TFO rod differences - BVK, TiCrX, Clouser, Professional, or Signature series II

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StuckInTheMud
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TFO rod differences - BVK, TiCrX, Clouser, Professional, or Signature series II

Post by StuckInTheMud »

I'm looking to get a 5 or 6wt to add to my stock for fishing texas hill country rivers, and any time I head up to the mountains and try my hand at trout fishing. Tired of trying to fish with the 8wt, pulling fish in with a broom stick. I'm hoping to get some insight from the crowd.

I have a TiCrX 8wt that I love. I've casted a buddy's BVK 8wt, and that thing was amazing.

I guess I'm looking at differences between getting another TiCrX, a BVK, Clouser series, or maybe something like the Professional or Signature series II rods. If you have one of these versions and wouldn't mind giving the pros/cons you feel that the rod has, I'd love to hear them to try and make the best decision! I think I'm leaning towards getting a 5wt rod and then up-lining it with a 6wt line for a small bit of extra punch. Thanks!!
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karstopo
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Re: TFO rod differences - BVK, TiCrX, Clouser, Professional, or Signature series II

Post by karstopo »

TFO has a lot of offerings in different actions. On their website, they have a pretty good description of each. I've had 4 different models of their rods and they all had different actions.

That Finesse series looks pretty interesting for the kind of work you are wanting to do. The accuracy fly cast champions use older IM6 graphite rods to win the casting championships. Look up Chris Korich and Maxine McCormick. Those slower action rods sometimes are just the ticket for delicate presentations.

But there are lots of opinions on what rod is needed for each situation. And then casting stroke and ability comes into play. If you go around and look at different fly fishing forums you will see some great information on what very experienced folks like to use. It's not always the same rod either.

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Do It
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Re: TFO rod differences - BVK, TiCrX, Clouser, Professional, or Signature series II

Post by Do It »

I have the Professional II in a 6wt, it was the first fly rod I bought. Still have and still enjoy it on lakes and the Guad. Plus it's very affordable.
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karstopo
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Re: TFO rod differences - BVK, TiCrX, Clouser, Professional, or Signature series II

Post by karstopo »

I wondered about the TFO Pro 2. The TFO website lists it as medium-fast which is usually an enjoyable type of action to cast and fish. TFO has a pretty comprehensive and Affordable line of rods

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Zackthefisherman
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Re: TFO rod differences - BVK, TiCrX, Clouser, Professional, or Signature series II

Post by Zackthefisherman »

I have a 5wt Bvk that I really like for the type of fishing you're describing. I liked it so much that I bought an 8wt Bvk and more recently a 10ft 4wt Bvk. I don't have much experience with the other Tfo rod series but I can highly recommend the Bvk.

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mbarker68x
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Re: TFO rod differences - BVK, TiCrX, Clouser, Professional, or Signature series II

Post by mbarker68x »

I can not speak on the TiCrX or the clouser. However depending on your casting style you can't go wrong with the BVK or Pro II. I have had in the BVK series 7wt, 5 wt in both 8 1/2 and 9', 8 1/2 4wt and settled on the 8' 3wt. It is my go to rod for all my Creek and pond fishing. I use it 95% of the time. Have landed everything from 3" perch, trout, sandbass, lmb, and channel cats up to 26" here in Texas, Colorado, Oregon, Virginia, North Caralina, Montana, Honduras, Germany, Iraq, and South Korea. Has handled everything I have thrown at it with no issues. it's a fast action rod, and I have over lined all my BVKs by one line weight to suit me and my casting style.

For the Pro II, I have had the 8' 2wt, 8' 4wt, and the 8 1/2' 5 wt. as stated above they are cheap but very nice medium fast action rods. Fished in all the same places as the BVKs. I lined them with matched line weights 2, 4, and 5.

Right now I have the 3wt BVK, 5wt Pro II, and a 5wt TFO Axiom ( more like a 7wt, that's what I have it lined with to get it to load) to cover all my fishing needs. With the 3wt BVK as my favorite and go to rod 95% of the time. I fish from the bank, wade and re entry started from my sit in yak.
mbarker68x
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Re: TFO rod differences - BVK, TiCrX, Clouser, Professional, or Signature series II

Post by mbarker68x »

I also have a 7' 2wt RDP rod that I like and my wife has a TFO casting for Recovery 5 wt ( girly version of the Pro II, basically pink and purplish in color) that she uses when I can get her out with me.
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Re: TFO rod differences - BVK, TiCrX, Clouser, Professional, or Signature series II

Post by SurfRunner »

I have an 5 and 8 wt BVK and a 10 wt TiCrX. I went to the TFO Site and looked at the graph to help me choose. The 10 wt TiCrX has better lifting power for jacks, tarpon and such from the jetties which is what I wanted. I would choose the one (BVK) which graph shows a better presentation or puts more infuses on the casting. The graphs are very helpful to answer your question.
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Re: TFO rod differences - BVK, TiCrX, Clouser, Professional, or Signature series II

Post by Nsea »

Instead of a 5 wt I recommend a 4 and a 6 wt Mangrove or Pro. Yes, the BVK is a smooth swinging rod but it's not very hardy and is known to break without much cause.

A 5 is too much rod for whitebass and small stream lmb and generally speaking, not enough rod to horse out medium to large bass from a pond or lake. Many people believe the 5 wt is the best wt rod - I disagree. I think a 4 and a 6 do a 5wts job better. Yes, you have to get two rods but the upside is that you get two rods!
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Duck'n
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Re: TFO rod differences - BVK, TiCrX, Clouser, Professional, or Signature series II

Post by Duck'n »

Nsea wrote:Instead of a 5 wt I recommend a 4 and a 6 wt Mangrove or Pro. Yes, the BVK is a smooth swinging rod but it's not very hardy and is known to break without much cause.

A 5 is too much rod for whitebass and small stream lmb and generally speaking, not enough rod to horse out medium to large bass from a pond or lake. Many people believe the 5 wt is the best wt rod - I disagree. I think a 4 and a 6 do a 5wts job better. Yes, you have to get two rods but the upside is that you get two rods!
Funny you say that! My next purchases will be a 4 and a 6 weight to replace my 5. I have extra spools for my #1 Lamson and my #2 so I will just spool up for the new rods. I am looking at the TFO rods also. Thanks for the tips. FWIW I just picked up a 10 wt TFO pro off eBay to put together a heavier surf and jetty rig but haven't cast it yet. I kind of took a chance because I got it CHEAP but I feel a little better after hearing your advice!
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Re: TFO rod differences - BVK, TiCrX, Clouser, Professional, or Signature series II

Post by Neumie »

I have the 9'0" 6wt TiCrX and the 8'6" 4wt BVK, but have cast the Professional too. The TiCrX is my flats rod for redfish and the BVK is my hill country rod. IMO, my TiCrX is more of a 6.5wt rod. At short distances (about 85% of my casts are less than 45 ft) the rod feels a bit dead, but out past that distance the rod really comes alive. So, I actually have my rod overlined with 7wt and it's great for my situations down at the coast. My TiCrX is 12 years old, so the newer rod my have had some upgrades since then (The TiCrX used to be classified as a fast action rod on their website but is now medium fast).

The BVK is a much sweeter rod through all distances, and touch faster than the TiCrX. The rod feels great in the hand and I have no complaints really. However, I purchased the BVK when on a trip to the hill country (several years ago when I was still a resident of DFW) after I snapped the tip off my St. Croix Imperial. The Imperial is listed as fast on their website, but it's not nearly as fast as the BVK. What I found when fishing the Upper Guadalupe, Medina, and Sabinal rivers is I was making a lot of roll casts due to the narrow streams beds and cypress trees; there's not always enough room to perform a back cast. So for this, I actually prefer the slower action of the Imperial to the faster action of the BVK for hill country fishing. You're not really making long casts anyways on Hill Country rivers.

So, I would look more at the Pro II if I were purchasing a TFO for Hill Country fishing since it's action is similar to the Imperial. In a 4wt, of course.
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Duck'n
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Re: TFO rod differences - BVK, TiCrX, Clouser, Professional, or Signature series II

Post by Duck'n »

Thanks for that info! My 4 wt will mostly be used for ponds amd resacas down here and hill country rivers/creeks when I can get up there. As for the 6 wt, I just passed a sweet deal on a TiCrX...kinda sad now. Was really thinking I wanted the BVK for a lighter weight saltwater flats setup but now I'm second guessing that.
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