NFC Rods- A visit to the factory

I am proud to be an Approved Rod Builder for North Fork Composites. I have long appreciated the performance of rods designed by Gary Loomis dating clear back to the first G Loomis rod that I purchased in Woodland, Washington when I was 23 years old. It took a whole paycheck! Now, Gary is turning out more designs than ever at NFC headquarters in Woodland. I believe that NFC blanks are the best performance value in the industry, not just in the USA.

Part of becoming an NFC approved rod builder is to attend a seminar at the Woodland, WA factory. We were given complete access to every manufacturing process and every question was answered- nothing held back. They told us about the advances in fiber technology and materials. We learned how patterns are designed, cut, and rolled. How the blanks are baked, sanded, and finished. Then we got to see them break a bunch of blanks under load and demonstrate how a rod can be damaged and points of weakness. We learned how some lines of blanks are durable under tough conditions while others need more care.

Another advantage of going to the factory was to be able to handle all the types of rod blanks to understand their action. This will help immensely to make recommendations for clients and it opened my eyes to blank types I have not considered before. For example, they have a line of heavy slow jig blanks for offshore. They look like trout rods! Their new carbon technology allows a heavy backbone with a sensitive tip for jigging- all with weight and width of a fat pencil! I watched one lift 50 lbs. of dead weight before breaking. I just have to make one of these now!

Gary shared that about every 7-10 years, there has been a technology innovation in rod fiber and construction. Those changes typically yield a 5-10% improvement in performance. NFC's new Carbon Air technology yields about a 40% improvement in performance. He said the last time that happened was the switch from fiberglass to graphite, which he also pioneered. The lightness and feel of these blanks are out of this world! However, that thin carbon is fragile to crush damage- rest the rod on a rail while fighting a heavy fish and adios!

Fiberglass has also undergone a recent innovation with their new Iconoglass line made from Zentron. The action when divided up into 4 sections for a fly rod is especially magic. I can attest to recent builds with an 8ft 5wt and 7ft 6in. 4wt. They are a dream for easy casting and would be great durable beginners rods. Even more interesting is how they have now spliced Zentron into the tip of carbon rods. It reminds me of an Ugly Stick only much more sophisticated. They demonstrated bending the tip into a complete circle without breaking. I dared to try this on an Iconoglass fly rod build I brought with me- no problem! I think rod builders have only scratched the surface with these blanks. They have great possibilities for trolling and light spinning.

One drawback to NFC rods in my opinion is that they are a universal unfinished grey. I would prefer some color and polish. I asked Gary about this and he said that he is all about performance and he doesn't want to lower performance from finishes, even 1%. That being said, several of the staff stated that NFC blanks can be painted and finished with minimal effect on performance. In fact, one of their leaders brought in a carbon air blank for wrap finishing that he had painted himself. It was an electric blue! I will be experimenting myself on the best paint system and colors so clients have options!

I look forward to many years building on these blanks for myself and clients. Watch for upcoming rod reviews!