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

[hopkintoncane]

Here's the Classic Limited rod from the late 1970s offered in the 78 and 79 catalog alongside the Greenheart rod if memory serves, no comment on casting as I haven't put this one together, shares the reel seat hardware and high grade cork with the Greenheart, Orvis at the height of power.......

[hopkintoncane]

1954/1955 (serial #s on the sticks) Rocky Mountain Spin/Fly kit, before they offered the executive set with the reels and accessories in the luggage..........

[hopkintoncane]

While this one may not qualify as "rare" it certainly deserves mention for good reason, the 8.5 foot 3/2 (16/10F) Battenkill, cataloged for many years but seldom comes to light, in the collections I have seen over the years its the 8 foot 16/10 and the 8.5 foot 17/11 that are generally seen, and that's a shame, if I had to pick 1 all around Orvis the fish with for the rest of my days here on earth, this would be right at the top of the list, if you find 1 just grab it without hesitation, if you decide you don't like it call me and I will happily acquire another........

[hopkintoncane]

OK, now I am done, this has to be the rarest 7.5 foot 2/2 Orvis I have seen, its a briefly-cataloged short format Light Salmon marked as a Battenkill, with all the accoutrements of the fixed butt cap salmon rod with the Battenkill reel seat, in the 13F format (think 7.5 foot 2/2 Battenkill 4 oz HCH taper), the wells grip offers a rare opportunity to really drive the short taper, sings with a 7wt WF line...........

[Flyman615]

While this one may not qualify as "rare" it certainly deserves mention for good reason, the 8.5 foot 3/2 (16/10F) Battenkill, cataloged for many years but seldom comes to light... if I had to pick 1 all around Orvis the fish with for the rest of my days here on earth, this would be right at the top of the list...

To me, the 16/10 8 1/2 ft. Battenkill and the #13F 8 1/2 ft. Limestone Special are very similar, IMHO. Perfect medium to larger Spring Creek rods.

Scott

[hopkintoncane]

While this one may not qualify as "rare" it certainly deserves mention for good reason, the 8.5 foot 3/2 (16/10F) Battenkill, cataloged for many years but seldom comes to light... if I had to pick 1 all around Orvis the fish with for the rest of my days here on earth, this would be right at the top of the list...

To me, the 16/10 8 1/2 ft. Battenkill and the #13F 8 1/2 ft. Limestone Special are very similar, IMHO. Perfect medium to larger Spring Creek rods.

Scott

Scott, you get no argument from me, while both rods qualify as "presentation" tapers, I find the 3 pc rod to be significantly more refined than the limestone, the 2 pc taper can easily be overstressed, but the 3 pc stick seems more in tune with the caster, but maybe thats just my casting style......cheers

[canefisher]

Hi guys,
I don’t know if it qualifies as rare but it is a good example of a early 8 1/2’, 3/2, 16/10 ferrule Battenkill. I also like the 3 piece Orvis rods. I recently moved from Michigan to Colorado and I am looking forward to fishing this rod a lot more.

[eastprong]

While this one may not qualify as "rare" it certainly deserves mention for good reason, the 8.5 foot 3/2 (16/10F) Battenkill, cataloged for many years but seldom comes to light, in the collections I have seen over the years its the 8 foot 16/10 and the 8.5 foot 17/11 that are generally seen, and that's a shame, if I had to pick 1 all around Orvis the fish with for the rest of my days here on earth, this would be right at the top of the list, if you find 1 just grab it without hesitation, if you decide you don't like it call me and I will happily acquire another........

I agree completely, Hopkinton! My 16/10 is from 1945 and everyone that casts it loves it. It has the old style reel seat and cane the color of a ripe chestnut. Smooth and medium in action, it has a fine tip for an Orvis so it is a nice dry fly rod. It works with a 5wt but a traditional 6wt line is the best, I have found. It will be a while before I can post pictures.

Looking over Greg's database, the 16/10 looks way more numerous than the 17/11. The 16/10 production stretches from the mid 40's to the mid 60s. What also is interesting is that starting in 1965, 3 piece Orvis trout rods are rare -- the majority of rods are 2 piece, with the exception of the Rocky Mountain. So if you have a 3 piece trout rod with a serial number > 40,000, you can count it as "rare".

--Rich

[adrien schnee]

Hi guys, what is the weight in ounces of the 3/2 8 1/2 foot 16/10 ferruled rod? I think the 2 piece Limestone Special was 4 1/2 ounces, but I could be remembering incorrectly. What line weight is it marked for - a 6 the same as the Limestone Special? I have cast a couple of the Limestone Special’s and liked one of them very much.

Thanks

[eastprong]

Starting in the 1950s, the 16/10 was marked at 4 3/4 oz. Mine from 1945 weighs 4.75 oz. on my postal scale. When they started listing line sizes, it was labeled as HDH (~DT6; pre-AFTMA)). Curiously, in the 1966 catalog it is listed at 4 5/8 oz. with line weights of HDH or HCF (WF7) and also gives the AFTMA numbers. I think 1966 or 1967 was the last year of manufacture for this rod, but most of my catalogs are packed away at the moment.

--Rich

[adrien schnee]

Thanks very much Rich, great to have the info.

All the best
Adrien

[Dustnstuff]

Hi all,
We all know the history of Wes Jordan and the Orvis Co. What may be interesting is the Montague rods
that Wes used to experiment on. Pictures show marked Orvis butt cap and Montague Impregnated on the flat
This 3p2t 9' rod dated circa 1945 is not numbered.
Dustnstuff

[canefisher]

Starting in the 1950s, the 16/10 was marked at 4 3/4 oz. Mine from 1945 weighs 4.60 oz. on my postal scale. When they started listing line sizes, it was labeled as HDH (~DT6; pre-AFTMA)). Curiously, in the 1966 catalog it is listed at 4 5/8 oz. with line weights of HDH or HCF (WF7) and also gives the AFTMA numbers. I think 1966 or 1967 was the last year of manufacture for this rod, but most of my catalogs are packed away at the moment.

--Rich

The label on my 16/10 rod built in 1948 lists the weight as 4 5/8 oz., for HDH line

[Greg Reynolds]

Hi all,
We all know the history of Wes Jordan and the Orvis Co. What may be interesting is the Montague rods
that Wes used to experiment on. Pictures show marked Orvis butt cap and Montague Impregnated on the flat
This 3p2t 9' rod dated circa 1945 is not numbered.
Dustnstuff

They were made in collaboration with Montague in 1948. Montague made the blanks and assembled the rod, but the impregnation was done in Manchester:

[para_adams]

Here's another 6-1/2' Deluxe, no serial number, in what looks to be the twin of jhuskey's rod. This one was made for Leon E. Wiley of Manchester VT. I have a request in to Orvis to see if they can locate this rod in their "book", I'll let you know if I hear back from them. Like jhuskey, I'm a little uncertain of ferrule size...my best guess is 10.5 (?). And I have one question...is the tube an Orvis tube? I know the sock is the standard plaid sock.

[jhuskey]

Very nice! IMO, yes the tube is the same as Orvis rods came in - I believe it is a Champion tube, but I could be wrong of course.

[hopkintoncane]

There is nothing wrong with the tube, early champions had the brass collar, Montague Orvis's, at least the ones I have seen, have never been serial numbered, would love to get my hands on an 8 footer, thats another "rare" orvis rod.......

[Flyman615]

Regarding the 'standard' Orvis plaid bag, I've seen several different plaid patterns which were used over the years. In fact, some can be seen and compared in this thread's photos.

Thanks again, guys, for all your interesting contributions!

Scott

[Greg Reynolds]

Here's another 6-1/2' Deluxe, no serial number, in what looks to be the twin of jhuskey's rod. This one was made for Leon E. Wiley of Manchester VT...

It couldn't be nicer... Everything looks right about it to me, and there's that perfect handwriting I love so much. Wish I knew who inscribed it. They did most of the Orvis rods through the 1950s into the mid-1960s.

Several of these show-up without serial numbers, I'm thinking they never had them.

[para_adams]

I got an Orvis 6-1/2' Deluxe taper for size 11 ferrules and an Orvis 6-1/2' Flea taper for size 10 ferrule provided by a friend in the Seattle area, and with those sat down to try to measure this Deluxe to see how it lines up. The measurements lined up very closely with the Flea size 10 ferrule taper and were consistently smaller than the Deluxe size 11. The one variance to the Flea taper he provided was thinner tips on this rod. Here are my measurements which no doubt could be made more precise with a digital set of calipers...


5 .078

10 .088

20. .125

30 .152

35. .155

45. .160

50. .196

60 .219

70. .263