What have
you done with your life by age 20?
Ted Juracsik had already fought in a revolt for his native
land of Hungary, fled to the United States, with no
family to speak of, taught himself English and earned
his masters papers in the tool and die trade.
Mr. Juracsik’s values are from old world Europe.
He does not have an email account and admittedly doesn’t
even know his own cell phone number. His forward thinking
in his craft however, has lead to some of the most respected
and reliable fly reels in the industry. With more IGFA
records than any other manufacturer, their timeless
design and simple performance have had fly anglers smiling
for over 30 years now. I had the rare opportunity to
speak with Mr. Juracsik on the phone a few weeks back.
Here are the answers he gave me to a few simple questions.
TCO:
What separates Tibor from other reel companies on the
market?
Ted: Tibor Reel Corporation has been
making fly reels for over 35 years and is still owned
by myself and my family. Because we all like to fish,
we only make products that we would use ourselves. All
our reels are completely made in the U.S.A., hand- assembled
at our factory in Delray Beach, FL, and carry a lifetime
warranty. We take pride in offering the best customer
service in the business - you will never talk to a machine
or operator at our factory. As a result, we've built
up a very loyal customer base. Although our reels hold
more world records than any other saltwater fly reel
on the market today, we're most proud of the fact that
our reels are often passed down from generation to generation.
TCO:
What are the advantages of a cork drag system over other
systems that are currently available?
Ted: In the 35 years that we've been
using cork drag materials, we've gotten lots of feedback
from customers telling us how smooth our drag system
is. The most important task for any drag system is the
start-up of the drag with the first run of the fish.
Although we've tried and tested many other materials,
we still feel that cork is the best and offers the smoothest
drag. TCO:
Many people recognize you for your work in the fly
fishing arena, but what other products do you produce
(not fly fishing related)?
Ted: We are actually two companies,
Tibor Reel & Ted Juracsik Tool & Die. Ted
Juracsik Tool & Die produces precision metal products
for leading electronics, telecommunications, medical,
and aviation industries. http://www.juracsiktool.com.
Tibor Reels is the only company in the fly fishing
industry that does their own anodizing in-house -
this gives us consistent control of all our custom
colors and replacement parts.
TCO:
30 years after its creation
Billy Pate reels are still sold and almost unchanged.
What is the benefit of an anti - reverse reel and
why would people want to buy one instead of say the
"Everglades" ?
Ted: An anti-reverse reel handle
does not rotate with the spool when the fish runs
- it remains stationary, unlike the handle of a direct
drive reel. Anti-reverse reels are very well received
by anglers who are just starting out in fly fishing,
or who just want to protect their hands. We've sold
lots of Billy Pates to surgeons!
TCO:
What is in Tibor's future? Do you see any changes
in the reels you're producing on the horizon? i.e.
different materials like Carbon Fiber or Titanium?
Ted: We're looking forward to a very
bright future. My son, Ted, Jr., has been running
the company for over 16 years, and is very involved
in the design and manufacturing of the reels. My daughter,
Marianne, is Vice President and Marketing Director.
She, along with her husband Jeff, also designs and
illustrates our reel faces and fish engravings. I
now get to fish and tinker around more. While we are
currently testing several new products and materials,
we still find that titanium and carbon fiber will
not improve the fishability of our reels.
To learn more about Tibor Reels click here:
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