Re Orvis Rods - rmargiotta
The late Phil Snyder (a collector/dealer form Southern CA) used to
refer to Orvis trout rods as "Western Workhorses". That is, they could
easily handle large flies and wind, and could also be very nice if you
had to switch to small dries. I couldn't agree more. Here in the
Smokies in the Spring I like to fish a beadhead/wetfly tandem early in
the day and usually switch over to #16 Blue Quills when the hatches
start. I fish an older 8'0" 4 1/4 oz. (5wt) Orvis in these conditions.
My Payne 102 and Model 50DF clones are much sweeter with the small
dries, but they really poop out with the tandem. I believe this is
because Orvis trout model tips tend to be a little chunky, which is why
a lot folks don;t like the feel, but it's also the reason why they
perform well in the wind and with big flies.
In terms of "their workmanship not being terribly bad", if you mean
the finishing aspects, which tend to be spartan, I'd agree. (I'm
talking now about the pre-1980 or so rods). But it terms of actual
construction, I'd disagree strongly. The flat-to-flat dimensions are
very tight and the ferrules are second to none in terms of
construction, materials, and durability.
In terms of impregnation, in the Spurr/Jordan book, Wes claims the
uptake of the bakelite is 9% by weight. So if your bamboo weighs 2 1/2
oz. that's an extra 1/4 oz. in weight. Considering that 3 coats of
varnish will add about an 1/8 of an ounce, that ain't too much of an
additional weight gain.
In terms of tapers, the 8'0" 4 1/4 oz. is a great all around rod, as I
mentioned above. The saltwater tapers like the SSS and Shooting Star
are great. The Limestone Special is great, great taper (8'6'" 5/6wt --
see Frak Stetzer's Hexrod archive). I also have some varnished tapers
from the early 1940s that are reall, really, nice.
--Rich
-----Original Message-----
From: David Zincavage <>
To: ; Rodmakers
Sent: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 08:07:35 -0700
Subject: Re: [RODMAKERS] Orvis Rods
In my own (not exhaustive) experience, I have found that Orvis rods
exist in extremely large numbers, and are not in large demand. They
typically sell in the used rod market for uncomplimentary small prices,
and seem to occupy a niche of their own, lower than any other custom
rods, a bit higher than the production rods (i.e. Heddon, South Bend,
Montague, Horrocks-Ibbotson).
I've owned several Orvis rods, and though I think their workmanship is
not terribly bad, none of the ones I've owned ever really cast all that
well. I tend to like the older, pre-impregnated, pre-WWII Orvises of
the Ducky Corcoran era a bit better. There is something about
impregnation which seems to me to result in a blander action, and a
more synthetic quality.
Perhaps I should have bought a 9' SSS, I once handled, sitting on the
used rod rack at T&T, which seemed to have a good action. I remember
looking at an 11' salmon rod, and thinking seriously of buying it too.
In both cases, I passed these up, simply because I thought the length
wasn't something I really needed, or was likely to use very often.
They say that the Wes Jordan rods are good, but I've never handled one
that moved me. The little Lee Wulff action 6' footers for 5 and 6 wt.
line have a following, and bring better prices than most Orvis rods.
Orvis sold an awful lot of the 7' 6" 6 wt. model. If I were looking for
a representative example, I'd try to get one of those; or, if I liked
longer rods, I'd hold out for a big SSS. I remember Joe Brooks used to
swear by those. Some people that the real test of what a maker can do
is the performance of his big, powerul rods.
On the whole, though, I'd say Orvis rods are disappointing, and not a
suitable basis for emulation. I know guys in the use tackle world who
used to laugh and say: It's not widely understood that Jim Payne made
just about as many fly rods as Orvis did, and look at how many Orvises
are out there for sale versus how many Paynes, and look at what each
maker's rods bring. A few years back, you could buy used Orvises all
day long for $100 a rod, while Paynes were bringing big bucks.
----- Original Message -----
From:
To: Rodmakers
Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2005 8:16 AM
Subject: [RODMAKERS] Orvis Rods
I notice that there are always a considerable number or Orvis rods for
sale on Ebay and they always seem to fetch a fair price for the most
part which has caused me to wonder:
`Which of the Orvis rods are the best?
`Is there a classic Orvis taper worth making?
`Did Orvis pattern any of their rods after Payne, Leonard, etc?
`I never hear any list members make any reference to Orvis; have any
of you tried any of their tapers?
`What's the best rod they ever made?
--
Richard Steinbach
--------
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