Temple Fork Outfitters

Temple Fork Outfitters: Texas rods, sold by a Texas shop

Rick Pope started Temple Fork Outfitters in Texas with one idea: sell a rod that performs like an expensive one without the price. Nearly three decades on, TFO’s home is in Grand Prairie, about 20 miles west of our shop in Dallas. The rods have been in our racks and in our own gear guides for years.

The names behind the rods are the reason anglers take the price seriously. The late Lefty Kreh and Gary Loomis, who founded G.Loomis, both designed here, working with TFO’s engineer B.J. Im. TFO says it has used the same factory since the company began.

We stock the rods from the $230 Pro 3 up to the $650 Moment, plus the Pilot and Dispatch kits for anglers starting out. If you are local, come and cast one. If you are not, call the shop and we will talk through what you fish.

Want the whole range, including the models we don’t keep on the shelf? See the full TFO lineup.

Which TFO rod should you buy?

Start with line weight, then with the water you actually fish. These are the TFO models our staff picked in our freshwater rod weight guide.

Buying your first outfit? Take one of the kits instead of a bare rod. The Pilot ($280) comes rigged and ready to fish, and the Dispatch ($500) is the same idea with better components.

Pro Tip: One rod weight will not cover everything. A 5 weight handles most trout fishing, and an 8 weight covers Texas bass, stripers and a windy day on the flats. Those two, in that order, are how most quivers start.

The TFO warranty, and how to use it

TFO rods carry a lifetime warranty for the registered owner, covering breakage caused by defects in materials and workmanship. Wear and tear, accidents and rusty guides fall outside it, but TFO will sell you a replacement section rather than a whole rod.

Register the rod when you get home. TFO calls registration the first step to getting a rod repaired, and it takes a couple of minutes on its site.

To make a claim, email warrantyclaims@tforods.com with your name, phone number, proof of purchase and photographs of the break, the handle, the logo and the full rod. TFO replies within three business days of receiving the rod, and says damaged rods are turned around in 48 hours once they arrive. Bought the rod from us? Call the shop and we will help you start it.

One wrinkle worth knowing: TFO’s registration page calls this a no-fault lifetime warranty, while its warranty page limits cover to defects. Assume the warranty page is the one that counts, and expect to pay for a section you broke yourself.

Casting a TFO before you buy it

A rod review tells you how a rod felt to someone else. Ten minutes on the grass tells you how it feels to you, which is the part that matters. We keep TFO rods at the shop in Dallas for exactly that.

Bring the reel and line you fish, or use ours. Cast two rods back to back at the distance you actually fish, not at the distance you wish you fished. Most people find the difference between a $230 rod and a $650 one shows up at 60 feet and disappears at 30.

If you are learning, our casting classes and private lessons run out of the same shop, and you can rig one of these rods for the session. Call the shop and we will set it up.

TFO questions we get asked