On our last fishing trip, my wife, Lori, a few weeks ago, just before she broke her arm, broke a fly rod while we were fishing.
It was one of our client rods I keep in my Suburban. Though we have expensive Sage, Winston and Orvis rods, we often grab our inexpensive client rods when we go fishing. They are readily available, usually already rigged and fish well. In fact, I cannot tell the difference between the way the client rods and our personal rods cast.
Our client rods are Temple Fork Outfitter (TFO) professional series rods. Brand new they cost $129. Mine are about 15 years old. These are the rods I loan to clients who don’t have or didn’t bring their own rods.
We also regularly use them on Dry Run Creek. Because of this they suffer a lot of abuse. They are really beat up. Their best feature is they have a lifetime warranty.
When I got home, I remembered I had another client rod that was broken. It was time to send them back to TFO to be repaired. I gathered the rods up and put them in the box they came in (I had kept the box in the garage for this purpose). I enclosed my address and a check for $80. That is $40 for each rod. I sent the box to TFO.
Two weeks later I received a box from TFO. There were two brand new fly rods. I can only assume the people at TFO were so impressed I had used the rods so much or felt sorry for me, because the rods I sent in for repair looked so beat up.
I used the rods the next week. My clients were so impressed with the way the rods cast and fished they decided to buy the same rods for themselves.
At the same time I sent the TFO rods in for repair, I returned an Orvis rod. This was an expensive ($800) rod I use for fishing streamers. Orvis comes with a 25-year warranty. I had to get a return authorization from Orvis. I enclosed the broken rod, my address and a check for $60. I mailed everything the same day as the TFO rods. I have not received the rod back yet.
While the best idea is not to break a rod, the reality of the situation is that rods are broken in doors, in ceiling fans, fighting huge fish and a thousand other places. Most rod manufacturers offer some sort of warranty. TFO has one of the best. It is quick, inexpensive and easy to do. The idea of receiving new rods was a definite plus. The Orvis warranty is limited, costs more and takes longer.
I have long been a TFO fan, and this just reinforces it.
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