The last week or two has been a huge kick in the sack. Found out that I'm more than likely going to be moving to New Mexico now that I've gotten nice and settled here in Tejas, never mind the fact that my job is BOOMING and starting about August my paychecks would be at least doubling. The New Mexico thing wouldn't be THAT bad, if it weren't for the fact the we'll be moving to Las Cruces, which seems like it might be close to my personal hell(desert, no trees, no greenery, a fishless river, no coast within a few hours, etc., etc.) versus the Northern part of the state.

One of the few good things about the move is being "close" to what seems to be some great trout fishing, so one of my stipulations was getting a decent trout rod. Here lies the reason for the post:
Think I narrowed the choices down to a Cabela's LSI, TFO Professional(I have a 7'6" 3wt and I love it), or TFO TiCR(wish they had an 8'6" 5wt model, but only make a 9footer). What say any of you folks that have picked up/cast either of these rods?

I havent casted those but dont forget to check ebay for some troutbum rods. I love my 3wt, my favorite out of all my rods

They're both good rods. But if you can go a few dollars more, I'd take a look at the 5 wt BVK rod. We were casting and comparing different 5 wt's during Fly Fish Texas and the overall crowd favorite was the BVK. As always, the best way to make a rod decision is to cast the rods and decide which one you like to cast best.

Good luck,
Rex

+1 on Rex's notes. Try to cast them all if you can.

a 9' is nice when you need that extra bit to help your mend...
the bvk rod is a very nice rod i casted one awhile back. but it was way to fast for trout fishing for me...
i like a med act rod to help protect lighter tippets like 6x and 7x.

TiCr are stiff. Quite stiff, not really a trout rod. The professional is less stiff and a nice combo bass/trout rod. The BVK is quite nice. Haven't fished the LSi. I have a TFO finesse and it's a dry fly dream. Gets a little too slow with bh streamers and double nymph split shot setups. I also have the axiom.

I have spent some time in south east NM for work. There isnt much water to fish, but they make up for that with an abundance of tumbleweeds. There is a trout stream a little less than 3 hours east of you, mostly private. I haven't fished it yet but am hoping to sometime in May or June. If you want more info let me know.

I cast the TFO finesse 4 wt in January and sexy's description is spot on. I love my flight 3wt. Played with the bvk's on friday and am now really lusting for one. I know that doesnt help awhole lot. Stay away from juarez and look at for aliens.

I wouldn't call the TiCr a trout rod by any stretch of the imagination - too stiff. The mentioned BVK is very nice...one of the nicest TFOs out in a while. The LSi and Professional are very similar and either one will serve you well. Cast them both and see (of course, we have both of them in stock now - either 9' or 8'6"). Allen may have them, but during the Grand Opening, the place will be a zoo...so casting might not be an option. The Finess is a great, but more traditional in flex. I have a 7'9" 3wt...great panfish, crappie and smaller stream trout rod.

Seeing that you are closer to Buda, I'd try there. They appear to also have those rods in stock for you to cast.

What about the Fly-Rod Chronicles rod? According to that matrix thing-a-mah-jigger on TFO's website, it seems like a nice rod...but they are a little harder to find than the other TFO's.

Don't know why I mentioned the TiCR...I went back and did some reading on it and sounds like I WAS way off on that one.

For trout, I like the TFO Finesse. I have a 2# and 4#, and my 2# is 7'3", 4# is 8'9", but I know they come in other lengths, as well. http://www.templeforkflyrods.com.

You might also consider the Lamiglas Fly Rod. For smooth, perfection, short casts consider the Spring Creek Model. Their G1000 Graphite is a nice cast, but its drawback is that it is only a 2 piece rod. We built a 3# Fiberglass rod and love it.

Another thought you want to give is whether you are wanting to fish European Nymphing/High-Sticking style or not, because you will want a 10' rod if you want to fish that style, and the rods I mentioned aren't that long.

Go have some fun casting a lot of rods!