When I do a product review, I like to remind everyone that I get absolutely zero money from it. In fact, I WILL NOT accept payment to review products. I do have some programs that I belong to with companies, where I obtain discounts for items I order, but I still pay for them. In those agreements, I also have an agreement with those companies that if they design a product and send it to me for review, they should be prepared for an honest review. If it is good, I'll let them know. If it is bad, I'll let them know. I never do reviews without giving all honest opinions on the product. In the last six months, I severed a connection with a company because they sent me products to test. When I tested them, I told them the good and the bad. They stated they didn't want any of the negative, and that I should just promote the good points. Nope, that's not how it works. So, that company is no longer one I represent. I'm letting you know this because I know "reviewers" that receive monetary compensation for their reviews and of course the reviews are always stellar for those products. It's like finding out that a government study for a "safe" product was paid for by the products owner and the study was also completed by the owner's company.

OK, enough with that. Let's get on to why you clicked on this link in the first place; a review of the TFO Axiom II-X fly rod. Yes, the rod has been out for a couple of years now. Yes, there have been other reviews. Yes, I could have done the review earlier, since I've had the rods before they ever hit market. But I wanted the review to get past the initial time period that most rods get reviewed and give you a review of how the rods have performed over the last couple of years. Nothing gets me more than a review that only talks about a rod when it's new, but never gets into how the rod performs and stands up to abuse over years. That is what really matters to most people. Almost every rod out there looks good and performs well for a few days of testing or a quick trip to a destination. But what most reviews never cover is how does the rod stand up to daily abuse, year after year, how does it perform with someone other than the tester, and how does it look years later? This review is going to answer all of those questions and then some!

I mentioned earlier that I have been in possession of this rod since before it hit the market. That's because I was on a team that tested the initial concept rods that were being developed by TFO and getting input on the rod from Flip Pallot and Blane Chocklett. Having a strong friendship with Flip has given me some opportunities that I probably would not have had without that friendship and getting to test new rods is one of them. During the testing phase, there were some tweaks made and there were some ideas given to TFO to improve the rod. I was allowed to give input and I had plenty of experience in what TFO did right and what they did wrong, as I had been selling their rods for a number of years at the fly shop. While most companies ignore the bad, TFO didn't. They took all of the input and actually implemented them all.

What were the main changes? I'll start from the butt of the rod and work up. The first input we all gave them was the handle of the rod. For years, one of the largest complaints about TFO fly rods was their cork grip. To put it bluntly, they sucked. Sure, when you bought them new, they looked good and felt good. But, within months of heavy use, they started falling apart. If you are unfamiliar with cork grips, there are HUGE differences between cheap grips and expensive grips. No matter how much the grip cost, it is put together with rings. Those rings are glued together and then sanded into the shape on the finished grip. Cheap cork grips are built with cheap cork. That means there are large chunks that fall out and have to be filled. So, they use cork dust and glue and fill them in. Expensive grips don't lose those large chunks because they pay for high end cork rings. Initially, the filler works fine. But, as the rod gets worn, the action of the casting, and the oils from the hand, along with dirt and twisting and everything else that rod goes through on a normal day, the filler breaks down and falls out. Then, the entire grip starts falling apart. Pretty soon, it feels like a you are holding a rod with Legos being used to build the grip. This becomes even more noticeable at the ends of the grip, where the whole thing just starts falling apart. This was something we knew they could address and they did. The Axiom II-X replaced the cork rings at the ends of the grips with a synthetic cork ring. These synthetic cork rings keep the ends from chipping away and keep a large portion of the grip from breaking down. They also upgraded their cork rings and it has made a huge difference! These rods are my daily use rods in my guide service (I'll explain why a little later). They spend hundreds of days each year on the water, getting used by people of all casting styles and range of experience. To date, over two years later, I have not had a single grip break down. They look (except for the dirt and stains from use) and feel just like they did the day I unpackaged them. Typically, this only happens with rods that you spend large sums of money for. So, kudos to TFO for listening to us and making the change.

Moving up the rod a bit, the next weak point of TFO fly rods was the stripping guides. The original guides on the rod were the typical stripper guides, with ceramic inserts. My complaint was the stripper guides they originally used never lasted. They were too cheap and the foot of the guides would start rusting within a year. Usually before the end of year two, they would need to be replaced. Sure, TFO warranties the rods for life, and they replaced the guides without an issue, but they replaced them with the same crappy guides. Flip was even more adamant that they not use the ceramic insert guides because of travel problems. His point: you travel to a destination for the trip of a lifetime, pull out the rod, and the insert has been knocked out or broken because of the travel process. Now your trip is ruined. If you've traveled, you've probably experienced this or something similar: flattened stripper guide, whole guide knocked off, the list goes on. There was a simple solution: Titanium Recoil Guides. Recoil guides neve rust, they don't break, and they allow line to shoot like a missile. I happened to have a connection with the company that provides them and I connected them all together and we made it happen. The Axiom II-X fly rod uses Recoil stripper guides. These guides are basically indestructible. They can get flattened, banged around, and they bounce right back. G-Loomis used to be the only fly rod company using these guides, but not anymore. In fact, I don't know why every rod manufacturer isn't using them; except they are kind of a pain to wrap on. There is only one drawback to Recoil guides; they are noisier than ceramic inserts. I don't care about the noise as it has no effect on the fish. But I said I would give the good and bad. I will take the noise all day long as the benefits far outweigh the negative of the noise. In fact, unless you are absolutely silent on the boat, you will never notice the noise.

Now we can discuss the entire rod. The last major change is something that a lot of people will probably not understand. It deals with how the carbon fiber is laid during the building process. Years ago, when rods were built, the carbon fiber would twist as the rod was tapered from the butt to the tip. This happened on all rod designs, including fly, spinning, bait casting, etc. The longer the rod, the more the twist happened. Sage fly rods then developed technology that kept the fibers perfectly aligned as the taper took place. It was a huge leap forward in the market. This allowed the rod to be more sensitive and kept the spline of the rod in alignment from butt to tip. The casting difference, for those with enough experience, was huge. Well, like all technology, other companies figured it out and TFO did too. The Axiom II-X fly rod is kept in perfect alignment during the tapering process. It is one of the reasons people were so amazed at the feel of the rod when it first hit the market. In the long-term use of the rod, this new way of laying the carbon fiber keeps everything in alignment for the life of the rod. While this may not be as noticeable on a multi-piece fly rod, it is definitely easy to see on one-piece rods, where guides can continue to twist out of alignment over the years with old technology.

There's the low down on what went into building the Axiom II-X fly rod and the tweaks we inspired to make the rod better. After two years of use, all of these changes have made this rod a wonderful addition to my arsenal. No longer do I have to worry about having the rod fixed or replaced every couple of years. No longer do I have to worry about how the rod is going to look or function, because of hardware on the road. Nope, those issues are a thing of the past. Still, there is one remaining question that we need to discuss. How does the rod cast and fish?

I separate the two points of how a rod cast and how a rod fishes. I'll quickly explain what I mean by both. How a rod cast is just that. How does it load, how long of a cast can you make, how much line can the rod support, how accurate is the rod. Basically, anything that has to do with the actual casting of the rod. How the rod fishes is all about how it performs on the water. Sometimes these questions parallel each other and information can be transferred from one question to the other. Most times, they do not. I've picked up plenty of rods that I loved how they cast, but I didn't like how they actually fished and I've had the opposite happen too.

Casting the Axiom II-X fly rod is a dream. TFO will say the rod is a fast-action fly rod. If you are not familiar, the action relates to how far the rod bends from the tip toward the butt section, during the casting stroke and in relation, how long it takes for that bend to recover. The faster the rod, the less it flexes toward the butt section and the faster the recovery period. The designation given by the builder of the rod is completely dependent on the manufacturer and what they consider slow, moderate, fast, or any other designation. It also typically only considers the rods that the particular manufacturer makes. So, if a manufacturer is known for slow action rods, their fast may not be what you would consider fast, but compared to their other rods, it is. With that said, I consider the TFO Axiom II-X fly rod to be moderate-fast action. The rod flexes down into the lower section of the tip section of the rod, instead of within the first three guides of the tip; which is where I consider fast action rods to flex to. Personally, I prefer the moderate-fast action rods now. But this will be personal choice for each and every angler out there. I prefer the moderate-fast action rod for a few reasons:

1) They are more accepting of various casting styles, so more clients can use them

2) They are more forgiving of mistakes; which is a big thing for new fly anglers

3) For me personally, they are more relaxing to cast during an all-day fishing trip

4) They provide plenty of ability to make long casts, short casts, and every other cast there is

The most important aspect of the TFO Axiom II-X fly rod casting ability, for me, is that I have yet to find a client that can't cast it. My rods have been used by hundreds of anglers, with all experience levels out there, and every casting style I can think of. The Axiom II-X fly rod handles them all. That isn't to say that someone may prefer another rod, faster or slower, than this rod, but it does mean they can cast it and catch fish with. In fact, I can honestly say that I haven't experienced a single angler that has anything bad to say about the casting of the rod. I may have to get them to tweak their casting a hair, by either having them slow down or speed up, but it is minimal and to date, no one has failed to adjust.

The accuracy of the rod is phenomenal too. Placing the cast where it needs to be, when are fish are tailing or cruising, is paramount to success on the flats. You rarely have time to make multiple attempts, so the rod's ability to deliver and accurate cast is paramount. Of course, this has to do with angler ability, but the rod must be able to keep a fly on target when the angler does what they need to. The Axiom II-X does that as well as any rod on the market. In fact, I don't think there is a rod out there that is more accurate in the short and medium casting distances than this one. What about long casts? This is where some may argue there are more accurate rods out there. But I will say that it just depends on the angler's ability. The Axiom II-X will require you to be accurate in your shooting line ability, instead of trying to carry 80-90 feet of line on a false cast. There are some rods that I can carry that distance of line (if I have the proper fly line for carrying it), but the Axiom II-X is not one of those. Instead, you make those long cast, you will shoot the line, which this rod does quite well. Still, I can't recall the last time I made a cast that far in a fishing situation. If you are into distance casting competitions, then it might not be the rod for you.

Let's talk about how this rod fishes! I will put it simple and just say that I haven't found a fishing situation in over two years of use that this rod has failed at. I have the Axiom II-X fly rod in 5-8 weights. They have taken on every single fish I target and then some: redfish, seatrout, snook, tarpon, largemouth bass, shad, black drum, snapper, the list goes on. They are my go-to rods on the boat. I own rods by Sage, Redington, T&T, G-Loomis, and others. But for my everyday use, and especially with clients, the Axiom II-X is my go-to rod. There is only one other rod I choose before these, and it is my 11-weight Loomis Pro 1, for large tarpon fishing; that's for another discussion.

The Axiom II-X provides the casting ability, accuracy and power needed for every angling situation I face on daily basis. They were designed for fishing, by people that know what fishing is, and they have never failed me. They have been been high-sticked, banged around on the deck, bounced around in rod holders, dragged through sand and surf, and they have still performed like the day I got them. Yes, I am praising them a lot, but I really believe TFO deserves the praise for this rod.

Is there anything the rod doesn't do well? There is; the rod was designed to work best with a shorter, 1/2-line weight heavier fly line (which most fly lines are at least a 1/2-line weight heavier nowadays). Because of that, the rod doesn't carry a ton of line and will not pick up a ton of line off the water. This has less to do with the rod and much more to do with the fly line. Usually, the running line will not support the head of the fly line being carried or picked up for long distances. Still, a faster rod, like some of the Sage technical rods, can allow you to carry and pick up more fly line. With that said, it rarely transfers into the fishing world, as there are very few situations that require this. The only people that I know that have issues with Axiom II-X's abilities are those that overline their fly rods on a regular basis. Since most fly lines are already about a 1/2 weight heavier than the label, I find overlining a rod to be the most overused, useless thing anglers can do. Of course, you can feel the rod load better, on short cast, because you are now almost 2-line weights heavier than the rod was designed for. To solve the issue, learn to cast properly.

There's my review for the TFO Axiom II-X fly rod. After two years, I still consider it one of the best rods on the market. No, I don't believe in their stupid saying, "One of the best rods for the money"; in fact, I LOATHE that saying of theirs. it is just one of the best rods on the market, period! If you are looking for a dependable, easy to cast rod, that is functioning as good or better than the rest, give this rod a try. Go to a fly rod dealer, and test it against any other rod out there. I don't think you will be disappointed. I haven't been and neither have any of my clients that have used it.

If yo uwant to see photos of the rod in use, there are plenty of them on the photo page and the YouTube channel. Check them out.

Captain John Tarr