TFO Teeny Series discontinued - good for low cost?

[joseywales]

The TFO series are being discontinued and heavily discounted, except for the Finess series. I found a Teeny 10' 5wt, 5 piece for $120. I realize that almost any rod at the price is worth a shot, but was curious if anyone had first hand experience with these, or would even recommend other length/wt combos for bass, or perhaps trout. The Teeny series seems to be geared more toward Steelhead, but I don't think I want to take anice trout rod bass fishing, so thought for the price, it might be worth a look.

From what I've read and felt with the rod, they seem to be a bit stiff, not a lot of flex in the tip. Hardware seemed decent and warranty is excellent. Cork seemed "ok". Other than that, I'm a little challenged at valuing a rod.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Oddly enough, I owned that very TFO rod (Jim Teeny 10' 5wt 5pc).

That thing was a beast. I'd describe it as an 8wt with a 5wt tip.

It could throw a ton of line, but it was really heavy. I used it all weekend on a steelhead trip to Erie (with your brother, BTW), and I think my right arm was two inches longer by the end of the weekend. :-D

I caught a half dozen good sized steelies the one day, and that rod winched 'em in mighty quick. No contest at all.

Mine had a weird setup - reversed half wells grip, with a fighting butt. No full wells grip.

I actually liked the rod, and even spent $75 to have a custom case made for it. I let gfen cast it once, and he fell in love with it. It was the first time I'd seen him hold a rod that didn't look like he was holding an ice fishing rod (he's really tall).

Gfen liked it so much, he bought it from me - I think he still has it. For $120, it's a pretty good deal. If you're planning to use it for "normal" trout fishing, I'd say it's extreme overkill, unless you're fishing big water, or chucking chicken size streamers.

 

[joseywales]

Thanks. It might be redundant to the GPX 710 I bought for steelhead, so I might just pass. I had seen gfen's comments on the rod in several posts.

They had other weights as well. Of course my brother is suggesting to look at the 3wts, as he likes to go light. But I don't get the sense that the Teeny was really designed to be a lighty duty rod, so I'll have to see how the 3 feels. Maybe a 1wt in a Teeny is closer to a normal 3...

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Pretty sure the 5wt was the smallest in the Jim Teeny series - at least when I bought mine.

A 3wt Teeny would be silly.

Are you casting these rods before you buy? Sounds like you're gonna wind up with a closet full of rods you'll never use - not that I'd ever do such a thing. :roll:

Edit - I do see they made a 9' 4wt. The smallest 10'er was the 5wt.

 

[joseywales]

Yeah, I think the 3 and 4wts were simply marked TFO, maybe Professional, I was kinda rushed at the time. The Finess series wasn't on sale. These will eventually be ending up on eBay, according to the shop.

I'm actually not "looking" for rods. Most of them are finding me. I just wandered into a shop, while waiting for my daughter. My problem is passing up good deals, but I've actually shown great restraint when it comse to fly fishing. I'm taking it about as slow as I ever have and really just trading off stuff I no longer have a use for. Worst case, I end up with a backup rod that I paid hardly anything for. Still, staying out of the Classified should help, which is how I ended up with that CPX. Don't think I'll regret that one though.

 

[gfen]

hidden gem in tfo's crappy rod line up. i suppose its been supplanted by the clouser and the bvk now, though.

its a fast rod, so it is what it is. the 10' 5wt is a beast, and i used it happily for a year to do damn near everythig i could want it ot.

i don't use it anymore, but i won't sell it, either. i liked it so much i bought the 9' 8wt version. that's not as nice, though.

if you want some silly euroraking stick, this ain't it. it is, however, a versatile and awesome rod.

it'll throw a 6wt or a 5wt gpx or equivilent. like most modern fast rods, it sucks at its intended weight.