Since 1999

Our Story

Our company was born in a Texas garage. After Trey Kistler returned home from serving in the Gulf War, he went to work with his father building fishing rods. When his dad retired, Trey decided to blaze his own trail. He decided to make an exciting life for himself, his wife and four babies. He decided to create some solid American jobs. And he decided to try and catch as many fish as possible. So he set himself to the task of making the best bass fishing rod out there. We, and Trey, wouldn’t have it any other way. If his family name is going to be on it, it’s going to be the best. Kistler products are excellent. Period. They are the most sensitive, the most responsive, the most trustworthy. When you hold one of our rods, you know you’re holding something special.

We. Love. Bass. And we love fishing. And we love the strong community that is fishing. We make rods and reels for pros, for tournament anglers, and for obsessed anglers who live to catch the most and catch the biggest, because that’s our goal, too. We don’t sit on our laurels. We are restless. There’s always a bigger fish to catch. So we push ourselves to test, innovate, and make our products and your fishing experience the very best. We build our rods in America in a small building full of new ideas and full of our Kistler family. The best design, materials, and components. The best service. The best feel and strength. Your best day on the water. As we said before, Trey wouldn’t have it any other way.

Take the Factory Tour

The Way Fishing Should Feel

Your Best Day on The Water

Kistler works each day so that every day you fish is your best day out on the water. We design products for our fishing family, handcrafted by experts. We always keep pushing ourselves to make our products better because we just plain love to catch big fish. And to catch big fish, you need to be fearless and show up and try new things every single day. Funny enough, it takes the same things to make the best, premium bass rod on the market. And we’re not afraid to say it: a Kistler rod is something special—it helps you feel more, so you can catch more, catch the biggest.

Featured Kistler Employees

Jordan S.

Jordan processes orders, Takes
customers calls and walk-ins,
Inspects all the reels, and
Does production manager duties.

Marion B.

Marion wraps the guides
to the rod with the respective
colors on stock and custom rods
and does guide repairs.

Reuben E.

Reuben takes care of all
of our warranties, takes
customers phone calls
and when they walk in.

Emily M.

Emily glues all the guides
on the rods w/ hot melt glue.

Kaden K.

Kaden hand picks the best
blanks for the custom rod
orders, fits up all the handles/butts
on the rods, glues up those parts,
and applies labels to the rods.

Emily B.

Emily puts finish on all the rods
and inspects them when they
dry to make sure they are up to
Kistler quality.

Mike S.

Mike straightens all the guides
to the reel seat and applies
the first pre-coat of finish
to the rods.

Jordan S.

Jordan processes orders, Takes
customers calls and walk-ins,
Inspects all the reels, and
Does production manager duties.

Marion B.

Marion wraps the guides
to the rod with the respective
colors on stock and custom rods
and does guide repairs.

Reuben E.

Reuben takes care of all
of our warranties, takes
customers phone calls
and when they walk in.

Emily M.

Emily glues all the guides
on the rods w/ hot melt glue.

Kaden K.

Kaden hand picks the best
blanks for the custom rod
orders, fits up all the handles/butts
on the rods, glues up those parts,
and applies labels to the rods.

Emily B.

Emily puts finish on all the rods
and inspects them when they
dry to make sure they are up to
Kistler quality.

Mike S.

Mike straightens all the guides
to the reel seat and applies
the first pre-coat of finish
to the rods.

We just plain love to catch big fish.

Kistler Carbon.

Hold Something Special

KISTLER has partnered with multiple elite carbon factories across the globe. These well-established carbon experts have exceeded Trey Kistler’s demands for excellence in terms of quality control, consistent actions and power as well as durability.KISTLER is now providing carbon blanks that we believe are the best in the business, period. For KISTLER and for our customers, it is an evolution into a better technology than ever before.Trey Kistler’s 28 years of experience has enabled KISTLER to provide our customers with the most advanced designs and engineered carbon blanks that will certainly increase the cast to catch ratio for every level angler.

The proprietary 45 degree angle overlay construction using 100% Japanese carbon by Toray has enhanced the performance of KISTLER Carbon Blanks making them noticeably lighter weight and noticeably more sensitive.This is an evolution that offers our customers better rod technology, better fishing, and a better warranty – the KISTLER Bend Strong 5 Year Warranty on every rod series. KISTLER has made the choice to make the best rod on the market.

Videos.

Our Values

Our Standards.

Faith

Our faith in God influences all that we do, as a business and as individuals. We treat people and nature with respect. We live every day with kindness and strive to be the best versions of ourselves. We have limited time here, and we want to spend it living in service of others (and get some fishing in, too).

Family

Family is everything to us. The family that raised us taught us how to fish. How to work hard and follow our own path. Our family, the one we made for ourselves, is the reason why we work hard every day. The fishing community is part of our big family. And we always take care of those who take care of us.

Excellence

Maybe it’s the time our founder spent in the military. Maybe it’s just how we were raised or how we are wired. But whatever we make, whatever we do, we want it to be the best. We are obsessed with craft. Dedicated to reinvention. We love the pursuit of excellence, in life and in fishing.

Respect

The world just works better when people treat one another with mutual respect. It requires listening, understanding, kindness and communication. We begin every conversation with respect. Especially with our customers. They respected us, trusted us, enough to spend their hard-earned money on our product. We respect their loyalty by standing by our rods and reels.

We just plain love to catch big fish.

The Kistler Difference

Sensitivity

World renowned, mind-blowingly lightweight rods that help you feel everything. When you feel more, you catch more.

Service

Customer care is our priority. From the time of your order till it gets to your door and beyond. We're here to help.

Design Detail

We're meticulously obsessed with the small things so that every rod or reel you get beats your expectations.

Expertise

We're expert rod builders with decades of combined experience. We know what helps you catch more and bigger fish.

Built By HandIn Texas

Born in a Texas garage, every Kistler rod is built by hand in Magnolia, TX.

Giving Back to Conservation

For Conservation

Since 1999, Kistler Rods has given over $765,000 toward conservation efforts nation wide. Every Rod or Reel purchase gets us closer to our goal of $1,000,000 given to conservation since 1999.

Testimonials

What Our Customers Say