Dobyns rods was sold!

[waymont]

GSM outdoors bought Dobyns rods.

Mr Dobyns will stay involved. All the info I have.

[Bird]

This news must be fresh of the press as a Google search revealed nothing.

[MN Fisher]

Even financial news has nothing on this - last bit was GSM got Mid-America rod company last month to add to their acquisition of Phenix Rods late last year.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Saw it earlier.....just another brick in the wall of the corporatization of the fishing industry.   Sucks.  

 

 

[NavyToad]

I guess the timing was right for Gary. Turned 65 and made his move. Sounds like Dobyns will be business as usual with the same employees at least for now. I took a look at GSM's website and they also have Yamamoto and Big Bite Baits under their umbrella. It could have been worse - at least it wasn't Pure Fishing.

[Glenn]

GSM is a growing company with great leadership.  They're on their way to being the leading company in fishing AND hunting. 

 

Gary made a terrific move!

[Big Hands]

My local tackle shop has stopped taking in customer's rods for warranty/replacement service, and is advising them to deal directly with Phenix CS. When replacement rods are handled through a shop, the customer doesn't have to pay for shipping. When they have to deal directly with Phenix, the customer is responsible for shipping charges.

 

I hope they get their CS issues resolved soon, and I hope that Dobyns avoids the same situation. Phenix used to have a pretty good reputation for their CS. That is not presently the case at Phenix from what I have heard.

 

On the other hand, Gary has a very solid reputation, and I will continue to respect that unless something happens to change that.

[GReb]

From Gary’s Facebook post
 

“It's been a heck of a day for me and I'd like to make a few comments here on things. First of all it was a tough decision to sell the company. It's bittersweet to say the least. I know the GSM Outdoors guys very well and I trust them. One of my main concerns was my team here in Sulphur Springs. I wanted this group taken care of as they are all friends of mine. I never refer to them as employees because it doesn't sound right and they're far more than this to me. All of our team stays in place, money stays, retirement stays, and medical gets better as GSM has a larger group to draw from. The second concern was my pro-staff. We wouldn't be anywhere without our staff. They promote like crazy, open dealers, and are truly a TEAM, and always are looking to help!! My staff stays the same and in-fact will be asked to help promote other GSM Outdoor brands if they choose to. Since day one of the company, we've supported our military with discounts both active and past, and this continues as well. So, in short, all of my Sulphur Springs TX team remain, all my pro-staff remain, we continue to support our military, our #1 goal remains customer service and quality of product. We still answer our phones when you call. I'm not going anyplace either, I'm still here in Sulphur Springs. I'm making new rods for our line ups, even today I started on two new ones to fill a gap. When I asked my friend and CEO of GSM, what are my parameters and what can I do? The answer was pretty simple, he said "you do what you always do". Guys, give us a chance to prove ourselves once again. THX!!!!I “

[fishballer06]

Really hate to see this happen. Everything looks good at face value right now, but only time will tell how this will turn out. 

[TOXIC]

GSM is really putting a lot of brands into its product line AND they are expanding those lines offerings as well.  Just look at what they’ve done with Yamamoto and the number of new offerings from them.  Their current fishing lineup:

Yamamoto Baits

Steelshad

Bill Lewis

Buckeye

Big Bite

Cuda

Bucca Brand

Frog Factory

Phenix Rods

Dobyns Rods

Mid America Rod Company

[Team9nine]

2 hours ago, fishballer06 said:

Really hate to see this happen. Everything looks good at face value right now, but only time will tell how this will turn out. 

Yep - at this point, you’re just a pawn in a game of financial chess, waiting to be built up and sold off to bigger and bigger private equity firms. It’s all about the 🤑🤑🤑 This is actually what the Milliken video was about, but it was Al Lindner who first ‘went off’ about this trend in the fishing industry.

[bx.versatile]

Dobyns x Phenix collaboration rod? Finally, a lighter and more balance, but x2 over rating in rod power.

[12poundbass]

4 hours ago, TOXIC said:

GSM is really putting a lot of brands into its product line AND they are expanding those lines offerings as well.  Just look at what they’ve done with Yamamoto and the number of new offerings from them.  Their current fishing lineup:

Yamamoto Baits

Steelshad

Bill Lewis

Buckeye

Big Bite

Cuda

Bucca Brand

Frog Factory

Phenix Rods

Dobyns Rods

Mid America Rod Company

Their hunting resume is pretty impressive too and I imagine any hunter on this forum has bought or used something from one of their companies. https://www.gsmoutdoors.com/our-brands/

 

The sky isn’t falling IMHO, people just don’t like change. I surely don’t blame Gary. Every entrepreneur dreams of starting a company, growing a company, and eventually selling it for big money and enjoying the rewards of their hard work. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

I wish nothing but good things for him and his employees. He’s a good dude. 

[Brian11719]

Realize corporations buying out smaller businesses is looked down on these days but as someone that recently worked for a completely different (not fishing at all) company that also got sold I will say I think Gary is an ok guy from the videos / articles I have seen and his latest post on this reaffirms my view. IMHO you can tell he really wants to make sure the people that worked for him and with him would be ok and there are definitely other people out there that have owned companies and not prioritized that at all when they ended up selling them. I did like that they were a small / american owned business and that was one of the reasons I decided to give them a try to begin with, but this news by itself isn't going to change my opinion on their rods or the brand in general...

[F14A-B]

On 5/1/2024 at 7:12 PM, Glenn said:

GSM is a growing company with great leadership.  They're on their way to being the leading company in fishing AND hunting. 

 

Gary made a terrific move!

I don’t blame him one bit, Gary Loomis sold his company and worked in the front office for 10 more years.

 

Gary Dobyns was smart to sell, big companies have big money. Plus he gets to stay & do whatever and make a nice check doing it. 

[Nelson Delaney]

1 hour ago, alonerankin2 said:

I don’t blame him one bit, Gary Loomis sold his company and worked in the front office for 10 more years.

 

Gary Dobyns was smart to sell, big companies have big money. Plus he gets to stay & do whatever and make a nice check doing it. 

 

Gary Loomis was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and sold the company.  
Fortunately he survived.  
 

[Columbia Craw]

I actually called Dobyns before Gary post his disclosure video.  Before the speculation rumor mill gets off and running, give it some time. I’m confident the transition can be beneficial to to those who fish or want to fish a Dobyns rod. I completely agree with Glenn that Gary is a good guy. 
 

Gary Loomis did sell his company out of a bleak health issue.  Don’t expect him to speak positively of the totality of that situation however.

[waymont]

The two rod  companies that make up 95 percent of my gear are GLoomis and Dobyns. I don’t think selling the company will destroy the brand. I feel confident it will be a good situation considering what we know about the circumstances. Champions are badass rods.

[NoFroFishing]

Gary has never lead anyone astray. I trust him and look forward to the future of my favorite rod company. 

[Boomstick]

It doesn't sound like GSM plans to change much, other than position themselves one step higher on the race to take over the world.

[F14A-B]

13 hours ago, Columbia Craw said:

I actually called Dobyns before Gary post his disclosure video.  Before the speculation rumor mill gets off and running, give it some time. I’m confident the transition can be beneficial to to those who fish or want to fish a Dobyns rod. I completely agree with Glenn that Gary is a good guy. 
 

Gary Loomis did sell his company out of a bleak health issue.  Don’t expect him to speak positively of the totality of that situation however.

 Honestly his health is beside the point. He made a fortune selling it to Shimano. Shimano kept him on as long as he wanted. About 10 additional years. That’s a lot of paychecks. 
 

Shimano has done well by the Loomis name. I’ve used Loomis since 96, I’ve just literally purchased 2 GLX rods and just received a new IMX crank bait rod. 
They are exceptional rods. All my reels except 2 are Shimano and that’s a bunch. As far as Dobyns, I don’t have an opinion as I’ve never used one, but I’ve handled them and wasn’t impressed. I did try a Powell rod once where Gary use to be and wasn’t impressed. I have a Daiwa Zillion rod and it’s awesome..

[ChrisD46]

Uhhh , my first thought is what happens to the quality and consistency of the Dobyns rods once sold ? … Look what happened to All Star rods once sold - they are the same in name only today . 

[F14A-B]

3 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

Uhhh , my first thought is what happens to the quality and consistency of the Dobyns rods once sold ? … Look what happened to All Star rods once sold - they are the same in name only today . 

 Yep, and at least back in the 90’s many of their blanks were GLoomis..

[MiceNReets]

5 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

Uhhh , my first thought is what happens to the quality and consistency of the Dobyns rods once sold ? … Look what happened to All Star rods once sold - they are the same in name only today . 

What happened to All Star rods?