Aqualab Posted June 24, 2015 Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 How come there isn't much talk on here about Cousins saltwater/surf rods? Are they more geared towards the west coast and Florida fishing crowd? They look like a quality made rod, offer many models and styles, American made, and use top quality components (their cork handles look great). Only a couple of websites carry them, seem to be mostly sold at brick and mortar on the California and Florida coasts. Shops carrying them are pretty few and far between up mid-Atlantic and New England way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianBM Posted June 24, 2015 Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 Well, "American Made" can translate as "assembled here of components made there," so don't get too excited yet. I haven't seen one on the beach or store on LI. I've been told they are a significant player in Florida. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icepants Posted June 24, 2015 Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 I have been looking at them. They are here in NJ in very limited numbers. The website is not very informative however they respond to email fast. It appears they have one of the reps from Lamiglas working for them. I will give them some time to figure out what they want to bring into our area. The price seems very good for the rods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianBM Posted June 24, 2015 Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 Do they sell blanks or only rods? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icepants Posted June 24, 2015 Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 Do they sell blanks or only rods? not sure so I will not say Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishizzle Posted June 24, 2015 Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 They were at the rod building expo in North Carolina this past February. They sell blanks and completed rods. My local shop is going to be getting some in soon. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqualab Posted June 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 My understanding is they just merged with CastAway Rods out of Texas. Not all that familiar with their rods either. I read that Cousins reduced the prices on every model they manufacturer a few months back, temporary or long term, no idea. Reduce inventory maybe prior to the merge? Another thread on here mentioned that some Lamiglas guys are now at Cousins. The Cousins rods kind of remind me of the Tommy Farmer Castpro's a little - just in appearance and only from website videos/pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bergallmaster Posted June 25, 2015 Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 they do sell blanks. rod room and anglers workshop sell them. they are made in California which makes me think they may be made by one of the larger southern California manufacturers. i have had no experience with them just seen them on the net. the human race has proved darwins theory of evolution wrong. we let the dumb survive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CousinsCeo Posted June 25, 2015 Report Share Posted June 25, 2015 Hey Everyone,Lots of great questions about the Cousins Brand and hopefully as one of the two cousins I can shed some light on all your questions.I will try my best to get them all answered. First, As way of introducing Cousins it was started three years ago with true-life cousins Bill Buchanan (myself) and Wade Cunningham. Though you probably have never heard of us, over our careers the past 35+ years, the two of us have helped to create, run or own the following companies Sage, Seeker, Fenwick, Sevenstrand, Berkley, Spiderwire, Stren, Abu Garcia, Abel and Shikari. After taking nearly two full years to build, we now proudly operate a full line manufacturing plant which includes blanks (both glass, graphite, and composite), finished rods, lures, and lure skirts. In our current operation we now employ 55 hard working Americans, who take a lot of pride in making high quality US built products. We do our best to source as much of our raw materials from US based companies whenever we can. As far as anyone seeing our products specifically built for the Northeast yet... we have just started shipping to our dealers in the NE and they should be arriving within the month. The product mix for all of our Northeast product line will be up on the Cousins website within the next week for everyone to see. We are not a converter or assembler as so many who claim to be American made are these days. We build everything from the ground up. Follow the link in our website to our to get a tour of the blank and rod factory. Yes it is true we recently have hired Josh Cooper the former rod designer from Lamiglas. Josh is helping along with our long list of experts from the northeast to create our line up of new products. It takes a village and a lot of time to get these products right. Any help or feedback is always welcome. If there is one thing I have learned in this sport...is to listen, listen, listen and try to learn. As far as the merger with Castaway... this is not finished. It is true that we have a working alliance with this company but the ownership remains separate. Cousins and Castaway remain strong independent companies with loyal regional consumer followings. I want to thank all of you for your questions...please feel free to contact Cousins at anytime for questions, comments, or your valued input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fall fish Posted June 26, 2015 Report Share Posted June 26, 2015 Glad to know that you are going to have new rods in the line up for the East Coast. The ones currently on the website appear to be geared towards light line surf-fishing in California. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Ahab Posted June 26, 2015 Report Share Posted June 26, 2015 Sounds good. You need ME to conduct extensive field tests. I am avaliable and would lover to give some of your product a try. I fish fine look stupid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lureman Posted June 27, 2015 Report Share Posted June 27, 2015 (edited) Hey Everyone, Lots of great questions about the Cousins Brand and hopefully as one of the two cousins I can shed some light on all your questions. I will try my best to get them all answered. First, As way of introducing Cousins it was started three years ago with true-life cousins Bill Buchanan (myself) and Wade Cunningham. Though you probably have never heard of us, over our careers the past 35+ years, the two of us have helped to create, run or own the following companies Sage, Seeker, Fenwick, Sevenstrand, Berkley, Spiderwire, Stren, Abu Garcia, Abel and Shikari. After taking nearly two full years to build, we now proudly operate a full line manufacturing plant which includes blanks (both glass, graphite, and composite), finished rods, lures, and lure skirts. In our current operation we now employ 55 hard working Americans, who take a lot of pride in making high quality US built products. We do our best to source as much of our raw materials from US based companies whenever we can. As far as anyone seeing our products specifically built for the Northeast yet... we have just started shipping to our dealers in the NE and they should be arriving within the month. The product mix for all of our Northeast product line will be up on the Cousins website within the next week for everyone to see. I know Castaway Rods are located in Houston, Texas,are they builted there or builted over seas I know Castaway Rods are located in Houston Texas,are the blanks ands rods builted there? or are they built over seas We are not a converter or assembler as so many who claim to be American made are these days. We build everything from the ground up. Follow the link in our website to our to get a tour of the blank and rod factory. Yes it is true we recently have hired Josh Cooper the former rod designer from Lamiglas. Josh is helping along with our long list of experts from the northeast to create our line up of new products. It takes a village and a lot of time to get these products right. Any help or feedback is always welcome. If there is one thing I have learned in this sport...is to listen, listen, listen and try to learn. As far as the merger with Castaway... this is not finished. It is true that we have a working alliance with this company but the ownership remains separate. Cousins and Castaway remain strong independent companies with loyal regional consumer followings. I want to thank all of you for your questions...please feel free to contact Cousins at anytime for questions, comments, or your valued input. Edited June 27, 2015 by lureman A beach is a place where a man can feel, he's the only soul in the world thats real ; A jetty is a place where a man feels, he must have a bucket full of eels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianBM Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Very good, CousinsCEO. Is Wade Cunningham any relation to Rip, of Salt Water Sportsman (perhaps formerly?) Good luck with the new business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CousinsCeo Posted June 29, 2015 Report Share Posted June 29, 2015 Wade is not related to Rip. However, I have known Rip since the 80's when my family owned Sevenstrand. As for the Castaway question, because of signed agreements between our two entities, I will have to refer that question to them... We will be updating the website this week so all can take a look. I appreciate everyone's interest and look forward to showing you our products. If anyone is ever visiting southern California our factory is open to tour. Just give us a call and we would be honored to show you through the facility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icepants Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 Fished my Cousins for the first time today LSW704S. It's handles bucktails up to 1.5oz and maybe up to 2. I say maybe because I didn't try it. Nor did I get any nice fish today. But it's a very nice fluke that fishes like it should have cost more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to register here in order to participate.
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now