ORVIS Superfine questions

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greyreefer5
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ORVIS Superfine questions

#1

Post by greyreefer5 »

I recently acquired an ORVIS Superfine 6.5 2/1. Neat little rod that I thought would be good for small streams here in Montana. Was surprised to find it was rated for a 6wt line. A few things....will this rod fish a 4wt? What would a reel suggestion be if I went to a 5wt? I have both Hardy featherweight and LRH, but I'm pretty sure a 5wt line won't go on a featherweight, and the LRH seems pretty large for such a diminutive rod. Finally, what's this thing worth? # 46362, originally 2 tips.

redietz
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Re: ORVIS Superfine questions

#2

Post by redietz »

greyreefer5 wrote:
07/26/20 18:11
I'm pretty sure a 5wt line won't go on a featherweight,
It will if you cut a DT in half.

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ibookje
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ORVIS Superfine questions

#3

Post by ibookje »

I got the 7ft Superfine. Also rated HDG. I use it with a #4 line but I’ve fished a season with a #3 line and that was fine too. Simply an amazing rod.

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Greg Reynolds
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Re: ORVIS Superfine questions

#4

Post by Greg Reynolds »

It's my most-used rod by a wide measure, and it has a nice medium action with a DT5. I believe you'll find that a 4-weight line won't load the rod sufficiently. As suggested above, I load half of the line on a Featherweight plus some backing. It works fine and it's a nice savings.

I don't pay too much attention to Orvis values, but I think that the value of a nice example would be $650 plus/minus $50.

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Prairie Drifter
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Re: ORVIS Superfine questions

#5

Post by Prairie Drifter »

My dad fished a featherweight w/ a 6wf without backing on his wes jordan for years
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fisherman911
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Re: ORVIS Superfine questions

#6

Post by fisherman911 »

I'm a huge fan of Orvis rods and own and fish all the Deluxe Rods between 6' one piece and 7.5' plus many other Orvis rods. I do not own any later "Superfine" rods in the same lengths. I am sure some people will disagree but I think they fish just fine with modern 6Wt. lines . I use WF lines and if the line will not fit on the reel I want to use I cut 10 or 15' off the end of the running end not the front taper. I mostly use CFO 3 or Hardy Feather weight or Lightweight reels. Most of my lines are either 444 peach or NOS Air Cell. I can't imagine any of these rods would load well with a 3 or 4 wt. line. That was not Wes Jordan's thing. But to each their own.

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Caneghost
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Re: ORVIS Superfine questions

#7

Post by Caneghost »

Chances are you have a few lines available. Just cast it with 4, 5 and 6 lines and see what feels best to you. Don't worry if the reel your line is on doesn't fit the rod right now, put the reel in your pocket and string the lines and cast them. Once you decide which line you want to fish on it, then you can decide on a reel. As noted above you can cut running line from a weight forward or cut a DT in half if you fish small streams. It all depends upon how long a cast you need to make to fish these waters.

I have a 5 1/2' one piece Tom Smithwick rod that loves a DT4. I cut a 90' Cortland 444 in half and spooled a 45' line and some backing on a CFO I reel that suits the size of the rod. That rod allows me to easily shoot some backing if I need extra distance. With a leader, that's a 55 to 60' cast. Figure out what works for you, what pleases you, and go for it!
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NewUtahCaneAngler
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Re: ORVIS Superfine questions

#8

Post by NewUtahCaneAngler »

You've probably already sorted out your line & reel pairings for this rod, but if you have not, I can confirm that the Hardy Featherweight will hold a DT5 Peach or DT5 Sylk without any problems. Not much room for backing. If you need or want backing, simply go to a WF5+55 3rds or WF6+40 per Hardy's recommended reel capacities. The Featherweight is an outstanding reel for 6 1/2 - 8' 4 or 5 weight rods. The 8' will need to be lighter rod to balance properly.

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Re: ORVIS Superfine questions

#9

Post by rsagebrush »

I have a Rocky Mountain 6.5' 3pce rated for a 6wt, it cast really nice with a TT 6 which has quite the delicate tip. I also like any standard 5 or 6 wt line on the rod. I'm generally not making casts over 50 feet with it and generally 20 to 40 feet.
Orvis rods generally perform very well with the rated line weight and you can easily make them work with a lighter line.
They're very versatile sticks.

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