Temple Fork

[adirondack46r]

On my Easter Day trip to the Little River I took one of my son's 8.5 wt Temple Fork. I had recently sold off a Winston IM6 that amplified my casting imcompetence and I wasn't sure what my next purchase would be. I don't know why but I was very surprised at the performance of this rod. It was one of three I had purchased a few years ago at LRO (around $129 I think) to give away at Christmas and I had never cast it myself. I have owned several Sage and Winston, but never anything else. I have to say, I'm not sure why I would again spend 600-$700 on a rod when a Temple Fork performs so admirably.

This has probably been beaten to death, but what are your experiences with these rods? I think I'm sold.

[flynut]

I've got a TFO Lefty Kreh series 4 weight and I love it...it's proven to be quite versatile and casts very nicely! And the lifetime guarantee is a nice thing to have too...

[FishNHunt]

When I was in the market for a fly rod I thought that I wanted a Winston, Sage or any of the "high end" fly rods. How wrong I was. I own 3 TFO's and will not own any other brand. They fit me perfectly for where and how I fish. They weigh close to what the high end rods do and I've yet to break one and I'm hard on equipment. One can outfit 3 TFO rods with Battenkill reels and line for only slightly more than what a single high end rod costs.

[benintenn]

I just started fly fishing last fall and after talking to someone at LRO I went with a TFO combo outfit. It is the 4/5 wt 8.5 ft NXT rod. It came with rod, reel, line, leader, and a hard case...all for $199.99. I really can't compare it to anything else since it is my first and only rod but it is great. As far as I'm concerned I won't need another one for a while. I've taken it on some backpacking trips and it performed great.

My 5 year old stepped on it and broken the tip off of it after I had it for about a month. I sent it to Texas on a Monday and had the rod repaired and I was fishing with it on Friday. I'm glad I listened to the guy at LRO because he said for the little more you spend on the TFO, you can get it fixed as many times as you need.

[Crockett]

TFO finesse is the one I use and love it. Never broken including when I stepped on it just below the rod tip real good this past weekend fishing. I did lose the rod tip on WPLR last year but that was my fault should have known better than to cut off the flies and walk through the woods without being rigged up. LRO fixed me up real quick with a replacement tip.

[ifish4wildtrout]

I own a 3 wt 7.5 foot pro series and a 4 wt 8.5 foot BVK. I love them both and the price and warranty are both awesome.

I have never casted a high end rod, so I can not compare them to a more expensive rod.

[adirondack46r]

The only high end rod that I felt performed noticeably different than the others was a Sage XP that I used when I fished the Delaware River (Catskills) several times a year. It's a big river and almost always with a good breeze, and the XP seemed to be a good match for those conditions. Even so, was it $400 or $500 better than a comparable TFO? Probably not. Now if I had any skill at all and could buy a Sage blank and build a half way decent rod, I might do it, but TFO off the shelf production rods are, IMHO and great value.

[BlueRaiderFan]

I wish I had bought the Finesse...not enough spine on the signature series for me.

[adirondack46r]

Originally Posted by BlueRaiderFan

I wish I had bought the Finesse...not enough spine on the signature series for me.

The finesse is medium. The signature is medium fast. Should have been MORE spine in the signature, right?

[BlueRaiderFan]

Not according to the guide at the shop. I didn't cast it though. I think the sig series is a little noodly but I've only tried a few rods...maybe it's me.