Friday, September 20, 2019

RENT THIS ROD - Tom Morgan Rodsmiths Partnership

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 saw 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.

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