Let's take a look at some unusual/scarce Orvis fly rods

[SpringCreek]

I no longer own this one, but I'll classify this one as uncommon. A 4' 4" Orvis Banty rod that was part of a set sold through Abercrombie.

[Slate Drake 9]

3 piece Midge. This one was VERY difficult to find, but worth the wait!





From l to r:

Early Superfine 1 3/4 oz, original model before they changed the taper adding 1/8 oz and making it a 6 weight. This one throws a sweet dt4 line. A bit quicker than the Deluxe. Much different animal than the 1 7/8 oz model. No stripper guide - all snakes.

Seven/Three - superb headwater rod.

Early 6.5’ Deluxe, again before they changed the taper. Early rods load with a 4 weight like the later taper loads with a 6. My headwater rod when the fish may be a bit more than my comfort level with the 7/3. A touch slower than the One Piece. Different animal than the post 1962/3 model that picked up some weight in the taper, even though they have the same ferrules. Side by side, you can see the difference in the butt sections above the grip. No stripper guide - all snakes.

Nymph from 1969. Smaller grip than the later Nymph I’ve owned and others I’ve handled. Just a lot of fun.

3 piece Midge - I prefer it with a 4 weight line. Similar action to the two piece model, but a touch quicker.

4 1/8 oz 2/2 Battenkill. Probably not that rare, but seems few come up for sale. A gem to fish on most streams. I like it equally with standard weight 5 and 6 weight lines.

Limestone Special - again not really rare, but seems few come up for sale. Feels like a stretched out 4 1/8 oz Battenkill, but a slight touch faster. I like it best with a standard weight 6wf line best.

[Flyman615]

Thanks for the contributions, guys. Keep'em coming!

Here's the later Orvis Battenkill, 7'6", 2/2, "Far & Fine" just for sake of contrast and clarity.


Scott

[flyrod]

Here's a "Limited Edition" Orvis Greenheart 8' 2/2 5 1/4 ozs rod. It's serial number 1 of 100 (most likely all 100 were never sold).

[flyrod]

Here's a 1953 Orvis Battenkill 6'6" 2/2 rod. (I believe at some point it was reworked by the Orvis Rod Shop)

[flyrod]

Here's a 6' 2/1 Superfine "Experimental" (short tipped) (since these photos were taken I've had it restored by Dennis Stone)

[flyrod]

Here's an unmarked Orvis 6'6" 3/2 Back Packer. This rod was purchased from John Rosencrantz's estate.

[Shrimpman]

Wowee, that's a pretty rod!

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

Some great Orvis rods coming out in this thread, thanks again for starting it Scott. Flyrodman, your 6'6" rod appears to have what I call a tourist handle; does it have a ferrule and does the grip separate from the cane?

Scott, your Far and Fine has the same grip and metalwork as my Seven Four, I suspect that its from 1993 +/- 1-year?

The 3/2 midge was cataloged for several years, yet I've never seen one for sale in the past 3-years. People must really like them and pass them down through their family. I'd love to have one and will keep looking!

[Shrimpman]

This is as special as my Orvis assortment gets for now- a single tip Nymph listed as perhaps the fifth ever released (thank you, Greg Reynolds!) in 1968. I love the slim Superfine profile grip. I sold a later production two tip Nymph that had the fat, long grip that didn't suit the elegant taper, and I also like the dark cane of the older rod.

[Slate Drake 9]

Here's a 1953 Orvis Battenkill 6'6" 2/2 rod. (I believe at some point it was reworked by the Orvis Rod Shop)

Is this the 10 ferrule version of the taper?

[Shrimpman]

Don't tell me this thread has stalled already?! There have got to be bunch of unique rods out there, such as early varnished ones, Montague collaborations, etc.. Maybe not "rare", but it's nice to see something outside the core of Orvis production.

[jhuskey]

This 6'6" 2/2 Battenkill Deluxe came to me via Short Tip. Believed to be 1952 Orvis shop made - likely employee rod or prototype, but with no serial numbers we'll never know. Ferrules are 11, taper is slightly smaller/thinner than my 1957 Deluxe 6'6" 2/2. A nice crisp DT4 - WF5 rod. The small cork grip is ridged, and bugs me some, but can't quite bring myself to send it back to Orvis for a new one - yet anyway.

[bearbutt]

The small cork grip is ridged, and bugs me some, but can't quite bring myself to send it back to Orvis for a new one - yet anyway.

I must be the only one around here who likes ridged grips, it seems. Ridging is just another kind of patina--it comes with age, and it brings with it stories of time and fish and rivers--even if you can't access those stories, they are there. Fish the rod, enjoy it. and don't send it back to Orvis unless it breaks.

bb

[Flyman615]

My local trout streams are small to medium size. Over the years I have settled on relatively light weight 7 1/2 and 8 ft. trout rods for most of my fishing.

In the case of my Orvis rods, I've grown to especially like the Superfine models from the 1960s. And no, I'm not saying they are particularly rare, but you do see them much less often than the regular Battenkills IMHO.

The 7 1/2 ft. version shown here weighs 3 1/4 oz. and many would consider it "tip heavy" which I, frankly, like! Otherwise the taper is the same as the commonly seen 3 7/8 oz. Battenkill with a #12 ferrule. A 6 wt. line is recommended, but I always use a 5.



Scott

[Shrimpman]

That is perfectly paired with the J.W. Young- made Battenkill Lightweight!

[jhuskey]

Here is the 1957 Deluxe 6'6" 2/2 with its custom grip, formed to fit the hand. Certainly not a rare rod, but a rare grip

[Greg Reynolds]

Most of you have seen this rod way too many times; but at the risk of being gratuitous, here's #52907 one more time. It's a 8-foot, 12/64-ferrule development rod made in 1968, a prototype for the 8-foot, 4 1/8-oz, slow-action model introduced in the 1970 Orvis catalog. It came from the estate of rod shop superintendent Howard Steere.









These photos, which I've never posted before, are those that appear in Jordan The Rodmaker by Wes Jordan's son William H Jordan.

The back story is that I received an E-mail from publisher Todd Larson, owner of The Whitefish Press (and this forum) in June of 2010. He needed photos of Jordan-era Orvis rods for the book. I agreed, but it was a Friday and he needed them for the printer on the following Tuesday. He quickly E-mailed a sample page-layout of photos of a South Bend rod taken by forum member Bill Lambott.

There were other problems. First was that I'm not a rod collector, and only owned a few rods actually made during Wes' tenure. I directed Todd to Rich Margiotta (forum member Eastprong), who has forgotten more about early Jordan-era rods than I'll ever know. Secondly, I'm a low-skilled photographer, and the only camera I owned was a sub-$100 Nikon point & shoot--it would have to do with the aid of photoshop. I had nowhere to photograph; the light inside was terrible, and it was too sunny outside. I ended-up using my wife's ironing board, covered with a brown bed sheet, under the shade of our north-facing front porch. It took a few days, but I had 22 photos of 4 rods, plus some catalog scans to him by Monday afternoon. I think they could've turned out worse...

I received a nicely inscribed copy of the book for my troubles, and a lovely thank-you letter from William, which I really treasure.

[ibookje]

You’ve done a fine job Greg!

[Shrimpman]

... and so it began...
A great start to a great taper. Thank you for sharing again!