Hi all. I recently acquired a 1971 Orvis Midge, 2 piece 7.5' with 11/64 ferrules. I know the rod is marked for a 5WF but I found that it overloaded the rod quite a bit. Granted...it could shoot line a long way, but it seemed to exaggerate the slow action of the rod.
I toyed around with a 4DT and a 3.5WF and the rod seemed to come alive.
In your experience, what line weight/type seems to be the happy spot for this rod?
Orvis Midge Line Weight?
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scarlet>fire
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DireWolf53
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Re: Orvis Midge Line Weight?
#3Ah! the perennial line weight discussions 
FWIW I've always fished my Midge with a 4wt DT but can see why others might like a #5 line. Anything under a 4wt seems to light to me but
YMMV. Have fun fishing it!
FWIW I've always fished my Midge with a 4wt DT but can see why others might like a #5 line. Anything under a 4wt seems to light to me but
YMMV. Have fun fishing it!
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nativebrownie
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Re: Orvis Midge Line Weight?
#4The Orvis Midge that I handled was fine with a 4 or a 5 DT - just different casting feels and strokes...
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Hellmtflies
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Re: Orvis Midge Line Weight?
#5No surprise. It has been that way with Orvis rods for as long as I can remember. They are always better with one line weight lower than labeled.
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fisherman911
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Re: Orvis Midge Line Weight?
#6So I have two Orvis Midge Rods, a 7.5 2/2 and a 7.5 3/2 (very hard to find) . The 2/2 is early with nice dark cane and likes a 4wt FW and a 5 Dt equally well if the line is true too weigh, like a Cortland 444 Peach Line or a NOS Air Cell Supreme. The 3/2 rod is just a little faster and lives with the same lines in 5Wf.
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Bill Terry
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Re: Orvis Midge Line Weight?
#7I like mine much better with a 4-wt line. I even tried it with a 3-wt, but I didn't like that.
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JohnMD1022
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Re: Orvis Midge Line Weight?
#8Mine was marked for a 4 wt.
I used Kingfisher IEI silk line with it.
It too slow to suit me in my youth, and I swapped it for a duracane.
I used Kingfisher IEI silk line with it.
It too slow to suit me in my youth, and I swapped it for a duracane.
Re: Orvis Midge Line Weight?
#9I might be the weirdo, but I think the action with a true to weight 5 wt line is really nice. I fish mine with an Orvis Superfine WF5F, which has a shorter head, and I really like the Midge with that line, at least for my casting style.
Re: Orvis Midge Line Weight?
#10I've owned two of them. One (a one tip rod) needed a 5 weight for me to cast it at all. The other (a two tip rod) is a true 4 weight.