Lost another "Made In USA" company

I know this may be old news to some of you but I just discovered a few weeks ago that my home town favorite bait manufacture of soft plastics Bobby Garland and Gene Larew have been purchased by the Pradco Outdoor conglomerate located in Fort Smith, AR. I'm going to miss going out and taking the tour of the facility, but most of all I'll miss looking at the package and seeing made in USA Tulsa, OK. I seen a package a few months ago that said made in China and I thought it was just a knock off, but now I know it was the real deal. I always stayed true to the Bobby Garland brand but now I'll be searching for a different brand that is still made 100% here in the USA; so if any of you all have suggestions let me know.


Guess I'll round up a few of the old packages and save them for some future memorabilia,

Attachment 384030


Here is a the Pradco homepage on there website, looks like they've got about everybody now.

Attachment 384031
Fishing - Pradco Outdoor Brands

Sad news. The baits MAY be just as good but the loss of jobs irritated me. We really need to stop letting China own this country. [emoji35]

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I've gone to our members that custom make baits : Skiptomylu (Thump-it Jigs) - Snake River (Bob's Jigs) - slabeye (Slabanator Jigs) - Grousefly (P&S Custom Tackle). :twocents

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Originally Posted by silverside

Sad news. The baits MAY be just as good but the loss of jobs irritated me. We really need to stop letting China own this country. [emoji35]

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Pradco is based in Alabama, China isn’t the problem, it’s corporate greed.

Bobby Garland is still making product in the USA.

They are still cranking out lots of Garland from Oklahoma and Fort Smith, AR, too.


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My source says nothing from China. So Dono what you’re seeing.


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Most fishing tackle is made in China. It's a sad reality.

BG Baby Shad is my favorite bait. I have 29 packs of 18 with every color that's been made! That should last me for about 3 years! But I'll be on the lookout for the Green Banana jig that's on Lonnie84's post!:biggrin

Crappie Magnet. If you can’t catch a fish on Tennessee Shad or Dede Special, may as well load up and go home.

Southern Pro might be an option for you but I think something is out of whack there, too. They have not been updating their webpages with all the colors of crappie baits they used to have, particularly in their "stinger" line of baits. When I inquired as to when they might come back in stock, I got a very non-committal "going to be a while" reply. Stock seems to be low as other distributors as well.
Hopefully, BG remains here making product in the USA, even if they are owned by a bigger company.

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Originally Posted by GoTennTitans

Dede Special

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Not familiar with that color. Please share.

And sold in stores owned by Patel's. Bought with interest free loans from our government.

Sorry I'll put myself in the corner for a timeout Slab.

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Interesting banter , but I know this much , the baits seem to be the same to me as always :cheers2

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

Interesting banter , but I know this much , the baits seem to be the same to me as always :cheers2

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I did post that Bobby Garland baits are still made in the USA. I'm not sure how anyone is seeing Bobby Garlands made in China. There should not be any, at least as I've been told.

Yesterday i was in Academy Sports and saw BG baits that said they were made in Guatemala on the front of the package.

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Originally Posted by RogerA

Yesterday i was in Academy Sports and saw BG baits that said they were made in Guatemala on the front of the package.

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I do think that's possible. Pradco does have a manufacturing plant there. But at least not china.

Just stopped by Walmart, all of the Bobby Garland packages that didn't say "Made in the USA" were marked Pradco and came out of Guatemala. None were marked China.

Whether China or Guatemala, point is they ARE being made out of the country, which was the OP's point.

being fisherfolk and having choices just make sure EVERYTHING you buy is made in USA in your home. will cost a little bit more but is doable and that's how you change things. Don't go to chains to eat or for your hardware. especially never buy Any food stuff made in china as they don't allow our FDA into their plants and have no health inspectors or restrictions, notably communist fools bought smith farms and their product lines. Look at labels folks, it's not that hard.

for 24 years thru 3 presidents they didn't lift a finger to stop plants from moving overseas but things are different now as Trump recognizes that china is out to literally take over the world and is the threat to everyone. Lots of plants have returned because of lousy quality products being produced and folks stopped buying their products. I used to be manufacturing headhunter and can tell you horror stories about mfg folk who went there for work and the things they saw and experienced.

No politics please


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