This has been over a year in the making but good things are always worth the wait.
Rent This Rod announced this week that they have added several new fiberglass fly rods in their line up for rental built by the folks at
Tom Morgan Rodsmiths. There are few things sweeter than a TMR four or five weight and I would expect that these two fly rods will get into many hands from here on out.
I've been impressed with the idea and growth of Rent This Rod over the past several years and this is a neat step forward in their offerings. David Moore and Brian
Guengerich have a unique business brewing here and it's been interesting to watch it continue to expand.
I asked David if he'd mind writing up a few lines of where this idea came from and their thoughts on adding these fly rods to their the Rent This Rod website.
David wrote... "Rent This Rod Outfitters, LLC is excited to announce our new,
unique partnership with Tom Morgan Rodsmiths of Bozeman, Montana! We recently
received two of their fiberglass fly rods for inclusion in our rental rod
arsenal. On hand, we now are pleased to currently offer a 7'4" four weight (2-piece) and a 7'6" five weight (4-piece). These 2 rods best represent what
the folks at TMR have the most orders for. As a side note, the 4-piece five weight is a bit of a custom option that isn't ordered very often, however in terms of compactness and the ability to transport, it's a great option, albeit a tad bit heavier than a 2-piece counterpart.
We
first reached out to Matt Barber and Joel Daub, who are now the owners
of Tom Morgan Rodsmiths, late in 2018 after reading a great article
about them in an issue of The Drake Magazine. Brian (Rent This Rod
co-owner) and I sensed some similarities in both fly fishing passion and
stage of life between ourselves and Joel and Matt. Rent This Rod
focuses on providing premium equipment as rental options to our
clientele, so it was a hands-down no-challenge desire to want to work
with TMR, especially when it came to bolstering our fiberglass rod
options. We reached out one day by phone to start the conversation last
December and that quickly turned into a unique partnership discussion
that spanned the course of the past eight months, until we received these
exquisite rods in early August.
The wait was
so very well worth it! Joel and Matt do not let any rod leave their
shop unless it's perfect, or at least as close to perfection as any
man-made thing can get. This is apparent upon opening any TMR rod tube
for the first time. The attention to detail is spared nowhere.
Everything is absolutely flawless and awesome - from the glossy finish
on the rod blank, to the agate stripping guide, to the highest quality
cork grips, to the hand-written rod labeling inscriptions. My God, even
their rod storage tubes are works of art!
This
new partnership between Rent This Rod Outfitters and Tom Morgan
Rodsmiths is unique to say the least. We are unaware of any
opportunity, prior to now, for anyone to be able to demo or rent a TMR
rod. The nature of the Tom Morgan Rodsmiths business model is one of
custom-order. They don't do retail. You want a rod - you call them or
order one through their website. The rod is then built FOR you and only
you, based on your preferences of rod length/weight, grip shape, reel
seat material, etc. Rent This Rod is incredibly honored to get to work
with TMR and to be able to offer would-be customers the chance at an
extended demo session of actual on-the-water fishing, or to offer any of
our clients the ability to rent a premium fiberglass fly rod for 10 to
14 day periods. One of the best parts about this new partnership is
that Tom Morgan Rodsmiths will take up to $100 off the purchase price of
any of their fly rods for anyone who demos or rents a TMR rod through
us and then decides to order one for themselves. In this instance,
customers are essentially getting the majority, or at least a
significant portion, of their Rent This Rod rental fee applied to a new
rod purchase!
For our clients looking to rent
one of these rods and who also need a reel to go with it, we have opted
to pair them with the new Ross Colorado LT reels. These reels are the
perfect combination of lightweight, ruggedness, and come with the
ability to easily remove the spool. And let's be honest - they provide
an added dose of pure fly rod sex-appeal.
Visit
our website or give us a call to learn more about taking advantage of
this new, exciting opportunity to rent Tom Morgan products through us!
Rent
This Rod Outfitters also specializes in offering premium non-fiberglass
rods from Thomas & Thomas Makers and Sage, and premium fly reels
from Hatch Outdoors, Abel, and of course Ross Reels - all pre-spooled
with Scientific Anglers Fly Line - appropriate for, and catered to, the
fishing environments you intend to target and the fly rod you'll be
using it with."
The two final takeaways that you should be tracking on are the $100
credit with Tom Morgan Rodsmiths if you do rent one of these fly rods to
"
Try Before You Buy" and let Rent This Rod know that you show this post
on The Fiberglass Manifesto for 10% off your rental.
Visit the
Rent This Rod website for more information and if you're planning a trip (or maybe even someplace local) where using one of these fly rods for a few days would make sense, and line yourself up with one of these very special rentals
.
