As I mentioned in my last blog post, the primary focus of this past week was putting in work at the office. My main objective was compiling data about TFO’s competition in the bass market. I did this by creating a spreadsheet, and then filling it out for every rod made by every company in the bass market. Points I had to fill out included the manufacturer, the rod series, the price range, the warranty, the components, if they sell directly to the consumer, the country of origin, and if it is sold in Bass Pro Shops. In the end my document ended up being 52 pages!
After I finished that I got to enjoy a very fun day of “product testing.” I got to cast all of TFO’s fly rods, and compare them to my rods that I brought with me, and then make notes on the differences between everything that I tested. Not only was it a great experience to get to learn how to properly evaluate a rod, but my casting also greatly improved over the course of the day, and by the end of the day I was throwing 80 foot casts with a 5 weight!
I also got to get a glimpse into TFO’s production facility and all of the machinery, and people behind it. Next week I will hopefully get the chance to interview some of the major rod engineers in the industry and gain some more perspective into everything that goes into designing a fly rod.
Over the weekend I got to enjoy two great days of fishing. On Saturday Collins and I woke 
at 4:00 AM to drive to Lake Texoma, where we got to fish for striped bass. Although it was a bit of a slow day, we did catch a couple of fish and it was great to experience a new kind of fishing.
On Sunday I went out with another one of my co-workers and one of his friends to fish some local creeks and ponds for bass, panfish, and carp. Unfortunately it was another slow day, but we all enjoyed our time on the water and it was great to meet a new friend in the industry.
As I enter into my last week I am sad to see how the time has flown by so quickly. However I will most definitely be relieved to get out of the triple-digit Dallas summer temperatures!
Stay tuned for one more post on my last week at TFO.
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