The first fly rod I owned was a TFO Professional 7'6" 3wt. My first fish caught fly fishing was with this rod. I fished this rod exclusively for about a year before buying another fly rod. Fast forward to 6 months ago and 10 rods later (3 Sage TXLs). I have narrowed down one company and group Sage TXL. I guess a 1wt or 2wt would cover 95% of the fishing I do. I do own some sub $100 rods that are a lot of fun to fish as well but that thats for another topic. As far as the TFO goes I had a family friend say he was intrested in learning to fly fish. I dug out my TFO and dusted it off. The first thing I noticed was how heavy and bulky it had gotten after sitting in my closet for a few years. I put it together and noticed how bulky the grip was and wandered how I ever cast this thing. The crisp action had turned to rubber and it was very unresponsive. I almost felt bad giveing that rod away. In reality it was the same rod I fished for a year stright and loved and renewed my passion for fishing. I had gotten spoiled, TXLs will do that to you. I bought my father a Cabelas Clear Creek 1wt. for christmas and he loves it. I got a chance to fish it and I hate it. My dad dosen't own any high end rods. The conclusion I came to is, ignorance is bliss. We are happy with what we have untill we learn about somthing better. I fished for a few years happy to buy store bought flies. I started tieing and was happy with a stationary vice, now that I have a rotary I don't know how I ever used the old one. I think that TXLs are the best ULs. I'm sure when I learn to wrap my own rods I will wander how I ever put up with a factory rod. The TFO 3wt. is ok for a starter rod, just a bit over priced for what you get.

FishingHiker, I think I'm going the opposite direction. I started out with Sage rods and still have a few (LL, XP, SP, RPL, etc.). Over the last year I've started fishing slightly slower rods and enjoying it. I started with an Orvis Superfine 1 wt and slowed down a little more with a Dan Craft 0 wt and a couple of weeks ago bought a bamboo 3 wt. There's a whole different rhythm to my casting and playing small fish with a softer rod is a lot more fun than yanking them out of the water with my Sage LL 2 wt. The upside to this is that a nice slower rod can be had for a fraction of the price of the high-end fast guys and still be a blast to fish. That Dan Craft is just over $100.

I still love the feel of zinging out 60' of line with a fast rod and I can cast nicer tighter loops with my Sage's, but I'm slowing learning a different style and enjoying it a lot. Don (Zenkoanhead) and I fished a local creek today with UL bamboo rods and Don spent a couple of hours helping me slow down and do a little more casting and a little less zinging. It was a lot of fun.

Regards,

Jerry