I hope it is OK to ask a graphite rod related question here, Does anyone know whether or not the blanks for the Orvis Far & Fine 7' 9 " 5 wt were
made by Fisher? Were these blanks used also for the Silver Label and Rocky Mountain rods? I just got a 1998 Silver Label model with unsanded graphite and
spigot ferrules that looks a lot like Fisher to me, and I'm trying to learn more about them. Thanks very much.
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Orvis Far & Fine Graphite Question
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 hexhatch |
Orvis Far & Fine Graphite Question |
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Posts: 91 06/05/2009 23:23 |
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cross creek one |
#1 | |||
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Posts: 376 06/06/2009 09:50 |
Orvis decided early on (in the early 1970's) to roll their own graphite, but I don't know who made the first rods before they built their plant in
Vermont. In Trout Tackle, part deux, Schweibert talks about an Orvis prototype graphite sent to him by Lee Perkins shortly after Fenwick introduced their
initial line of graphite. The prototype was an 8ft 6wt. He says the initial line up ranged from 7ft 5wt to 9ft 9wt, but no F&F. Even the second year's
selection, ranging from a 5ft 5wt to a 9.5ft 8wt, included no F&F. That famous rod (which I have always suspected is an 8ft 6wt with 3in cut off the butt,
but have never miked the two rods) showed up in the third iteration, so my best guess is that it was always made by Orvis in their plant. Someone with a
connection to Orvis or better reference materials please chime in . . . .
-CC
Last Edited By: cross creek one 06/06/2009 19:38.
Edited 1 time.
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wb4tjh |
#2 | |||
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Posts: 506 06/07/2009 11:32 |
You can rest assured that any Far and Fine made in 1998 was made by Orvis. I have one from 1991. My earliest Orvis graphite is a Limestone Special from early
1979, I bought it new then from the Orvis factory, and I know the blank was made by them because I talked with a couple of Orvis rod shop employees at the time
before I ordered it. They do have a low end graphite rod now that comes from China or Korea, tho. My 1991 Far and Fine verson is the HLS, high line speed
model, and it's got to be one of the sweetest casting/fishing fly rods I have ever had in my hand. I think the older, unsanded Orvis graphite rods are
probably the finest non bamboo fly rods I have ever cast. I wish they would bring them back.
Bill Anderson, Sarsota, Fl. "Bamboo is the Benchmark in flyrods". |
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PA Limestoner |
#3 | |||
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Posts: 103 06/07/2009 12:49 |
Orvis made the far and fine configuration way back in the mid eighties in their superfine series. In the nineties it was also offered in their Rocky Mountain
series with a 25 yr. guarantee. The local fly shop sold a ton of them over the years, mainly because this rod actually works well with a 4 wt. line. Is a
perfect rod for PA spring creeks.
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Greg Reynolds |
#4 | |||
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Posts: 1967 06/07/2009 19:39 Orvis Database Founder |
Orvis first cataloged graphite rods in 1975, The "Far and Fine" appears in 1976.
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DrakeBob |
#5 | |||
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Posts: 1347 06/08/2009 08:47 Formerly Drake |
And well before either the Silver Label or Rocky Mountain versions there was also a Green Mountain version.
Piscator Non Solum Piscatur
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Catch 22 |
#6 | |||
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Posts: 491 06/10/2009 19:21 |
PA Limestoner wrote: Thank you. I am glad I was not the only one to feel this way with my 1980's F&F. My first two "good" rods were the F&F and a Sage LL. You think I would have gotten the hint about bamboo a bit earlier... Jeff Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! |
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Flyman615 |
Far and Fine(s) | #7 | ||
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Posts: 3265 06/10/2009 19:41 |
Having been an Orvis fan and customer for many years, I own both the graphite (7'9") and bamboo (7'6") versions of the fabled Far and Fine.
Both are among my personal favorites. I use a DT-5-F on the former and a WF-5-F on the latter. They are indeed, great all-around trout rods. Best regards,
Last Edited By: Flyman615 06/10/2009 19:50.
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dder |
#8 | |||
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Posts: 288 06/11/2009 00:35 |
I don,t want to hijack this thread but since your talking Orvis graphite rods can I ask if anyone could tell me where an older rod I have (bought used) would
fit into the line up. On metal butt is stamped
8ft Trout 1 7/8 oz (6) 05 81 It has grip shaped like far and fine and cork seat with slip rings. It is a nice casting rod although seems to cast better with a 4 wt than a 6 wt to my thinking. My understanding is May 1981 was date made.Does anyone remember this model and would it be considered in far and fine models? Thanks . Daryl |
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cross creek one |
#9 | |||
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Posts: 377 06/11/2009 10:33 |
Daryl, your rod is a Superfine Trout, mfg May of 1981, several years after Orvis started making graphite rods. That configuration was the original Orvis
graphite prototype and, although you don't hear so much about it these days as you do the Far & Fine (7ft9in, (4)5wt), it was, for the first decade or
so, about the most popular rod they made. The Trout came in three configurations--8ft 2pc, 8ft 3pc, and 7.5ft 2pc. The two piece models were available with
either the cork and ring seat or the downlocking aluminum seat with cork spacer. The three piece was only available with the locking seat, as I recall, and the
rod sack that came with mine had a slot for a second tip, indicating they probably didn't make enough of them to justify stocking a one-tip sack (bamboo
3pc rods were Battenkill grade and had the extra tip). Later, when only the 8ft 2pc rod was left in the line up, they offered other seats, such as black
uplocking with wood spacer and special editions with black wraps and tipping, etc. The 8ft 3pc Trout was my first graphite rod, and I currently have a 7ft6in
Trout with the cork and ring seat made in 1980 that gets fished (with a 5wt line) occasionally.
-CC
Last Edited By: cross creek one 06/11/2009 10:35.
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dder |
#10 | |||
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Posts: 289 06/11/2009 11:10 |
Thanks for the info Cross Creek. Rod is amasingly lite for its age and I,ve always enjoyed using it. Daryl
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cross creek one |
#11 | |||
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Posts: 379 06/11/2009 12:19 |
To show how times have changed, not only did that model get fished with 6 wt lines as an all-round trout rod, there were those who thought it a good light bass
rod, and even good for bonefish on windless days! Most graphite fishers today would think it far too slow for a 6wt line, mostly suitable for panfish. I still
fish mine with small poppers for bass sometimes, but have never gotten it salty--yet. If there are classic graphite rods, that's got to be one of them.
-CC |
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OldCanerods |
#12 | |||
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Posts: 48 06/12/2009 15:05 |
hexhatch wrote:If I recall correctly, Fisher had the patent on the spigot ferrule. They did make blanks for Scott and Winston (IM6) per Mr. Kennedy, last owner of Fisher, prior to their final purchase and demise as a rod maker. Don't know about Orvis blanks. They could have licensed the ferrule to Orvis. Fisher also made golf shafts and the company that purchased them bought Fisher for the golf shaft side of things. I've got a "Winston" green shaft 9' 5 wt Fisher that is a sweet rod despite it's pink & green wrap colors. |
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cross creek one |
#13 | |||
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Posts: 380 06/13/2009 17:19 |
Orvis used sleeve ferrules, not spigot, on their graphite rods. Even their current production are tip over butt with the male portion sanded and wrapped to
look like a spigot. -CC
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hexhatch |
Wow | #14 | ||
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Posts: 93 06/16/2009 21:24 |
I was fooled by that. After looking closely they are sleeve ferrules sanded to look like spigot ferrules. Thanks for the info.
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cross creek one |
#15 | |||
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Posts: 381 06/17/2009 12:30 |
Don't get me wrong--I didn't mean to imply that Orvis is trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. I think they are doing it that way to make a
very slim profile tip over butt ferrule, and the sanding is part of the final fitting. The rods are still made up of separate blanks, though, unlike Winston or
Scott, for instance. I'll leave it to the rod designers to say whether or not that gives them more freedom in design. Sage also uses this method, and their
rods are pretty well liked. The old Orvis rods with sleeve ferrules were cut from one blank.
-CC |
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wb4tjh |
#16 | |||
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Posts: 511 06/18/2009 10:04 |
The original Orvis sleeve ferrules were made with a high concentration of fiberglass to maintain their flexibility. I remember Orvis talking about this in some
of their early literature. Since the sleeve was much larger diameter than the graphite blank, it was made of fiberglass to give a more continuous flex to the
rod and not make a stiff spot at the ferrule. Personally, I really liked them and I never knew of one that broke. I wish they still made the unsanded blanks
with the original sleeve ferrule. You can flex one of those style blanks and can see that the curve is very uniform thru the ferrule area. My 1979, 8.5 foot
Limestone Special graphite is a super sweet, full flexing rod and is very easy to cast.
Bill Anderson, Sarsota, Fl. "Bamboo is the Benchmark in flyrods". |
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Flyman615 |
Orvis plastic ferrules etc. | #17 | ||
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Posts: 3276 06/18/2009 11:11 |
I have to agree with Bill.
I have several of the early, un-sanded, Orvis Superfine and Western series rods and I've always liked the ferrule system and have never had a problem of any sort. But on a couple of occasions I've run into young, "Gen Y" high-tech fly fishers on the stream and the quizzical looks I get with my "old, unfinished" graphite rods and 1970's (or earlier) reels are truly priceless! Best regards,
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wb4tjh |
#18 | |||
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Posts: 513 06/18/2009 23:21 |
I have had the same experience, Flyman. They usually don't say much when they see how well the "older" style rods perform. But I really love it
when I have a good bamboo in my hand and meet a younger, hi-tech fisherman on the stream. I always watch their eyes when they see bamboo in my hand with a
Hardy reel on it. We'll be standing ankle deep, chatting, and he'll keep staring at my rod. Some of them finally get up the nerve to ask me about it,
but some just seem to fee a bit uneasy, for some reason. I usually just chuckle to myself. I have even let a few cast with my rod, and I know of at least a
couple that probably became bamboo owners soon afterwards.
Bill Anderson, Sarsota, Fl. "Bamboo is the Benchmark in flyrods". |
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Ken Townsend |
early Orvis Superfines | #19 | ||
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Posts: 35 10/19/2009 22:16 |
That's right--the "Far & Fine" first appears in the '76 Catalog. The first Superfine graphite rods were the 1-7/8oz 8' 6-weight "Trout" rod and the 2-1/8oz 8' 6-weight "Trout" rod. (They differed in the handle and reel seat.) That was the "Granddaddy" of Orvis Superfine unsanded graphite rods. The earliest ones I've seen (I own a '76) didn't say "Trout" on them. The "Far & Fine" joined the "Trout" in '76. |
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Flytackle |
#20 | |||
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Posts: 118 10/23/2009 23:08 |
I have an Orvis one weight that was given to me as a gift last year - it is a current model and is unsanded, as special order. Worth checking with Orvis if
that is your preference. Alec
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