The best fishing rods I know of are made by a relatively new fishing tackle company with experienced and skilled people behind it. The company is Cousins Tackle.
The cousins behind it are Bill Buchanan and Wade Cunningham, both of whom have decades of experience and success in the fishing tackle industry. As far as I’m concerned, no company makes better rods. Period.
The best part is that these rods are made in America and right here in California (Huntington Beach, to be exact). I carry these rods with pride in my store, Hook, Line & Sinker fishing center in Santa Barbara.
Another product line I proudly carry is Avet Reels. These reels are made to very fine tolerances by a machine shop with high-tech modern machinery capable of producing aerospace components. The result is a line of reels that compare favorably against the best reels made anywhere in the world. The best part is that these reels are made in America and right here in California (San Fernando Valley, to be exact).
I do frequent club talks and organization talks. For example, recently I’ve spoken to the Los Angeles Rod & Reel Club, the Marina Del Rey Anglers Club, the Ventura County Sportfishing Club and a couple of others. I’ve taken a Cousins rod with an Avet reel mounted on it to each meeting.
I’ve shown it to them, saying, “Here we have a top quality rod … none better … made in America, right here in California and here we have a high-quality reel made in America, right here in California. This is what we need to support! Please buy these when you shop for reels, and buy them at a mom-and-pop fishing tackle shop, rather than shopping for bargains on foreign-made cheap products from discount websites and then watching your money leave your community. We need to support a resurgence of ‘made in America,’ and it is up to you to do it. This is how we make America strong.”
I’m referencing products for the fishing industry, yet this message applies to nearly all industries. When experienced people in our community, state or country put out quality products and follow all laws to do it, I believe it is imperative for us to search out those products and buy them.
Leave those cheap discount websites alone, because sending your money away to companies that do not always pay their fair share of the taxes the rest of us have to pay, in exchange for foreign-made inferior products, is not the way to strengthen our communities, state and country.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
