Friday, June 24, 2011

S.F.R.C. Glass Series 7' 4/5 Weight

Over the past couple years David and Margot Redington of South Fork Rod Company have been rolling, tweaking, and rolling some more their own fly rod series of E-glass that they have been offering as the S.F.R.C. Fiberglass Series.

I have been fortunate to get first looks at a few of the different models and overall have been very impressed with the tapers, build quality, and a price point of just over $300 for a completed build. 


Recently I've been out on the pond with a couple of the S.F.R.C. Fiberglass Series models and have found them perfect for casting foam flies to our resident bluegills. 


The new seven foot three piece 4/5 weight model has been in the works for some time now and in my opinion this length and line weight are a sweet spot for fiberglass.  Seven foot fly rods are much more capable then you might first think. 

This fly rod has an action that I would consider progressive with a somewhat soft tip and strong butt section.


These blanks are black, unsanded, and are a great template for the dark red wraps accented with gray and silver tipping that David does on these builds.


I've liked this fly rod best with a 5WF or 5DT line and had no problem airing out a decent amount of line when casting from the kayak.

These fly rods have a great glass feel to them and can cast several different fly line weights on each model so each person can fine tune which works best for them.


There are a lot of neat personal touches on these fly rods that you wouldn't necessarily expect for a custom build at this price point.  One of these is indeed the reel hardware with the South Fork Rod Company name stamped into the ring.


The Z-Reels Natural 5 has been a good match for all the Fiberglass Series glass fly rods and since I have two spools I can keep fly lines switched out as needed when moving from fly rod to fly rod.

From an aesthetic stand point the Z-Reel Natural 5 look pretty neat on black blank fly rods too with the black frame of the fly reel and then spools in dark red and dark gray.


The short note that David wrote on the blank means a lot to me since promoting rod shops and companies producing fiberglass fly rods is the foundation of why T.F.M. was started almost three years ago now.  It's neat to know that it's working.

South Fork Rod Company offers both completed builds in the Fiberglass Series as well as blanks for building your own.

To discuss a custom build or blank purchase use the Contact Us page on the South Fork Rod Company website.

4 comments:

Isaac Miller said...

Nice, I was just looking at their blanks for a 4 or 5wt. build I was planning! Perfect timing

Robin said...

My SFRC 74/5 is a sweet, sweet rod! I keep it with me, in the truck, ready to sally forth and battle bream wherever they may appear by the roadside.

cupla800s said...

where to buy the Z-Reel ... very interested in trying one out!
thnks
tony

Cameron Mortenson said...

cupla800s...their website does not look alive anymore. I do know if one, maybe two, for sale. Email thefiberglassmanifesto@gmail.com for details. Thanks.