Why Are Tfo Rods Shunned?

[RedBeard]

This past summer I made a trip out to Vancouver Island for a wedding and snuck in some fishing. I was horribly skunked in 3 days of fishing, which really bummed me out because I was dying to catch a sea-run cutty or salmon.. (next time ). Anyway, I stopped in to pick up some flies and chatted with the gents from Nile Creek fly shop for about an hour. Some of you may have met Courtney over the years, and without me speaking a word he greeted me with, "Let me guess, you're an Albertan, and you want to catch some salmon out here". I laughed and confirmed I was from Alberta and would love to catch some salmon. Then he said, "..and let me guess, you brought your TFO rod over and you love the stinkin' thing"! I replied yes again, and we went into depth about rods, casting, etc., etc., etc.

 

I know Courtney pops his head in here from time to time, but I wanted to get some Albertan opinions on TFO rods. I fish with a TFO BVK and it feels like a nice rod to me, but I'm less than 2 years into it, and have only cast with 2 other brands in my short time. I gotta say, having the warehouse in Calgary warranty repairs/replacements is really nice, especially for those clumsy folks. (just look at my contributions to the lost and found section)

 

Do people really think they're clunky and inaccurate to cast? Is it a hate on the korean machine made process?

[BigFoamy]

Bought a 5w BVK last year and think it works great. Ive always been one of those guys that by high end stuff up until a couple years ago when life changed and I just cant afford it anymore. Everything is made on a machine these days and mass produced so IMO it doesn't matter what name is on it anymore unless you've made a customer order.

[Gary]

have cast a bvk I'm not crazy about them..but i have and really like my 4 TFO. I have a 3wt 7.5 ft finesse, a 5 wt 9 ft signature, 7 wt 9 ft signature, and 8/9 13.5 ft deer creek spey. All good casting good fishing rods

[darrinhurst]

My first fly rod was a 9'0" 5wt 2 pc Signature series rod and I loved it. So much in fact I bought a second, then a third and eventually a fourth. Three of them were the signature series rods, the latest is an 8'6" 5wt BVK that I use for dries on the Bow. I love them. I have a Sage as well, and an Orvis as my go to nymphing rod, and a 10'0" 7wt custom rod I used for streamer fishing. I have never had an issue with the TFOs nor understood the rep they have about being cheap rods.

 

My best guess is "mass produced-korean made-machine assembled" thing people tag on them. I have never had an issue with the performance of any of them and am planning on buying another BVK to use as a small stream rod.

 

Love them. Will never say anything bad about them.

[aaa]

Ditto, I have a few Signature Series IM6 rods...in 4, 5 ,7wt and a 5wt Finesse. For what I paid for them, they are a nice casting piece of gear. I have mostly Sage and a single Winston, but the TFO SS IM6 rods and the Finesse surprised me with how nice they worked on the water!

 

I have no experience with thier faster action rods......never casted them.

[HyperMike]

After over 15 years of fishing on and off (more off than on, unfortunately!) with an Orvis Rocky Mountain 4WT rod I decided to get a new TFO BVK 3WT last year and I have to say I really like it. It's only my second fly rod but I really like the feel and it has a lot more backbone than my old Orvis rod. I have no doubt that there are some benefits to the higher-end brands but I don't think the BVK can be beat for the money.

 

Cheers!

[Vagabond]

I have a BVK 5wt....it's ok I guess,pretty good "all around/do it all" rod for around here,maybe a bit fast for a dedicated finesse dry stick.The blank itself is probably as good or damn close to some high end rods costing 2-3x as much,but the components leave some room for improvement.The stripping guide in particular I hate,it's just plain cheesy imho,for a mid-price rod I'd think they could stand to improve on that.

[bcubed]

I have a BVK 5wt....it's ok I guess,

 

 

sums it up for me why I haven't fished a TFO in years...with as few days i get out now, i sure as hell want to love my equipment, not get away with 'par'. Yes i can cast a TFO..will i enjoy it as much as my One? Nope

 

plus if i break my sage, i feel far more confident that it was my fault...

[SilverDoctor]

I think they are a excellent rod to start on.

[Vagabond]

 

 

sums it up for me why I haven't fished a TFO in years...with as few days i get out now, i sure as hell want to love my equipment, not get away with 'par'. Yes i can cast a TFO..will i enjoy it as much as my One? Nope

 

plus if i break my sage, i feel far more confident that it was my fault...

Ha,I hear ya,life's too short to fish with ugly reels,hence why my Hardy collection continues to grow,and a 5wt Zenith is on the short list of must haves.

 

All that said however,I've had a ton'o fun with that BVK and probly 200 days on the water with same.It got me onto the river when I landed in CGY 3 yrs ago living out of a Dodge Caravan almost literally with the shirt on my back and on a mission re-acquire all the nice sheet I once had....ya know,important stuff like rods,reels,guns,bows,quad,sled,boats etc......if I'm not mistaken I bought TFO with my 2nd paycheque here,if not my first??

......priorities ya know.

[bcubed]

I think they're good ways to get people into the sport, but until you have cast (fished is better), you'll never tell the difference. I know while guiding i had a TFO as my backup, and that thing was a pig compared to my lower end sages. Absolute pig. Ok for nymphing, but certainly not a dry fly rod.

[BigFoamy]

 

 

sums it up for me why I haven't fished a TFO in years...with as few days i get out now, i sure as hell want to love my equipment, not get away with 'par'. Yes i can cast a TFO..will i enjoy it as much as my One? Nope

 

plus if i break my sage, i feel far more confident that it was my fault...

Man I just sold a Sage ONE for $700, didnt want to but i need green fee money!

[monger]

I've got a lot of use out of TFO's. Concerns: poor quality cork (sometimes brutal), and ferrules that don't stay together. They are satisfactory tools that have caught tons of fish, but there are nicer, overpriced ones around.

[Vagabond]

 

Man I just sold a Sage ONE for $700, didnt want to but i need green fee money!

Really?I always assumed golf was for guys that don't know how to flyfish,lol.

[troutlover]

Golf is for guys who think the flood killed the river . TFO is a great rod for the price you pay and the warranty. I like their BVK rods but only certain lengths and sizes their 8'6' 5 wt is really nice to cast. After you have fished for a few years you are really going to notice a big difference in quality TFO to Other higher end brands. I fish with a Hardy Zenith now and love it but I keep my old TFO lined up with a streamer rig and it serves me well. IMO not all their rods are great but some are amazing. I don't think you can Judge all their equipment based on their lower end stuff if you ever have a chance look at a BVK reel beside a Hardy Ultra light they look like they come out of the same factory. They are both made in Korea it wouldn't surprise me.

[bigalcal]

I lose more golf balls than flies.......fishing it is!!

[bcubed]

After you have fished for a few years you are really going to notice a big difference in quality TFO to Other higher end brands.

 

Exactly.

[Vagabond]

I like their BVK rods but only certain lengths and sizes their 8'6' 5 wt is really nice to cast. After you have fished for a few years you are really going to notice a big difference in quality TFO to Other higher end brands. I fish with a Hardy Zenith now and love it but I keep my old TFO lined up with a streamer rig and it serves me well.

BVK 586 is what I have,albeit by mistake.I actually asked for the 9',paid and left the shop with it and drove straight out to Jumpingpound.It wasn't til I was stringing it up that I noticed they gave me 8'6 by mistake......and then right away was dissapointed again with the stripping guide...damn near took it back right then but was Jonesn' so hard to go fishn I lived with it.

.....and as for flyfishn awhile to appreciate quality....does 25+ years qualify,lol?As posted earlier,I'm still replacing the nice toys I once had,no stranger to Sage and Hardy.....building the rod rack back up slowly but surely.I actually have a Zenith 8wt and would likely have the 5 by now but I rarely even use the BVK 5 anymore on the Bow since getting bit by the Spey bug,and usually reach for my 3wt Sage on the smaller streams for Cutts and Brookies.

Like yerself though,I'll keep it for backup,string it up with something different on floats,and most likely it will be my lil fellers main rod in another year or two?Its worth more in that regard then what I could sell it for and it sure doesn't owe me anything.

[troutlover]

I found the 586 BVK to be softer and slower than the 9ft I find BVK in general to be to stiff and fast, I don't like how they load However a faster stiffer rod is a great characteristic for some people. It would be silly to generalize a brand with one characteristic because every rod maker has dozens of rods all with different action and feel and the question I think people should ask is TFO worth the $ spent and IMO the answer is definitely yes.

[BigFoamy]

Really?I always assumed golf was for guys that don't know how to flyfish,lol.

Its the other way around anyone can catch a fish, not anyone can go out and play golf go easy fellas, just saying lol!!! I love both but would take golf without hesitation lol!! The good thing about fishing is that it never ends, if your not on the water your at home tying flies (at least I am) One other thing, golf can be very stressful were as fishing typically never is, unless you fall down a hill and rip your waders lol!!

[BigFoamy]

For someone that never fished TFO I have three of them! Lefty Sig Series 5w which feels like a 6w plus i bought the BVK 5w 8'6 last season. Im regretting selling that Sage One, I felt regret the second the guy drove away with it.

[Gil]

I started out on TFO and have a number of them including a 5 and 6 BVK. They are a great starter rod and I still nymph with a BVK however I have several high end Sage rods now and there is a clear difference. For me when it comes to dry fly, which I particularly love, it's worth the extra cash. On the other hand, earlier in my career it wouldn't have made much of a difference.

[FraserN]

Its like any less expensive starter rod. I have a cortland 5wt. that is like a TFO. I use it on small streams and places where a likely fall could break a rod, like in mountain canyons. But, as for casting performance, it just cannot compare with my 6wt. sage, which was over 5 times the price, but worth it in my opinion.

[Vagabond]

 

I started out on TFO and have a number of them including a 5 and 6 BVK. They are a great starter rod and I still nymph with a BVK however I have several high end Sage rods now and there is a clear difference. For me when it comes to dry fly, which I particularly love, it's worth the extra cash. On the other hand, earlier in my career it wouldn't have made much of a difference.

Good point.Ive helped several newbs get started over the years and always advise them to buy a "decent" rod and dont skimp on a cheap line,buy the best.IMHO,theres no point in a beginner buying a high end rod out of the gate,they won't have the skill or experience to appreciate it's virtues.

[Chadillac]

I have a 10 wt BVK for saltwater that i love! i can get it way out there, and when it comes to salt, thats what it is all about. not the most finess, but quick and accurate enough.