Academy has their All Star Classic rods on sale for $20. Regular price is $40.

Not a bad deal for folks looking for a good beginner rod or need to add more to the collection. Also in recent weeks there have been OB posters who've been wondering when these would go on sale. The time is now!

Went looking for an all-star rod last week at the CS academy and they only had spinning rods in stock

All star seems to have faded away recently. Used be popular, quality rods.

kyledr04 said:

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All star seems to have faded away recently. Used be popular, quality rods.

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If by recently you mean at least 10 years, then yes.

All Star used to be locally made here in Houston up near Cypress and made some great rods. They even made a really good line of fly rod blanks. However, when the reached the point where they had to go into big box stores their warranty killed them. People would fish a rod for a year or two, decide they wanted a new one and break the old one on purpose. Their warranty policy was for a new rod, no questions asked. And they started losing a ton of money.

Then probably 10-12 years ago they sold out to the company that owns Shakespeare and sold exclusively at Academy. They still make a quality rod but they're not the hot thing anymore and their QC can be spotty (which is generally OK given the return policy at Academy). And they've not been made in the USA in a long time.

Personally, I think that for a bang-for-your-buck rod All Star makes a great choice for 90% of people fishing.

Also keep in mind that for pretty much every single high-end rod company out there not named St. Croix or G. Loomis their rods aren't truly made in America. They're only assembled in America from foreign made parts as I don't think there's any conventional rod makers in the US who cook their blanks here in the USA other than G. Loomis and St. Croix.

edit: and for the record, I'm not sure about G.Loomis anymore since they were bought by Shimano. Gary Loomis now owns North Fork Composites and there are a couple places, oddly enough all in Washington state that do bake their own blanks- the aforementioned North Fork Composites, Batson Enterprises, and Talon Components. Those shops may be supplying the higher-end rod makers like Kistler, Falcon, H&H, Waterloo, and so on but I'm not sure. There are actually more fly rod companies baking their own blanks in the USA like Sage, Scott, St. Croix (except for some lower-end stuff), Orvis (again, except for some lower-end stuff), Winston, and Thomas & Thomas.

Years ago I remember being slightly irked when I found a Made in China sticker on the buttcap of an American Rodsmith rod I had just purchased.

Way back when, my uncle knew a guy that worked there that would get all their factory rejects, take them home, repair them, and sell them for $40 when a new one was $80 or $100. I ended up with a couple myself.

Thanks for the heads up SanAntoneAg. I just bought three of them, along with a Curado that was $50 off. Although I do keep some higher end gear for my personal use, these are a great bang for the buck and it doesn't hurt my feelings when they get dinged up by my boys or guests.

TRIDENT said:

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Thanks for the heads up SanAntoneAg. I just bought three of them, along with a Curado that was $50 off. Although I do keep some higher end gear for my personal use, these are a great bang for the buck and it doesn't hurt my feelings when they get dinged up by my boys or guests.

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I picked up a curado as well

Picked up 2 Chronarch CI4+ for $170/each last week.

Yeah 10 years at least. I think I got my All Stars around 05 or 06. Still have a couple. They were great especially for the under $100 class. I'm surprised they still exist.

But yeah, I doubt most are 100% made in America, especially the blanks.

Lately I've become a big Dobyns fan. And, always liked Falcon

Finn hit the nail on the head. in the 80s and 90s, Allstar rods were the industry leader. Since they sold to Shakespeare, they aren't the same thing.

Castaway makes a great rod (Skeleton and Invicta) and are a great local company. They were sponsors of the Aggie Anglers while I was school, and I believe they are again this year.

Would you recommend these for concealed carry?

Temple Fork (TFO) are pretty decent. You can buy demo rods at their Dallas location.