Never realized St. Croix manufactures In Mexico

[softwateronly]

1 hour ago, Deleted account said:

 

Oh, I don't doubt it. China manufactures some very good high end products as well as cheaply made ones, and they do both well. The cost of shipping and transportation is going to open up opportunities for more manufacturing here in the US as well as our geographically close neighbors, but I'm sure we'll figure out a way to screw it up. 

 

Ever read/listen to Peter Zeihan, he's more bullish on NA manufacturing than actual plant operators.  Hope he's right on this one.

 

scott

[Jigfishn10]

4 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

May not be 100% true - but my last 10 years in the work-force was in manufacturing.

 

I'd say about 15-20% of my co-workers were conscientious and attentive to detail

The other 80-85% were varying degrees from 'it's good enough' to 'I'm just here to get paid'.

Still not a 100% and you're guessing at the percentages. 

 

I work in construction and I can tell you that most of the tradesmen who show up for work are wage workers and put in the time and effort on the project sites.

[Cgolf]

So I own 3 Premiers, 1 Mojo SCII (swimbait rod/light musky), 1 Avid X, 1 Eyecon, and 1 Victory. 

 

I honestly don't look at where they are manufactured when I select the rod I want, I just go with what fits the need. I will be honest though when I was in the factory the person working there talked me out of the M or MH SCII Mojo's because they were the rods they got returned the most with broken tips. Now that the Mojo's are SCIII graphite this is likely no longer an issue, but that statement sits in my brain and I will likely not buy a second Mojo. Overall I have been extremely happy with all my St Croix rods.

[MN Fisher]

4 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

I work in construction and I can tell you that most of the tradesmen who show up for work are wage workers and put in the time and effort on the project sites.

Difference between skilled and un-skilled workers

 

Your tradesmen are apprentice/journeyman/master carpenters, plumbers, electricians. They love the work, work hard to move up the ranks, take specialized training to advance their skills. (it lapsed years ago when I moved to working in IT, but I had a Journeyman electricians license about 35 years ago...so ya, I know)

 

The workers in manufacturing are for the most part un-skilled. Hired off the streets or through agencies. Given an hour or two of instruction, then told to 'go at it'.

 

Quite a bit of difference...so can't really compare the two fields.

[J Francho]

3 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Quite a bit of difference...so can't really compare the two fields.

My wife is HR director for a international company that is in flow control - like for oil rigs and city water supply.  These "unskilled" workers are paid very well, and there's at least a dozen people lined up behind any person that doesn't want to do the work, so for the most part these factory workers are working hard, and making a quality product known the world over for it's reliability.

[Jigfishn10]

So a machinist isn't a trade? My brother-in-law has a very successful business in the manufacturing industry.

 

I get the tradesman reference, but they chose their work of choice and are wage workers. The point is and was, you can't blanket a statement that ALL wage workers don't want to work or produce quality. It simply isn't true.

[J Francho]

Agreed, but I can see the other side.  I worked at a large corporation that shall remain nameless (it starts and ends with an X, lol) and the sheer laziness through all levels from union workers to executives was appalling. I think the issue is more what environment each company fosters.  That place was extremely broken.

[ironbjorn]

99% of the faction of people in America who want everything Murrican Made would have absolutely nothing at all because nothing would be affordable. It sounds great and patriotic until reality slaps you.

 

Similarly I don't shop mom n pop very often. Not because I don't want to support small local businesses, but because the reality is mom n pop comes at a mark up when the big guy down the road gives it to me cheaper. I go with cheaper because that's real life and my wallet matters more than Steve's big house.

[MN Fisher]

Just now, Jigfishn10 said:

So a machinist isn't a trade?

Machinists are skill workers - Apprentice, Journeyman, Master...same skill sets

 

The manufacturing workers I'm talking about are the assemblers...they're overseen by the skilled workers, but mostly set loose.

 

2 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

The point is and was, you can't blanket a statement that ALL wage workers don't want to work or produce quality. It simply isn't true.

Nope - never blanketed it - I'm differentiating between skilled and un-skilled wage workers.

 

Skilled wage-workers are as you say - very devoted to their craft.

Un-skilled wage-workers are predominately just there cause it's a job to pay the bills.

7 minutes ago, J Francho said:

My wife is HR director for a international company that is in flow control - like for oil rigs and city water supply.  These "unskilled" workers are paid very well, and there's at least a dozen people lined up behind any person that doesn't want to do the work, so for the most part these factory workers are working hard, and making a quality product known the world over for it's reliability.

There are exceptions - I'm just stating what my experience/observations were during the time I worked in manufacturing.

[Jigfishn10]

I never said you blanketed the statement. You'd have to go back to my original post where I said that.

7 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Agreed, but I can see the other side.  I worked at a large corporation that shall remain nameless (it starts and ends with an X, lol) and the sheer laziness through all levels from union workers to executives was appalling. I think the issue is more what environment each company fosters.  That place was extremely broken.

Out of HS, I worked for X.......x. I can totally agree with you...  

[Tatulatard]

21 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Difference between skilled and un-skilled workers

 

Your tradesmen are apprentice/journeyman/master carpenters, plumbers, electricians. They love the work, work hard to move up the ranks, take specialized training to advance their skills. (it lapsed years ago when I moved to working in IT, but I had a Journeyman electricians license about 35 years ago...so ya, I know)

 

The workers in manufacturing are for the most part un-skilled. Hired off the streets or through agencies. Given an hour or two of instruction, then told to 'go at it'.

 

Quite a bit of difference...so can't really compare the two fields.

As someone who works in manufacturing I agree with your sentiment. 

[Randy Price]

I'm a SC fanboy admittingly.  I fish a lot in N. Wis. and stop by their factory annually.  I have met the workers and like buying an American made product that I know was produced with pride.  SC also has great CS and that helps too.

[JS8588]

59 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

Not what was intended.  It used to be that by default made in America meant high quality.  That is now a misnomer and not true 100% of the time.  There are definitely companies and people that take pride in their work, but it is far from across the board.  This is particularly rough if you grab the under 30 crowd.  The direction we are heading isn't great.

Under 40*

 

Us Millennials are getting older. For the most part, our work ethic isn't getting better.

 

I outperform most of my peers just by showing up on time-ish for work.

 

4 of our new hires quit before even finishing 2 weeks of training.

[Deleted account]

3 minutes ago, JS8588 said:

Under 40*

 

Us Millennials are getting older. For the most part, our work ethic isn't getting better.

 

I outperform most of my peers just by showing up on time-ish for work.

 

4 of our new hires quit before even finishing 2 weeks of training.

Yeah, work ethic has nothing to do with the job at hand, and it is lacking everywhere I'm sorry to say. I don't completely blame the workers though, we have collectively conditioned them to this attitude to a large degree. 

[volzfan59]

I've got a couple of St. Croix panfish series rods. They're made in Mexico too. They have a reputation for the tips breaking off anywhere from the top, down to around 12". One of mine broke, first time out, about 5" from the tipp while casting a 1/16 oz. Rooster Tail. St. Croix handled it, free of any changes under the warranty. So far, so good but I doubt I'll buy another one.

[Deleted account]

1 minute ago, volzfan59 said:

I've got a couple of St. Croix panfish series rods. They're made in Mexico too. They have a reputation for the tips breaking off anywhere from the top, down to around 12". One of mine broke, first time out, about 5" from the tipp while casting a 1/16 oz. Rooster Tail. St. Croix handled it, free of any changes under the warranty. So far, so good but I doubt I'll buy another one.

I've heard they store the blanks near the jumping beans and many get pelted....

[J Francho]

I'm have around 40 SC rods. None have broken, some are more than 20 years old. 

[volzfan59]

3 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

I've heard they store the blanks near the jumping beans and many get pelted....

And that , my friend could be the reason it broke! Never thought about that being the culprit. ?

Seriously, that line of St. Croix rods has an "iffy" reputation. Not all St. Croix, they make some absolutely stellar rods and they stand by their warranty.

[Deleted account]

17 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I'm have around 40 SC rods. None have broken, some are more than 20 years old. 

Interesting, I would have thought most would have shattered first time out coming from the same country as the Pacer, Vega, and Pinto...  

[QED]

14 hours ago, zell_pop1 said:

Actually ST Croix did outsource Triumph rods to China, as you might expect they had terrible qc so they opened up their own plant in Mexico and started manufacturing Triumph and the Mojo line, but personally I only buy Premier/Avid lines as they are US made.

 

I have several Shimano PA rods (both USM and JDM) and they are all made in China.  Materials and workmanship seem appropriate for the relatively high price point.

[Phil77]

My oldest daughter has three of the Mojo's two jig rods and a medium. I've watched her catch hundreds of bass over the last four years without any snapped tips or any other problems. I think a lot of these stories spread through online reviews and forums, I've been fishing almost forty years and have never had a rod snap under the load of any freshwater fish. I fish everything from Loomis to Lew's and have only ever broke one rod trying to free a Texas rig from a tree on the bank. I was fishing on a friend's boat the other morning and he switched from a worm to a topwater and left to much slack line over the bow. The spot lock grabbed the slack and snapped the tip of his rod, fist thing he blamed was the rod and not his stupidity. Might be legit but I suspect most broken rods are from stupidity rather than a manufacturing defect.

[Allen Der]

Premiers are made in Wisconsin and Bass Pro/Cabela's runs a sale on them every year for ~$120, normally $140-150 these days.  I've never had a St Croix break whether they were from Mexico or US.

[needler420]

5 hours ago, J Francho said:

Victory come in at less than $200 and are made in the Park Falls, WI.

 

Sadly none of the victory models come in a two piece. Otherwise that would have worked for me.

Not possible for me to transport any of the models in the victory line.

 

My old car used to fit 8 foot one piece rods. My new hatchback the biggest one piece that can fit is 6'6 maybe a 6'8 and that would be dangerous for the rod.

 

Now I've had to focus upgrading gear with a focus on two piece rods. Which the Triumph and the Mojo models both have a two piece model. The smallest victory model is 6'8 majority are all over 7 feet.

 

though that is a good price and example for USA made, it just likely won't work for me. If it did the only option would be that 6'8.  

 

 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

If the driving force behind buying American is to support American jobs, remember that purchases of foreign built products from American companies supports shipping, trucking, sales, distribution, marketing, accounting, as well as ancillary jobs. 

[Jweller]

2 hours ago, needler420 said:

 

Sadly none of the victory models come in a two piece. Otherwise that would have worked for me.

Not possible for me to transport any of the models in the victory line.

 

My old car used to fit 8 foot one piece rods. My new hatchback the biggest one piece that can fit is 6'6 maybe a 6'8 and that would be dangerous for the rod.

 

Now I've had to focus upgrading gear with a focus on two piece rods. Which the Triumph and the Mojo models both have a two piece model. The smallest victory model is 6'8 majority are all over 7 feet.

 

though that is a good price and example for USA made, it just likely won't work for me. If it did the only option would be that 6'8.  

 

 

really frustrated with the lengths on the Victory's and new Legends.  I suppose I'm just a dinosaur wanting shorter-ish rods.