# Giving up on Allstar Rods



## OutdoorFreak

I have been using Allstar rods for the last 9 years - the ones that were made in Houston, the best rod made was the Allstar Emerald edition - but thats gone by the way side.All they have now are pretty much knock offs made in China.All 4 of my Emeralds are about beaten to death,but still in decent shape.Im looking for a 6'6 - to 7' footer - 8-17 # test line in the 125.00 range..I would like one that has a decent warranty and prefer made in Texas.You fella's have a good rod that has lasted you awhile and held up to saltwater - give me a heads up,Thanks


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## jtbailey

Have you tried looking at the Castaways?? They are made in Montgomery,TX and have outstanding customer service that stands behind their rods... They have a rod that can fit just about any budget. The Skeleton rod is outstanding and you can get one at FTU for around $130-$150 on sale


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## BullyARed

If the blanks are made in China, it doesn't matter! and most are now.


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## OutdoorFreak

Thanks jt ...I will look into the Castaway rods..

Bull...all blanks are made in China ??...I did not know that ..I know most eyes come from Japan..

Anybody have anything to say about H&H..Good or bad.??


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## jtbailey

Check out this link it will take you to a threat here on 2cool where all the guys are weighing in on rod opinions.... I know that Sarg rods and Waterloo are also made local. they tend to be kinda pricey but people swear by them as being the best money can buy, I personally have never used one so I can't say either way.... Go check it out http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=491170 (H&H are mentioned also)


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## jherna6714

Love my H&H backcountry 6'9"" lives in sugerland and is a fireman. Nice guy and warranty is great I think you break I think it's $50 no questions asked. By the way it's light and strong rod for the money.


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## goodwood

try a kistler klx. 

one of my favorite rods was an allstar platinum 783c med lite fast with bubble grip one of the last ones made in houston.


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## Capt sharky

Hh won't stand behind them either go Waterloo or st crois


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## jherna6714

Capt sharky said:


> Hh won't stand behind them either go Waterloo or st crois


For the money H&H are great rods and Waterloo might be better rods , but I'm not such a good fisherman to spend $300-$400 dollars for a rod.


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## OutdoorFreak

I fished Fenwicks and Penns before going to Allstars - Im not looking for any high dollar rod with a fancy name or alot of gimmicks.Just a rod that will hold up to saltwater all summer long and has a decent warranty..

Goodwood - I hear ya buddy...I wish they still made the Emerald and the Platinum rods in Houston..but they dropped the ball outsourcing to China..when I get home later on today - I will post pictures of the difference between the old Emerald & the "new" version - Platinum rods...it does not even come close to being made the way the Emerald was made..and I take really really good care of my Rods & Reels..post some pics later - Thanks for all the responses.


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## John_B_1

I don't know where falcon rods are made, but I have one that was my go to rod until I got my billystix. 

I know you don't want to drop $300 on a rod, the falcon coastal is around $90-$120 depending on what you want and is a pretty nice rod


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## TranTheMan

OutdoorFreak said:


> Bull...all blanks are made in China ??...I did not know that ..I know most eyes come from Japan..


 eyes/guides are with Japanese names, but they are probably made in China, too, like almost everything else.

My last two Fenwick rods with titanium guides broke after three trips -- they were basically new. And I good care of my equipment!  Not sure if they do QA anymore.


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## flatsmaster14

Had 2 allstars break sat morning on 12 inch redfish! I emailed them and they don't care. Wasn't able to fish the redfish tournament because of work but I surly would off been ****** if that happened during a tournament!!!









Back to back fish! I'm done with allstar. Tired of taking broke rods back


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## Muddskipper

OutdoorFreak said:


> I have been using Allstar rods for the last 9 years - the ones that were made in Houston, the best rod made was the Allstar Emerald edition - but thats gone by the way side.All they have now are pretty much knock offs made in China.All 4 of my Emeralds are about beaten to death,but still in decent shape.Im looking for a 6'6 - to 7' footer - 8-17 # test line in the 125.00 range..I would like one that has a decent warranty and prefer made in Texas.You fella's have a good rod that has lasted you awhile and held up to saltwater - ....


we must be long lost brothers .... Not only do i miss my AS emeralds, but I was recently in the same place as you ....

I ended up getting 2 Castaways - in the new rod called the "DONK"

It's 6'7" med light, and very cool..... it's in the $159 price range, but when you hold it you will understand why ..... this rod rivials my G. Loomis rods .....

FTU carries them, but if your near conroe, go to the factory .....it's right near walmart near the lake


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## goodwood

any of you allstar fans use tour star rods? i think they are made by the same guys who started allstar.


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## speckcaster

*check out Kistler!*



OutdoorFreak said:


> Thanks jt ...I will look into the Castaway rods..
> 
> Bull...all blanks are made in China ??...I did not know that ..I know most eyes come from Japan..
> 
> Anybody have anything to say about H&H..Good or bad.??


check out Kistler....there made by the founder of castaway rods!!!!

speckcaster


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## pieman

*Falcon*

Im pretty happy with my Falcon rods. Walmart has them for around $80. I love them.


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## Smackdaddy53

I have a bunch of rods customs and off the shelf rods and for the $ my falcon bucoo is great. If i got another one id get the bucoo micro med lite. USA

http://www.fishingscout.com/anglers/SmackDaddy


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## fred the wader

*Castaway surface bait special*

About 20 years age I bought a Castaway surface bait special, After landing several 50 + pound Jachfish and serveral reds over four feet long, I thought I had better buy a spare before they quit making them, I ended buying three more and have never been sorry.


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## troutless

X2 on the Kistler Rods!. Also check out the Falcon Rods too. I have both and like them.


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## fishslicks91

Castaways is a great rod with awesome customer service. Made here in Texas and not to mention they look pretty sweet!


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## MNsurf

I've had excellent luck with ALL my ARS rods (and I have a bunch) I beat the heck out of em' and have yet to have one break. They have something in every price range.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


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## OutdoorFreak

When I get back home ...I will post pictures of the difference between the All Star rods that were made in Houston vs the china 
knock off they make now....day & night difference..if I really had it my way I would like my Pflueger rod & reel from 1967....it was a old yellow fiberglass rod and the open face reel was stainless steel...those were the days when companies honored their warranties ..then we switched to Fenwicks...then to Penns and then I found AllStar Rods...for the last 11years they were awesome.

For those of you that mentioned the Castaway Rods...Im leaning in that direction ..good 5 year warranty and I like the history of the company ..The Skeleton - The Donk- has every specification Im looking for..will try to get one in my hands this weekend..Thanks for all the responses ..


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## LandsEnd

A bass fishing friend turned me onto the Bass Pro Carbonlite rod. On sale now for $99.00. Weight and balance is awesome.


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## Saltwater Boy(1)

jtbailey said:


> Have you tried looking at the Castaways?? They are made in Montgomery,TX and have outstanding customer service that stands behind their rods... They have a rod that can fit just about any budget. The Skeleton rod is outstanding and you can get one at FTU for around $130-$150 on sale


You can pretty much end the thread right here....JT said it best!


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## Drundel

Any of those rods have length measurements on there or are those extra?


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## OutdoorFreak

Sorry it took so long..

Anyways, as you can see the Emeralds are 9 years old...no tarnish, no splits in the rods - and are still being used today,the rods were all taken care of the same, the Platinum is only 3 years old and looks like its 12 years old ...just terrible.

The Platinum rods SUCK....tarnished , corroded - and the rods pretty much all split or crack right forward of the reel seats..not to mention -they fade and turn white for some reason...like I said - I'm done with All star..that is unless the go back to making the Emerald Edition...then I'm first in line.LOLL



Edit : Tried 3 times to load pictures.,.wont take them..bummer


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## seabo

goodwood said:


> try a kistler klx.
> 
> _one of my favorite rods was an allstar platinum 783c med lite fast with bubble grip_ one of the last ones made in houston.


 thats my go to rod.. got it as a combo with a revo for 139. it has a 200e on it now.plenty of backbone for such a thin rod. if this rod ever breaks i will definitly be sick.


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## OutdoorFreak

Pics......Not sure why - but yesterday I could not load any pics or pull up 2cool on my cell..regardless, its working today


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## Law Dog

Have you tried looking at the BillyStix? They are custom made and he has outstanding customer service that stands behind his rods. Checkout his website BillyStiX.com


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## OutdoorFreak

No Sir....I haven't ....but I will.


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## OutdoorFreak

Has anybody ever used the Green Rod from FTU..?? Worth the money? ?


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## D'sBaystealth

a lot of you guys talk about the high dollar rods. I bought an all star t38x rod 6'6' rod. Love the action of the rod, have a nice quantum e500 reel on it and man that thing is smooth. I feel I can cast a mile and nice action in the rod. But then my next rod is a sigma cirrus 6', with an old quantum 1310mg. I have had both rod about the same length of time and to tell the truth I have caught more fish on the cheap sigma rod than I have on the high dollar all star. So rods are like cars you can drive a Porsche or Cadillac but I will still drive my ford fiesta and do the same thing but not in quite the style. Love the post guys keep up the good work.


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## OutdoorFreak

I consider a Laguna @ 300.00 or a St.Croix to be high dollar..I have never considered a AllStar Rod to be high dollar. More like the medium range if anything


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## Rawpower

I just had Swampland build me a 6â€™6â€™â€™ custom rod. He had a ton of blanks to try out and I went with a Castaway blank. Light / Strong and still had good action. It was half the cost of a Laguna, which is great rod. I got to pick out my Blank/ Handle /Guides/Thread. Itâ€™s been a great rod. You might want to try a local rod builder. We have some good ones on this site. Shoalpatrol is another good builder in the area.:cheers:


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## kapman

goodwood said:


> any of you allstar fans use tour star rods? i think they are made by the same guys who started allstar.


I'm curious about the Tour Star rods as well if anyone has any feedback?


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## OutdoorFreak

I thought the fella that was with Allstar went to Kistler ?? Anybody know where the guy went to or works for now ?? I would like to know too.


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## WildMatt84

I love my Falcon


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## goodwood

Yeah I think Trey Kistler's dad was part of Allstar. Then developed Castaway. Either sold or retired or both and Trey went on to build Kistler.


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## WineyFishrman

OutdoorFreak said:


> I have been using Allstar rods for the last 9 years - the ones that were made in Houston, the best rod made was the Allstar Emerald edition - but thats gone by the way side.All they have now are pretty much knock offs made in China.All 4 of my Emeralds are about beaten to death,but still in decent shape.Im looking for a 6'6 - to 7' footer - 8-17 # test line in the 125.00 range..I would like one that has a decent warranty and prefer made in Texas.You fella's have a good rod that has lasted you awhile and held up to saltwater - give me a heads up,Thanks


I have 2 Castaways, been using for 5+years - caugh a lot of large trout and reds - still going strong. Just picked up a St Croix 7'6 and love it, paid $150.00 on sale at cabela's on a close out rack - will see how it holds up.


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## BILLYSTIX CUSTOM RODS

*stand behind your product*

guy's
i just wanted to offer up this, i am building some sweet texas waderstix in the 6ft8 & 6ft9 range & i have had very good luck so far, i use only low profile titanium guides & i firmly belive in these blank's that i am currently building on!!
yes billystix custom rods stand's behind his build's.
stix


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## CaptBones

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Woodee Rods. Hard to find but man they are great.


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## Silverfox1

speckcaster said:


> check out Kistler....there made by the founder of castaway rods!!!!
> 
> speckcaster


Actually by his son.


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## Silverfox1

*Allstar to Kistler*



OutdoorFreak said:


> I thought the fella that was with Allstar went to Kistler ?? Anybody know where the guy went to or works for now ?? I would like to know too.


Bill Kistler bought into Allstar that was started by Morgan McCain, Helmut Kasiski and Johnny Schulte. Bill and two lawyers bought in and and helped bring Allstar to the forefront in the rod business back in the 80's. Bill broke off and started Castaway in Conroe and had 3 other partners involved with it, Trey, Bill's son came to work at Castaway when he got out of the Army and was tought how to build rods buy the crew already at Castaway, then there was another "partner" break up and Bill left Castaway, Trey eventually left and started his own company.


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## Silverfox1

TourStar rods are by the guy that bought out the original owners of Allstar.


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## Rodsdiesel62

*Flounder?*



Silverfox1 said:


> TourStar rods are by the guy that bought out the original owners of Allstar.


 hows the flounder fishing been silverfox1?


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## Silverfox1

Been busy working


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## txflatsguy

125 is a hard price to find a quality rod.... 

And 99.9% of blanks are built over seas. That .1% is st croix us made blanks. I've built off a few of these and have been very happy. 

I have not read the entire post but also something I'm sure has been covered but if not what action and im6 im8 im10??


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## txflatsguy

Get a rod made use a im8 blank ftu batson or st croix. Casting. Fuj
i micro eyes 6.5 5.5 x2 and the rest 4 get it spiral wrapped and boom!!
You should be able to keep it around 3oz + or -


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## BrushyHillGuide

I can say that Castaway's customer service is really great. I bought a worm rod from them last year and the tip broke a couple weeks after I got it. I called them and they were as nice and apologetic as they could be and they overnighted me a new rod that was in my hands the following day at NO charge. They even gave me a discount on my next rod. It's hard to beat that customer service. 

Still, if you can afford a custom rod and know exactly what you want, that's definitely the way to go. BillyStix or, if they're out of your price range, reach out to David Ellard of SRB rods in Seadrift - $225-$250 for a custom rod and he's a great guy!


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## JuanC

txflatsguy said:


> 125 is a hard price to find a quality rod....
> 
> And 99.9% of blanks are built over seas. That .1% is st croix us made blanks. I've built off a few of these and have been very happy.
> 
> I have not read the entire post but also something I'm sure has been covered but if not what action and im6 im8 im10??


Lamiglas are made in the U.S. also.


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## G Love

Those KLX rods seem like the real deal for $150


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## Pelon1

*Rods*

Just my 2 cents worth: I have a Kistler KLX with the "K" guides, great rod and "VERY" light with a Quantun PT inshore 25 reel - you will be amazed at the weight right at 10 oz total - Also have a Falcon Coastal, Bucoo, a Laguna custom and an Allstar.... They all are good rods and get the job done. My opinion is it boils down to personal preference... no one rod will catch more or bigger fish... Oh yeah My longtime hardcore rod a G Loomis IMX HSR 9000S "OLD SCHOOL" had it since 1992 and still in great shape! I'm out!


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## Pelon1

KLX rods use North Fork Composite blanks (made in the USA) the company is owned by Gary Loomis! it is a partnership between Trey Kistler and Gary Loomis and for $159.00 you can't beat it... KLX - Kistler - Loomis - Xperience


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## nichocha

Ive had great luck with Stickem Rods and Castaway!


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## MikeS2942

I gave up on them and switched to CastAway, I have never looked back once.


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## iiizman

Broke my cAstaway last week. It was my newest castaway and the first castaway I ever broke. I have owned about thirty. I wish I would have thought about the warranty, because I trashed it and grabbed one of my old ones and went to work. I like their rods, but not sure about the new ones, of course I could have just got a bad one.


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## rat race

MikeS2942 said:


> I gave up on them and switched to CastAway, I have never looked back once.


For the money Stickem is an awsome rod. At $80 you get a lot of good components.


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