Temple Fork Outfitters - Impact Fly Rod Review

In October 2017 I picked up a TFO Impact 9' 6wt fly rod for a trip to a little desert spring creek out in Eastern Oregon .  I was exc...

In October 2017 I picked up a TFO Impact 9' 6wt fly rod for a trip to a little desert spring creek out in Eastern Oregon.  I was excited to try the new rod out and get some good fishing time in with it.

Unfortunately, that rod broke on the first cast I made with it.  It was an unexpected setback, but hey, rods break and we deal with it.  In all fairness, I did receive the rod, well used, from our sales rep.  I'm sure it was not ready to break right out of the factory like that.   Months of wary road travel and hours of fishing by our sales rep probably had a lot to do with the breakage.  But I got it back quickly and I have been able to put some quality river time on that thing.

Aesthetically pleasing, the Impact is an overall winner

First order was a couple of spring smallmouth bass fishing trips, I paired it up with a Scientific Anglers Titan floating line and some big Conehead Crystal Buggers.  It handled that heavy setup with ease.  There are some anglers that believe that you must have a stiff and fast rod to throw big setups.  The action of this rod is fairly moderate, but it held up fine, even on some really windy days.  I will admit that a faster action on a rod does make it easier to build line speed, which helps deliver flies in the wind, but I don't think it is necessary to have a fast rod just for streamers. 

I prefer a rod that bends when you hook a fish, and this rod certainly gives a nice bend when you hook a big bass.  It has good lifting power to get that fish landed quickly, and it never felt over-stressed from throwing those big flies.  I used flies as big as a #2 with a big conehead, and as small as a #18 disco midge on this rod. 

I have also taken it to the Deschutes for a bit of trout fishing.  I paired it with a Cortland Trout Boss fly line there, and found that to be a great bump line for that rod.  It is heavier than needed for that rod, but I wanted to fish that Trout Boss and get more familiar with it.

Impact had no issue with big streamers and smallies

I threw dries into a stiff breeze, and then went full on deep nymphing when the dries were not working.  The rod/line has no problem pulling two big flies plus split shot and an indicator out of the river and plopping it back out there at reasonable distances.  The accuracy of the dry presentation was not stellar with the breeze and the heavy line, but the rod was not the issue.  It was the beacon of light in a storm.

Throwing dry flies certainly would have been easier with a little less wind, but we don't always have that option around here.  I found it easy to punch through the wind, and still have an accurate of a  delivery as one could expect with the breezy conditions.

Speaking of wind, the third fishing scenario I tested was last weekend.  I did some shad fishing on the Columbia River.  Using a heavy jig style fly, along with a Scientific Anglers' Titan INT/S3/S5 triple density sinking line, I found it not incredibly difficult to cast that setup into a stiff 25+ mph breeze.  It was easy and fun enough that I stayed for 3 hours or so, even though the relenting wind was not making anything easy.  My casts were landing 20' upstream of the intended target area, but they were consistently getting blown that far upstream, and I made the best of it and caught a pile of shad.

The joys of nymphing in the wind...

The rod is aesthetically pleasing and has a nice, comfortable grip.  The composite cork is actually quite pleasant to look at and to fish.  Manufacturers have been saying for years that high quality cork is increasingly difficult to procure.  I agree that if good cork is hard to come by, and if using high quality cork makes the rods that much more expensive, or take that much more time to make, then using the composite is a good idea.  More companies are going that way because of the shortage of high quality cork in the world market (thanks winos).  The composite cork is actually very comfortable and I am told from TFO'd warranty and repair department that it has held up better than most cork handles do over time.


With the $299.95 price tag, I find it at the top of the stack of rods under $300.  Most of the rods in that price range are pretty darn fast and don't present dry flies well.  I think fast rods are doing a disservice to many anglers.  Fast, stiff rods force anglers to put on a line that is too heavy and clunky in order to get the response they should get from their rod.  When you use a moderate action rod, you can load it with a lighter line and still get the response you need to throw the line, but with far more accuracy and less effort.  A faster rod takes so much extra line weight to load that it negatively impacts the presentation of the fly.  Using a moderate rod with a lighter line leads to better casting, better dry fly presentation and it leads to being a better angler.  I think that most trout anglers should have a medium action rod, and then pick up that broomstick for streamers or nymphing or whatever situation they feel calls for a faster rod.

The composite cork is comfortable and good looking

So I would have a hard time being convinced to get a different rod that performs as well as this one does for less than $300.  It is in the mix for sure. Beulah's Guide II and St. Croix's Avid series are both contenders in my book, but I am happy with this rod and think it is the bee's knees.  While I haven't been able to fish all of the 6wt rods in the shop, I have been more impressed with this TFO Impact than expected to be when I first encountered it.  I am super stoked about it and will continue to fish it throughout the summer.  Next goal:  Summer steelhead on a dry fly.