I'm thinking of building a 9ft 8wt from a tfo blank but I want to know if there is a comparable blank in price and action .Thanks

Most any reputable blank from the sponsors is going to be of much better quality than any of the TFO blanks, but that doesn't mean the TFO is bad in any way. Low price for really pretty decent performance.

As far as action, if you can get one of the TFO models you're looking at rated for AA, you could cross reference it on Bob Hesser's CCS data site to see if there is anything similar in action. There almost surely is.

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Paul,
I recently test casted an 8 wt. TFO at a local tackle shop demo. It was a breezy day, about 15 MPH and the rep told me that the line I was casting was a 9 wt. Yesterday was very windy. It was a 9 wt. day and a fellow let me try a low end St. Croix rod, the Imperial which is an SCII blank. The rod was super light and even on a windy day it cast very well. I could feel it load on the back cast and shot line out like a high end rod. May be that the moderately fast action just fits my style of casting but I would buy it before I bought a TFO.

I'm not sure I agree with Tom that "any reputable blank from the sponsors is going to be of much better quality". I would rank TFO blank quality in upper middle among all the blanks I have used, including St. Croix, Rainshadow, Forecast, Loomis, All Star, PacBay, Five Rivers, Tiger Eye, Orvis, Sage, Fisher, and Fenwick. I am judging quality by factors like straightness, ferrule fit, finish, and durability. In other words, they rank better in those parameters than more than 1/2 that group, at least by my assessment. And, they are far from the least expensive of the blanks listed. True, they are not a sponsor, but I think they are high quality blanks and definitely haven't seen any evidence to the contrary. I should also add that I haven't found a blank yet that didn't perform well if I put the right line on it for what I was trying to do with it.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2006 03:08PM by Steve Kartalia.

I've fishing with the 5wt and 8 wt TiCr rods a few time. Using SA XXD lines both will rollcast 55 ft or better, the 8 wt much better. They also overhead cast well. I think they were a fine value. flyanglersonline.com had one of their saltwater contributors build some blanks, and he was impressed also.

I have a 9', 6# TFO that was built as a fly/spin combo by a very capable rod builder. To date I have found it to be a very pleasant surprise and very efficient in either fly or spin mode. In my opinion it competes well with other fast action rods in its price range. I like the performance well enough that I intend to keep it close at hand for further use in the coming season.

Stan Grace
Helena, MT
"Our best is none too good"

Steve brings up a particularly good point. Most guys who don't like a particular rod usually wind up liking it once they find the right line for it. I know too many guys who have sold rods or put them in the closet to collect dust because they said they "didn't load" or "the action was too fast," etc. But once you got them, the rod and the right line together, they found out that they really did like the rod after all.

I keep seeing things about how beginners shouldn't buy fast action rods because they're hard to load. Not at all true - they're easy to load and cast if you have the right line on them for the distance you'll be using them at.

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