Temple Fork Outfitters
Great Fly Fishing Tackle - Reasonable Prices
Temple Fork Outfitters History
I talked with Rick Pope, President of TFO, today 9/22/08, about the history of Temple Fork Outiftters. In 1995, Rick knew he was going to leave the financial corporate world for a less stressful environment. Rick left his corporate world and purchased a controlling share in a Canadian company that imported flies and the old nylon denier waters.
Then in 1997, Rick started looking into manufacturing 2 pc fly rods in Asia. He found a Korean manufacturer that was starting up and they struck an agreement. Within the next couple of years, Rick purchased Temple Fork Outfitters, a small Texas fly rod company. As so often happens, there is a defining moment in a company's development that drives growth. That moment came on 2/25/2003, with the press release that famed fly fisher Lefty Kreh had left Sage to join TFO as a rod designer. Lefty's decades of fly fishing experience produced the Lefty Kreh Professional Series and Signature series rods. This next year will see the release of the Lefty Kreh Finesse Series rods.
The next couple of years TFO doubled its dealer base to become the company we know today. This year professional fly fishers Bob Clouser, Jim Teeny, Bob Meiser and Mike Kinney have joined Temple Fork Outfitters as pros and rod designers. (If you ever get the chance to meet Rick at a show, do so. He's a great guy.)
Lefty Kreh Professional Fly Rods
