New Rod Day

Or maybe I should say “rods” . :)
Today the postal delivery person delivered my 6’ two piece TFO Trout and Panfish rod . And a cheap 5’ Asian UL BFS Rosewood rod .
After I ordered the Baitcasting rod , I wished I’d ordered the UL spinning version. I’m sure it would have seen more use . They’re unavailable now .
I hope to slime the TFO this afternoon and will post a pic next to my catch .
The BFS rod will have to wait until I get in the mood to “play” with the baitcaster .
I mounted a Shimano Sahara 500 spooled with 2# SOS line on the TFO.
The Rosewood got a KastKing Zephyr BFS reel spooled with 6# fluorescent green P-Line .
Always a fun day to get a new rod . Makes me feel like a kid at Christmas .

Oh BTW , the TFO rods have gone up $10 and on the rear of the handle , I found a “ Made in China” sticker . I thought they were made in Korea .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gillchaser999

Oh BTW , the TFO rods have gone up $10 and on the rear of the handle , I found a “ Made in China” sticker . I thought they were made in Korea .

---

The fly rods are made in one factory in Korea. Not sure why they'd build the spin rods in China. :dono

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gillchaser999

Oh BTW , the TFO rods have gone up $10 and on the rear of the handle , I found a “ Made in China� sticker . I thought they were made in Korea .

---

Gillchaser, congrats on the new toys! I didn’t know that TFO rods are mostly out of Korea. With that I know with current exchange rate most tackle companies truely can’t afford Korean labor force, and I believe China is next. That’s why we keep seeing gears coming out of Vietnam and Malaysia, where the garment industries been for the last 2 decades. How I’d gladly pay a bid more if some of those reels/rods being made here though. A Major Craft rod:
Attachment 417833
My 2 cents. Cheers!


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

A lot of Shimano reels have been made in Malaysia for years .
St Croix used to have their Triumph rods made in China , until they built a plant in Mexico that’s a mirror of the one here in the USA .
Same materials, different labor .

Always nice to get new fishing stuff! Hope you catch some nice fish. :fish

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LVSpinfisher1

I didn’t know that TFO rods are mostly out of Korea.

---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_xMCJJuio4

The little 5’ BFS rod looks nice , especially for $30 including shipping from China . I don’t know how they do it .
Components alone would cost more than that .

I think you will love that TFO rod. I know I am really fond of mine. I just went and looked; mine does not have a "made in" label anywhere on it. I was going to post a link to a video about how and where they are made but DBD beat me to it. I hope that has not changed.

I know for a fact Korean and Taiwan (Fenwick) made rods and reels were a plenty in the 80s. I had lots of reels made in Korea but most Quantum brand, but all are retired or junked by mid-90s. Guest this was before China/US relation went anywhere. I don't have any TFO rods though.

TFO is mostly known for fly rods. (That’s how they got started before branching out into spinning/casting rods.)

They make good stuff and have a reputation for great customer service.

Best wishes with your new rods, gill. Please let us know how they perform.
Bob

Enjoy the new rods, I know it's always fun to have the big Brown truck pull in the driveway.

Enjoy the new toys. I’m looking forward to the story of their christening. I know how excited you are, I was there not long ago.

I was told that TFO was started by Gary Loomis after he sold Loomis to Shimano...Is this correct? I am really pleased with my TFO spinning rods.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Don G

I was told that TFO was started by Gary Loomis after he sold Loomis to Shimano...Is this correct? I am really pleased with my TFO spinning rods.

---

I be
I believe he was involved in the beginning, along with Flip Pallot and Lefty Kreh .
They’ve always made nice rods , but they tend to be a little heavier than some others . Probably why they have a reputation for being durable.

I think GC is on the right path. I think there was an inquiry about some other designs he had, and he was brought on for design and development. I saw a blurb about Gary Loomis shopping for rod blanks a while back.