I was going to build my step-son a new fly rod, until a guy in the fly shop showed me a Temple Fork Outfitters Professional Series 9' 8wt 4pc rod that was only $150 and a lifetime warranty. He flexed the tip section on it past 90 degrees and indicated there were no flat spots in the blank and there was plenty of backbone for Salmon fishing. I was wondering if anyone own a TFO rod and was wondering what they thought of these rods? I don't think I can builfd a Salmon rod that good for $150 myself.

Tim,

Yes you can. The TFO are nice rods and a greay buy for the money. However, you can do better. An Amtak with a nice struble seat and good cork will cost you less than the TFO, and you should have a better rod.

Also, did you look at the ferrules on the 7 wt and up in the 4 pc professional series? They are tip over butt ferrules. They finish both the male side and the female end like there are two wraps there, but they only put thread wraps on the MALE side. There are no thread wraps on the female ferrule on any of the professional series rods made for 2005 from a 7 wt up. I've looked at every one in every shop around here that carries them. They are all the same. I wonder how many they will get back like that?

Thanks,
Casts

Yes you can indeed. You are an American aren't you? Without all the possible negative comments about Pohang Creek Outfitters, you can do much better, plain and simple. You just need to look at the awful cork and the lousy wrap coatings on those rods.

I fished a 7'6" TFO 3 wgt last year, my first experience with a 3 wgt. I then built a 7'9" 3 wgt using a 2003 Forecast blank. It cast just as well and the blank only cost $15.00.

my TFO professional has nice wrap coatings. the cork isn't great and now that i'm assembing fly rods, i can do better and will. but it's a good rod for value if you're forced to look for a manufactured rod at that price point with a warranty, assembled in korea i think to american company's specs.

since you're here though, at one of the best web sites for building rods of all types with a PLETHORA of help available, i would suggest having just a tad more faith in yourself and go for making one on your own.

when i finished mine, with all of it's beginner's mistakes (minor really), i thought to myself, "is that all there is to it???" of course there's much more to assembling a rod, but you can do this yourself and in time, a few rods down the road when the bug hits you like a freight train and you begin dreaming of the endless possibilities to creating your own rods, you'll easily and with INCREDIBLE satisfaction, never look back.

this is the first day of the rest of your life ;-) take the risk. with relish!

eric
fresno, ca.

Price shouldn't be the only consideration when hooking your family up with a fly rod...

What do you think he will value (and enjoy fishing) more, a $150 TFO, or an equivalent $150 rod his father in law made for him?

I have to agree with most everyone else - the TFO is a good decent rod but I think you could do better for less money. Look at Batson's forecast and rainshadow blanks. I would bet that even the lower priced forecast would cast better than the TFO plus you get to pick better a better quality cork and reelseat. I would think you could build your rod on a forecast blank for $100 or less. I've built a couple of forecast trout rods and they are wonderful rods. Both cost less than $60 for everything and I used pretty good components. One of them was for my 10 year old son and he really gets a kick out of his "custom built" rod.
good luck
Greg

I've cast and fished a few TFO rods, as well as a Sage DS2 and a Scott A2, and was neither impressed nor disappointed. For $150 or less you could build a great rod and have a lot more fun for your money.

Who is this Ed Michura guy? Some guy on here named Ed told me to stay away from TFO rods. It may have been Michura. He seems to know a lot so I'd take his advice. He's a mean man, but knowledgeable. HA! HA!

I was curious about the lack of thread as Rick Koontz mentioned so I emailed TFO and got the following response back from Rick Pope, President of TFO. His response about no thread wraps is as follows;



Dear Tim,

Thanks so much for your interest. First, I would like to address
the response from "Casts" who appears to be a knowledgeable custom
rod builder. He is right - we do not wrap the heavier Professional
female ferrules with thread. Instead, we add a wrap of graphite
scrim at 90 degrees to the blank. If he looks closely, he can
see/feel where the wrap begins. This allows us to re-inforce the
female ferrule further up the section (about 2 1/2") than would be
practical with thread - without adding the greater weight of epoxy
were we to thread wrap that far up the ferrule. We have had no
breakage issues with this ferrule approach and these rods have been
in the market for 5 full years as our Saltwater Series before the
current Professional Series.



I suppose I could build a better Salmon rod myself for under $150, but the "Lifetime warranty - no questions asked" replacement policy for $25 is hard to beat. Just thought I'd update as to what I found out.