TFO BVK Fly Rod Review – Tried and True
In another bimini twist of fate, I managed to get my hands on the Bernard Victor Kreh or BVK, a new fly rod by Temple Forks Outfitters. I stopped in at Dallas’ only mom-and-pop, Tailwaters in Dallas, Texas, this morning to see if I could get that burning sensation out of my pocket, caused by a birthday gift certificate from my thoughtful (OK it really didn’t take much thought) sister.
Rather than burden you with all the neato new things I saw at Tailwaters, I will cut to the chase, and tell you that I did get to cast the BVK, and, with the only caveat being I threw a 5 weight, let me say that TFO got this one right. (Somehow or another, I have my sights set on a 5 weight.)
Throwing the BVK comes on the heels of throwing the new Winston GVX only a few short days ago. You may recall that I guessed, from what I had read, the BVK was going to be competitive with the Winston, and that the BVK would have a firmer backbone. Not only does it have backbone, for my feel and cast, that backbone reaches pretty far up the blank. Distance and accuracy go to the BVK. Recoil-to-dead ratio feels like a tie between the Winston and TFO … hard to believe at half the price. It would probably be more interesting to put the BVK up against something in the Sage line, like the Flight, and see how it fares, but I have yet to throw a Flight in a 5wt.
You may also notice, I am trying to break the code of talking about how good a rod looks, and words like “sexy, translucent, brilliant, beautiful” or whatever, so unless it’s butt ugly, you can expect almost all manufactured fly rods to have some redeeming cosmetic qualities. This one does.
Instead of holding back and smoothing everything out, the BVK can take a little more throttle without slapping yourself silly on the forward cast. The tip, again soft, makes for nice loops and gentle presentations. According to TFO’s site, that’s what they designed the rod for – presentation and distance. They call it “Fast,” and within its category, throwing the 5wt today, I would vouch for that. If you think there’s any speed comparisons to the X’s or Clousers weight-for-weight, I’m thinking apples and oranges … apples and oranges, but we’ll have to just wait and see.
Right now TFO has the BVK fly rod available in 5-8 weights (9-footers), with the BVK 3wt at 8′, BVK 4wt at 8’6″, BVK 5wt at 8’6″, BVK 9wt and 10wt both at 9′ weights scheduled for roll out very soon. My mind goes to the soon to be available 3wt and the 5wt in the shorter length. If you’re fishing in Texas freshwater, you will own a BVK, sooner or later, you will own a BVK.
Thanks Lefty, and thanks to my sister – for the new DVD “Eastern Rises.”
I do not work for TFO. The TFO BVK is made in South Korea.
George Glazener has a number of TFO rods, he’s a huge fan. I got to cast some of his and was soooo impressed by the BVK.
He just got in an eight weight model, I believe he says it weighs two ounces? if that’s correct then that is wicked, sick crazy cool!
Shannon, you might find it interesting to interview George. He is a wealth of historical data on warm water fly fishing in Texas. he invented the Spinster Fly, has lines to Dan Blanton, Rick Pope and many others. It could be a fascinating article. Let me know if you are interested, if so, I’ll ask George if he is as well.
Whole fly line? Whoa. I may have to get my hands on the higher weights and give them a go as well! Thanks.
Yes I got the BVK 8wt, it is amazing to cast, superb line flow, light weight and lovely colours. It is accurate and I was able to attain the distance, the whole fly line and little backing. We casted the most expensive rod from the market ($ 800.00) for comparison and for the performance and the price BVK won the battle.