Chris and Marlene Yamada, avid fishermen and loyal Calstar enthusiasts since the company was founded, purchased Calstar in 2025. Marlene was a crew member when Chris chartered her father's sportfishing boat back in their college years. They are dedicated to continuing and improving on Calstar's mission of building the finest quality, best performing fishing rods and blanks.

Chris "returns" to sportfishing after 4 decades in aerospace, where he was a Fortune 100 officer, then CEO of another aerospace company. Chris has a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, and is an Executive Management program graduate. He has wrapped his own custom rods since grade school, and worked at Art's Tackle in Gardena, CA during undergraduate school, wrapping custom rods and supporting customer tackle sales. At night, he worked at 22nd St Landing in San Pedro, CA - ticketing passengers for the overnight boats. He filled in on the deck of the New Hustler II to occasionally help his eventual father-in-law, George Mio. These experiences underlie his strong support for our sportfishing community. His lifelong passion for tuna fishing drove Chris to only choose the best fishing equipment, and that meant he only used Calstar since it was launched.

John Cameron, Operations Manager at Calstar Tackle, has over 40 years of fishing rod craftsmanship experience. Son of founders Leon and Pat Todd, John started at California Tackle and Sabre Rods, and was integral to Calstar since its inception. John's team includes the same dedicated manufacturing, rod wrapping, and office personnel who proudly remain with our company.