?). The point they make over and over again is that if we just change 10% of our purchases to Made in America products we would create millions of jobs here in the U.S.. So, Crankbait, or anyone else, if it's a concern, forget your fishing equipment, look at everything else you buy, and realize every little bit helps.

[DVT Mike]

Bottom line is that we as consumers want the best product we can get at the best price we can get it for. There is something to be said for service and convenience as well and in certain circumstances we'll pay a little extra for that. All else being equal American made and locally sold should get the nod. Keep in mind that foreign manufactured goods still have to be marketed, distributed, sold, delivered and maintained all of which create work here at home as well.

[Bryan]

Very well said WTL.