Temple Fork

[BlueRaiderFan]

Originally Posted by adirondack46r

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

Yeah, I looked it up and you are correct; it's the other way around...don't know why he told me that. Guess I should have looked at the rods closer.

[tntom]

I have a 9' 6wt Series 1 that is a verry powerfull med/fast rod it does a lot of things verry well for $109.00.

Tom

[Carolina Boy]

I have several Pro Series TFO rods (4,5, 10 ft 7 for my "sit in" Yak, and a 9) and I won a Curtis Flemming Flyrod Cronicles edition TFO 3 weight) I have thrown a ton of different rods over the years and I dig the pro series. I have a very fast Loomis 10 for tarpon that I love but as far as price I don't think you can beat TFO. There is of course the knock on em for their cork grade and overseas manufacturing but if you look at the cost and the boys who contribute to their research & development its tough to beat. Lofty price tags ain't got nothing to do with fish count!

[adirondack46r]

I understand the concerns with the overseas manufacturing. I look at it this way - I would rather buy an import from Little River Outfitters than an American made product over the internet. Putting money back in the local economy tends to be my priority.

What's the deal with the cork?

[Bran]

They've just got a cheaper grade cork and mine has started crumbling some on my 4 wt. professional series (I bought it from LRO several years ago). It's a nice rod for the money, I'm certainly not complaining because it helped me get started in Fly Fishing.

[ahutch71]

I have a bunch of rods, and about a half dozen are TFOs - 3 Signatures (3, 5, and 8wt), one Professional (7' 6" 3wt), a Finesse (7'9" 5wt) and a TiCR (9' 5wt). They're great rods - I was out on the Provo in January with my Dad, and had the TiCr and a Winston WT along. He started with the TFO, and then we switched rods so he could use the "good" one (the Winston). After about 30 minutes, he came over and asked if we could switch back.

For fishing in the mountains, the 7' 9" 5wt Finesse may be my favorite rod. It's between that and an 8' 5wt Diamondglass, only because the Diamondglass roll casts better than any other rod I've had the pleasure of fishing with. The Finesse has enough umph to cast a dry/dropper rig, but is soft enough in the tip to fish very fine tippets and small dries.

[SmokyMt4runner]

adirondack46r- Well said.

I would rather purchase an American made product through LRO...

Its just a shame the "made in the USA" rods cant compete on price point.........or....are they just to proud of the product?? Over designed?? possibly........TFO seems to have answered that.

I borrowed a friends TFO sig 6ft 2wt. It was fitted with an Orvis Battenkill BBS1. The outfit balanced well and for the money It served its purpose well.

[ZachMatthews]

Originally Posted by adirondack46r

had recently sold off a Winston IM6 that amplified my casting incompetence...

That is a very wise observation you just made.

Probably the number one mistake new casters make is flopping the rod too far over in the back cast, but as soon as we learn the basic stroke, just about everyone develops problems with tailing loops and crashed casts.

Stiffer rods like the TFO Professionals inherently resist being flexed when an angler misapplies power and makes a tailing loop (which some people call "punching"), and they also resist having their tips wobbled out of a straight line, which is what typically causes casts that crash sideways.

"Speed" and stiffness aren't the same thing (the TFO Pros aren't actually all that fast), but stiffness tends to be underappreciated, especially for moderate-to-good casters. If you're not a beginner but not quite yet an expert, a rod with some backbone is going to help a lot. That was basically the design mantra behind the Sage XP, which was one of the most popular rods ever and which was one of the general design models for the TFO Pro.

Zach

[yonder]

I currently have four tfo rods in the stable. Three pros in 3,4 and 5 weights and one sweet finesse rod in a 2 weight. I bought the 5 weight, took it fishing and broke the tip within an hour on the new river. I emailed TFO and received a prompt reply. Just send the whole rod and 25 dollars. If we can't fix it we will replace it. No warranty card necessary. I shipped it on a monday. I got it back on a friday. Hard to beat the customer service at TFO. I think I will try the new BVK in an 8 foot 3 weight!

[flyred06]

I guess I am the minority in this discussion. I own several Sage rods, Winstons, Cane and had some T&Ts. I have owned and have a friend who owns many TFO rods. I PERSONALLY cannot stand them. I do not like taking a product and a art and shipping it across seas to use inadequate parts and be made by people who have never even made enough money to own a rod and know how it is suppose to feel. Also it is easy to have a warrenty like that when all they do is pick a tip, but or new rod out of a barrel and ship it back out verses making the broken piece back to match the rod correctly. Thats why more expensive rods have serial and lot numbers. Now if you own one and like it then that is great and I am happy for you. I wish you many years of service and great memories. However, I PERSONALLY had rather own a BMW than a Yugo. They both get you where you are going but one ride is definately more enjoyable. I don't mean to offend anyone but that is just my honest opinion.