A couple summers ago, Dave and Amelia Jensen made a video about the then-new Orvis Superfine Touch fly rods, featuring some killer trout-fishing scenes from Alberta. This year, they took a new Superfine Glass rod on their annual New Zealand excursion to see how the light, limber stick would fare on the browns down there. The results look pretty good.
I’m looking to spend some time in NZ within the next few years. This video really inspires me to work harder on making the trip happen. Nice fish & nice rod.
I received my Orvis Glass (7ft #3) about two months ago.
The finish is quite good. Functional and typical of Orvis as I know. The pea color blank reminds us of the Golden Eagle glass rods (blanks by the way made by now defunct Phillipson rod company) Orvis sold during the 1970’s. The blank is quite thick at the grip. I ordered the rod with a few alterations: a slightly shorter grip and the slightly shorter up lock reel seat to keep the proportions nicely compact.
The rod casts very smooth (I strung up a reel with a Sage Quiet DT #3 line) as could be expected of a fiber glass rod. It has a lot more back bone than I thought it would have. The rod has this marvelous delicate flex enabling to cast with only a few feet of line out. I also tried with a SA’s XPS (SA stopped with the XPS series in 2012) WF3 line. The rod really shines around 15 – 25 feet of line. It’s really nice to feel a rod that doesn’t ‘invite’ to cast 80+ feet like most graphite rods today. Forcing the rod does make the tip jump a bit.
7ft for a #3 is a very nice rod for small mountain creeks and streams. Just what I intend to use the rod for. $395 is a very decent price for a well made rod (incl. a fiber glass rod tube!) from the oldest mail order company.
Well done Orvis!