I don’t remember the first time he hit me with it, but when a dear friend said, “Let’s not try to solve a problem we don’t have,” it immediately became our go-to answer. We were co-conspirators on all things fun. When trying to decide on such essential matters on our next fishing adventure or where we would meet for a post-work beer, the moment we started overthinking it, the phrase would come up, and we would have our answer, which was almost always the simplest choice.
One thing my buddy and I loved to do was go fly fishing together, chasing bonefish, mostly from the Florida Keys to the Bahamas. I’m not a golfer, but fly fishing and golf have one thing in common…you just can’t buy game. No matter how much you spend on the latest clubs, if your swing is flawed, those new clubs will do about the same as a set from the second-hand sporting goods store. Same with fly-fishing, I do have a very high-end fly rod… and you know what… I’m sure multiple Bahamian guides have thought I looked more like a harness racing jockey whipping his horse down the stretch than a well-traveled fly-fisherman when I was making yet another errant cast.
So while you can’t purchase yourself a ‘fluid fly casting motion,’ you can buy yourself a fly reel that, when you do hook that fish of a lifetime, you know it won’t fail you. That was not always an option when fishing for saltwater fish on the fly. Back in the 1970’s fly reels were often overmatched by powerful, fast-swimming saltwater fish. The drag systems were janky, reels locked up, causing fish to break off and anglers to swear…a lot. But then a Hungarian tool and die master with a passion for fly fishing and a gift for reel design changed all that! Tibor “Ted” Juracsik revolutionized the saltwater fly fishing reel industry with the introduction of his first antireverse fly reel in 1975.
Tibor reels are known as ‘the world’s finest fly reel’ and for good reasons. First, they are beautiful works of art, but more importantly, for decades, they have refused to succumb to overengineering, more is better, and by not solving problems they don’t have! “From day one, our design has proven so sound that nothing has changed since its inception,” says Tibor’s General Manager, Nick Yates. “The reels are all still hand-assembled and made here in our shop in Florida.”
“Tibor reels are the standard by which all other fly reels are judged,” said Chris Vecsey of Sam’s Stop and Shop in Orange Beach, a coastal retailer for Tibor. Vecsey loves the looks and durability of
Tibor Reels. “Not only are they beautiful works of art, but they are also tough enough to take an accidental drop or hard bang on the side of the boat.” Vecsey recommends ‘The Everglades’ or the new ‘BackCountry’ models to local, coastal saltwater anglers. “They can handle redfish, speckled trout, and anything else you hook into around here on the fly.
Fueled by experts like Vecsey and others in tackle shops across the country recommending their reels, Tibor has seen a tripled demand in the past three years. It seems like those guys behind the tackle counters aren’t trying to solve any recommendation problems they don’t have. They go with the Tibor because, simply, it is the world’s finest fly reel.
Tiborreel.com
255 N Congress Ave,
Delray Beach Fl 33445
561-272-0770
