Anyone know about the Temple Fork rods?

"Wayne Knight" wrote in message
...
Judging by the number of times people have posted they've had to use the
warranty but "it was their fault", one could thing TFO rod users were the
most careless users of fly rods in the world.

Gotta admit, the same thought was occurring to me.........Over 35 years, I
have managed to break but two rods, both due to such monstrous levels of
stupidity I would never ask to redeem a warranty, neither remotely close to
actually in fishing use. I do wonder about the angling breakage rate on
these TFO's, though people seem to swear by them.
Tom

Do you guys do any sal****er? I broke the nine weight on two nice
fish, while I was fishing on foot. Inexperienced, yes, but careless,
no. Careless implies that I don't care about breaking a rod. When
you're out in the middle of nowhere and you break your rod, you care.
It broke both times due to lack of proper technique on my part.

I catch a lot of big trout because I live near three rivers that have a
lot of them, and I've never broken any rod on a big trout.

bruce h

PS - I fished two great trico spinner falls this weekend in one of the
"urban spring creeks" near my house. Runoff is raging all around me
and this crick was just perfect. My TFO 3 weight worked perfectly.
The fish are super difficult and normally very spooky. They were so
intent on the spinners this weekend that I could sneak up on them
easier and try a lot of presentations without putting them down. These
are the toughest fish I've ever tried for and even though they were
feeding frequently and intently both days I only managed two today and
one yesterday in about 2 hours each day. All three fish were healthy
and jumped all over the place.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Do you guys do any sal****er? I broke the nine weight on two nice
fish, while I was fishing on foot. Inexperienced, yes, but careless,
no. Careless implies that I don't care about breaking a rod. When
you're out in the middle of nowhere and you break your rod, you care.
It broke both times due to lack of proper technique on my part.

Are we talking you grabbed the rod blank near the stripping guide while
fighting the fish or did you "pull too hard"? The former is bad technique
and will cause many rods to break, the later is poor quality materials. And
I have fished sal****er. There;s a common theme with those rods, *everyone*
who has used one seems to say they're fine rods, but there's also a common
theme of needing customer service. Not that graphite by it's nature won't
break even if made by Tom Morgan, but the number of TFO owners who post on
Roff and have sent them back seems to be higher.

If one is thinking they will get a couple for that trip of a lifetime, they
might want to read between the lines of all the gushing over them, that's
all.

All three fish were healthy
and jumped all over the place.


Sounds like you;ve been having fun.

It broke both times when I was trying to land the fish (on foot) and
get it close. They call it "high sticking" and it bends the tip at an
extreme angle. I'm told that a lot of sal****er flyrods are broken
this way.

bruce h

On 24 Apr 2005 21:35:27 -0700, wrote:

It broke both times when I was trying to land the fish (on foot) and
get it close. They call it "high sticking" and it bends the tip at an
extreme angle. I'm told that a lot of sal****er flyrods are broken
this way.

The only rod I've ever broken was a 7wt T&T Vector, and it broke in the tip
section casting, on the 2nd day of use. There were no nicks on the blank or any
other visible sign of damage, and the break was clean. 3+ months later it was
fixed with, I think, a $30 service charge. It's a pretty rod, but I certainly
wouldn't depend on T&T for a "trip of a lifetime".
--
Charlie...
http://www.chocphoto.com/ - photo galleries
http://www.chocphoto.com/roff

Big Dale wrote:

Conan The
Librarian bought one of the series one 3 weight rods a year or so ago
if I remember correctly. I think he liked it so much he bought one of
their 5 weight rods, but I don't remember which series rod that one
was.

You are correct, sir. I bought a Series 1 3-wt., was very impressed
by it, and then I got a Pro Series 5-wt., which has become my go-to
trout rod for big streams. (Of course, living where I do, I don't get
to fish for trout that often, so I wind up using it as my bass/panfish
rod when I'm fishing Hill Country streams.)

I think too few of us buy the 2 piece rods anymore. a 9 foot rod
is a 9 foot rod when you are fishing. It dosen't matter much how many
pieces the rod is in. I have been buying 4 piece rods for years simply
because they strap to the motorcycle easily. I realised the other day
that my "new" BMW motorcycle is now 19 years old.

My old rods are both two piece (early 80's-vintage Fenwick HMG), but
I bought them because the guy at the Austin Angler said that four-piece
rods in that price-range cast like broomsticks. These days I'm more
likely to buy a four piece just for convenience's sake when traveling by
plane.


Chuck Vance (who highly recommends the TFO)

I don't know that I am the most careless user of fly rods in the world,
but I have broken 2 rods in my life the first was in 1968 after 15
years of fly fishing and involved the window roller in the car and the
line. The one last year was the TFO rod and involved the line and my
size 14 boots. Neither time was I fishing and the rod used to put a fly
in the water. I can't blame the way the rod was made in either
case...as I said I was stupid and I broke it. They simply fixed the
results of my stupidity. I was just as careless when I broke the rod I
made from the Herter's blank. Still, for a clumsy guy If I don't break
a rod every 37 years, I will be happy.

Big Dale

"Jonathan Cook" wrote in message
...
Big Dale wrote:

I don't know that I am the most careless user of fly rods in the world,
but I have broken 2 rods in my life the first was in 1968 after 15

The rods I've broken also involved a car door and a boot. I have seen a
Sage break while someone was casting, but who knows what might have been
the root cause (a nick or crack earlier?). I've heard enough stories and
seen enough photos on ROFF to believe that most rod "failures" -- those
that people _don't_ acknowledge as their own fault -- are actually their
fault. I can't believe what some people expect their rods to do.

The high-end rods probably do need a lifetime (or reasonably long)
warranty
since they are operating on the edge of the material's capability, but
I also don't really care for subsidizing carelessness or ignorance or
whatever it is that causes so many rods to break, so I try not to buy rods
that have an unconditional warranty. I see "the tragedy of the commons"
happening with unconditional warranties -- no one has any incentive to
care about being careful with their rods -- until, as Bruce says, they're
on a trip and need a replacement NOW.

Maybe a dos/donts list would be useful, but I don't have the time right
now...

Just my $0.019999,

Jon.

I got to cast the TFO rods in a 5 and 6w in the Pro, T1CR, and the T1CRX at
the sportsman show in SF. Personally I didn't like them, thought they were
a little on the stiff side, even when I over-lined them one up. What
surprised me was the Sage entry level "Launch" series. They load nice.
Again just my personal opinion. What feels good to one, might not feel as
good to another.
-tom

Hi Jonathan:
I've broken a few in the bushes and car doors. I like it when its just a
couple inches off the tip. Easy repair and then I have another "Beater". "No
lude comments please..."
Guy
"Jonathan Cook" wrote in message
...
Big Dale wrote:

I don't know that I am the most careless user of fly rods in the world,
but I have broken 2 rods in my life the first was in 1968 after 15

The rods I've broken also involved a car door and a boot. I have seen a
Sage break while someone was casting, but who knows what might have been
the root cause (a nick or crack earlier?). I've heard enough stories and
seen enough photos on ROFF to believe that most rod "failures" -- those
that people _don't_ acknowledge as their own fault -- are actually their
fault. I can't believe what some people expect their rods to do.

The high-end rods probably do need a lifetime (or reasonably long)
warranty
since they are operating on the edge of the material's capability, but
I also don't really care for subsidizing carelessness or ignorance or
whatever it is that causes so many rods to break, so I try not to buy rods
that have an unconditional warranty. I see "the tragedy of the commons"
happening with unconditional warranties -- no one has any incentive to
care about being careful with their rods -- until, as Bruce says, they're
on a trip and need a replacement NOW.

Maybe a dos/donts list would be useful, but I don't have the time right
now...

Just my $0.019999,

Jon.