re: Texas Rod Company and other Texas/LA rod makers

Kistler makes several rods in that price range. All except their bottom teir rods are assembled in Texas.

I'd be very leary of any custom builders offering rods in your budget. I build rods. A decent blank and components is going to run ~$125 at a minimum. Most charge $125-150 for a build fee so you're looking at $250 minimum for a decent rod.

If they're charging $150-200 for a finished rod then they're either using really low grade components or not charging much for their time which often indicates poor craftsmanship.

Someone like Swampland might be an exception as they're building at a higher volume (usually means lower labor fees) and getting wholesale discounts on components.