TFO Signature Series

[Dondi12 0]

Semi-newbie to fly fishing. Although I have been pan fishing for a few years my knowledge is very limited. Starting to get back into it lately and would like to upgrade. I'm thinking of the TFO Signature Series in a 4 or 5 wt. 8.5' or 9' Anyone here experienced with this model? Trying to keep the rod and reel combo around $200.

[FlyTyer15 0]

I just got the 4 wt. version and paired it with an Okuma 4 wt reel with Airflo fly line and Cortland backing. I love it so far!

[Morrowboarder 0]

I bought the 5wt version for my dad. I've tried it and it's actually pretty good even for non-beginners. Reddington Path is about the same price and I have it in a 3wt paired with LL Bean reel.

[Yeti 0]

I've had the 4wt 8.5 ft. for a few years now. i really like it. I've landed a couple of larger trout on it (18-20 inch). lots of fun! I use it primarily for dry fly fishing. The tip is real soft which can cause some issues with hook sets of nymphing set ups. I have a 4 wt line on it (wolf I think) and its a little light. I notice that it struggles with short casts until I work out enough of the front taper to load the rod. I feel like a better line like rio gold would load the rod a little better. I have a ross fly rise reel on it.

[Rocco 0]

Yeti's point about soft rods and difficulties in hook sets while nymphing makes me wonder if others have this problem too.

 

If so, you might try the strip-set which is faster anyway and gives firmer hook movement to boot. It works better than rod sets when high stick nymphing as the high rod position deprives you of good terminal end responsiveness. The one draw back is that with very light tippets it takes some timing and feel to back off on the speed of the strip before the leader or knot breaks,

 

Rocco

[ditz2 0]

My go to rod for my local warm water creeks is a 6' 2wt Signature that I have owned for at least 3 years. Can't comment on the longer rods other than where I fish the longer rods cause me to spend most of my time trying to get my fly out of the trees. The short rod eliminated about 95% of that problem. My long rods just sit in the corner.

[flytyer62 0]

Dondi,

the the TFO pro series is a bit better rod at only $159 put a Redington crosswater reel on it and your in your price range. also the Redington CTL rod and crosswater will fit that price range as well. you could also look at Echo as well they have a couple of rods in that range. what ever you do try to get to a place you can cast them first.

 

steve

[Steeldrifter 0]

TFO is a decent rod, I've built a number of them for customers over the years. With that said If you want a quality rod for a great price shoot me an email. I offer many rods for better prices than TFO as well as much better quality work and made one at a time by hand right here rather than mass produced overseas. I actually have an 8'6" 5wt moderate/fast action that I will be listing for sale with in the next week here on the site for right around the $100 range.