TFO rod help

[Davy Wotton]

Fly rods, for sure are to some extent a very personal item. My first rod was in fact a Sharpes 88 bamboo, perfect for the stream techniques of fishing in the 50s and 60s. Then came along the stillwate scene and my trusted 88 did not have the means to allow for long range casting, 80ft plus at times. Deal with monster Bows and Browns that would take off 30 to 50 yards of line at times.

From then on l fished with Hardy fibatube, rods till the innovation of carbon fiber. The first rod of that kind l obtained in 1974. What a revelation to say the least.

How things have changed to day. How does the average guy make a choice. I know what l demand from a rod given the technique l choose to use. There is no rod out there that allows for all variables of choice.

What l reguire for fishing midges and light lines is one thing, what l demand for throwing 100ft and streamers is another.

Are your options dictated by price, what species you intend to fish for and so on. l have to say that l am very pleased that l am not entering the fly fishing world to day.

I cannot pretend to imagine what mind boggling thoughts one has to suffer.

Given the options of choice out there.

I know this for certain, l could still catch fish with a bamboo pole cut from the bank side, but it would limit me to some extent.

Davy.

[brittsnbirds]

Well Lucky Fly here is my thoughts. Keep in mind this is coming from a low income public servant. I hunt pheasant and quail with a cheap Stoger side by side. I camp in a well used Jayco popup that I got cheap. I kill all the dear I want with one shot with my cheap Savage .270.

If your looking at a TFO you obviously are in the same market that I was. I am not a great trout fisherman. I don't own expensive rods/reels. However I love the sport and embrace the challenge of tying my own flies and catching fish with them. I own a couple of Cabelas fly rods and decidede to try the TFO. I use my 4wt, 4 piece TRO over the Cabelas. This past summer I found my TFO broke in the back of my truck. I sent it back to the factory and 25 bucks later it returned with a new insert. Yes, had I broke the Cabelas rod they would have exchanged it no questions asked. But I choose to use the TFO. It feels and casts much better then the others. I'm sure the Sage, G Loomis and others probably cast better than the TFO but I don't have the occasion to compare, and I won't.

Morale of my story; if it is in your price range, you learn to use it well and you catch fish, who cares?

[Terry Beeson]

I kill all the deer I want with one shot with my cheap Savage .270.

One of the most underrated rifles of all time.... in my opinion. And I love mine, too...

(Say... you're not looking to "dump" that Stoger on some poor unsuspecting soul, are you?)

Good points... good post. I agree.

[gonefishin]

Looks right to me brittsandbirds.

[SilverMallard]

An old duck hunter's proverb: ducks die just as dead when shot with a $200 Remington 870 as they do with a $2000 Beretta. And I don't mind using the Remington as a boat paddle if the motor breaks down.

[Terry Beeson]

Yep, Ken.... I'll stack my 870 Super Mag against any Benelli or Baretta any day. Even when it's freezin' cold... Hasn't jammed yet... unlike some of the higher dollar guns in the blind I hunted in Jonesboro...

[brittsnbirds]

Ok Terry you got me. I have to admit, one of my shotguns is a little up there. I had an oppurtunity to get a Benelli Super Black Eagle a few years ago. But it's synthetic black like my Savage. No pretty stock, just a Pheasant and Turkey killing machine. The price was right. Plus, being a Police Officer, we have Benelli Super 90's in our cars. One day while we were training with them at the range we pulled out the bird shot and thrower. I was breaking everything they put in the air. Not only are they easy to shoot but the recoil is minimal. Especially after slinging 3 1/2" mags through my 870 Super Mag. That convinced me to look for one. Our range officer is a certified Benelli and Sig Sauer smith (yea I've got a couple of the Sig's too!). That helps in case of a problem.

You asked about my little Stoger. It is a 12/20 S/S combo, English stock, extractors (not ejectors) it's pretty sweet. And yes I would part with it.

[Terry Beeson]

Yep... A box of 3 1/2s through my 870 in a morning duck hunt will put a knot on your shoulder. But I've pulled back to a couple of 3 inchers followed by a 3 1/2 for the third shot at a distance. Usually only time for two shots anyway.

That SBH is a sweet shotgun for sure. I'd like to have one and maybe someday I'll be good enough that Santy will bring me one.

I'm in the infant stages of being in the market for a S/S or O/U shotgun. Just looking right now. The Stoeger you have... what barrels? I like the combo idea. Does it interchange OK?

[SilverMallard]

I paid $115 for my Beretta Xtrema brand new. I've owned $1000+ shotguns and $100 shotguns. The Xtrema is a great gun that is 100% reliable and fun to shoot no matter the load. But I've still killed more ducks with 870 Express Magnum than all the others combined. And I absolutely love my Baikal double guns...and they were less than $300 each when I bought them.

[Guest flyfishBDS]

TFO's aren't just great "starter" rods either.

Now I do sell these so you can take this with a grain of salt, but for one I do try and be a little unbiased for the magazine work I do, and I spent a long time playing with other rods before we selected TFO to join the shop.

But back to TFO's, yes they are great starter rods or for people upgrading from those nasty Wal-Mart speciials (yes they will get you started and catch fish, but u have to be really bitten by the bug to want to keep using them _ I get a lot of them brought in for me to rig up)

They cast very very well, and can get you decent equipment at a very reasonable price, and there are some real gems among their $99 and 139 rods. No their cosmetics aren't the highest grade, and they don';t come with a tube, but they are a great fishing tool.

But I have several as demo/client rods and a couple I fish regularly myself alongside my Sages. The big thing is their choice.

Individual rods (ie a particular length + line weight) can do the tasks they are designed for very well, (fly size/weight, wind and to a lesser extent fish size), but try casting size 2 clousers with your 7'6" 3wt and your in for a world of hurt.

So if you do a lot of different styles of fishing you will end up needed to acquire several rods. My own acquisition path went something like this

8wt starter (I got suckered)

6wt SAGE I still use it

then a decent 8wt for salt

5wt for ME SAGE XP first high end rod after fishing for many years

8wt TFO TiCRX fast 8wt its a cannon,

8"6' 4wt TFO Prof sweet dry fly 4wt, its delicate very moderate action

7'6" 3wt TFO Prof, small stream rod

9' 10wt TiCR big flies for big stripers, if your not familiar with sinking lines/powerful rods go for the Pro series model (I should have done to ease into teh big stick world)

8'9" SLT SAGE 3wt. An altime favorite this is as sweet as moonpie and I use it a LoT

9' 4wt TiCR, great low water white river rod. Great for clients and I keep picking it up as my throw in the back of the Tahoe and slip to the river nymphing rod. Stick a Rio Grand on it.

Unfortunatelyt there's more purchases upstairs too LOl but this isn't how many rods I own, just to show how as your fly fishing horizons expand so does your rod collection. If you ignore the dud 8wt I got sold first for trout (I knew nothing) My rod collection has expanded out from the middle. 5/6s for trout, 8wt for bass saltwater.

Similarly if you start with a 9'5 wt for Taneycomo you might then pick up a 6wt for night fishing streamers, then maybe a 9' 4 or 3wt for low water. Start going to Roaring River and you might want a shorter 4 or 3. Smallies you might want a shorter 6wt, or use that 9' 6wt for white bass. Largemouth go for an 8wt, stripers and 8-10wt.

Now I've built up to some very fine rods in my favorite and most used weights 3, 5wt and 8wt. In between I've got cheaper models for specific jobs that Im still happy casting and fishing.

In fact we probably as many "niche" TFOs like their $99.95 Series One 6' 2wt, 10' 5wt and 10' 6wt Pro series, 7'6" 8wt and 6wt TiCRX as standard 9' 5s.

Lots of opportunities for different style of fishing here and you need to take advantage of them

Cheers

Steve