TMF Awesomeness!

Yes, my dream came true this week...I can now slide a new, factory built, Winston TMF fly rod with a down locking reel seat into my quiver. Ben of Flat Creek Rods took a new TMF rod of mine and fixed it. Well, I say new...the rod has been sitting in my office unused for two years. You see, Tom Morgan preferred a down locking reel seat on his favorite rod. I do too...but Winston stopped building rods with down locking reel seats many years ago. So, Ben Casarez transformed my rod into the build that is the essence of early Winston design. And, he did a fantastic job!

This TMF is an 8' 4wt rod designed to be effective in the 15 to 45 foot fishing range. It's a moderate action rod with the sensitivity that's perfect for several of my favorite New Mexico streams. Casting this rod is intuitive, allowing the fly fisher to focus on reading the stream and finding the right spot to land a fly. Yep, fly fishing is about fooling trout for a tight line experience. And the TMF helps you do just that.

All the hardware on this rebuild are genuine Winston components. I discovered this pocket cap several years ago when a gent put it up for sale. It's the only Winston pocket cap I have come across that was for sale...so I snapped it up. Talk about patience, it's been in my desk drawer all of this time waiting for the right rod build. I eventually decided a perfect use for this vintage butt cap would be converting a new TMF fly rod, with standard up locking seat, into a down locker.

The seller shared a bit of interesting nuance with this cap. The gent told me it came from his old Winston 3wt rod (he broke it) that he bought directly from Tom Morgan himself. Now that's cool...bringing together the era of Tom with a new TMF from today's era! I'm thinking this rod will have some magic sauce...

Ben's craftsmanship with this project is impressive and the outcome is all a Winston fan could dream for...yes, it's TMF awesomeness! The way Tom Morgan would have built it!

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