Orvis Announcement

I love the p*ssing contest about expensive vs budget friendly fly fishing gear that happens whenever there’s discussion about a new release. I get it, there’s a few folks out there that can outfish anyone with an old Shakespeare pole, and plenty of guys out there with 2500$ outfits that can’t cast worth a damn. But there’s a lot of wealth in fly fishing, and I’m sure a company like Orvis wouldn’t charge 1200$ if they weren’t selling any. Nice gear doesn’t always make you a better fisherman, but it sure doesn’t hurt.

Also, everyone and their brother is a guide or “industry professional” nowadays so finding somebody that can get you one of these for like 500-600$ really isn’t all that difficult
 
Nocktavius said:
I love the p*ssing contest about expensive vs budget friendly fly fishing gear that happens whenever there’s discussion about a new release. I get it, there’s a few folks out there that can outfish anyone with an old Shakespeare pole, and plenty of guys out there with 2500$ outfits that can’t cast worth a damn. But there’s a lot of wealth in fly fishing, and I’m sure a company like Orvis wouldn’t charge 1200$ if they weren’t selling any. Nice gear doesn’t always make you a better fisherman, but it sure doesn’t hurt.

Also, everyone and their brother is a guide or “industry professional” nowadays so finding somebody that can get you one of these for like 500-600$ really isn’t all that difficult
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's not for me but if you've worked your butt off to be able to reward yourself with an expensive vehicle, flyrod, girlfriend, whatever...go for it.
 
I am going to have to cast one of these next chance I get, as I haven't even cast a first a 1st Gen yet, knowing way back then that I would have to buy one at first cast. A lot of coin, but we aren't going to live forever. I'll probably get 2 recons and gas money
 
dudemanspecial said:
However, a lot of that money is due to the fact that the rods are made in the USA. I think that most people have a hard time grasping the difference in labor costs here vs China / Taiwan / Korea / Indonesia.
Click to expand...
Definitely so... Sellers of $100-250 blanks that are based in USA admit to sourcing from Asian countries. None of the high-end Americal fly-rod makers will sell their blanks anymore. I know that Loomis used to sell blanks decades ago but not anymore.
 
There are plenty of wealthy people. So it makes sense for the rod companies to produce and sell $1100 rods for that market. The profit per rod is surely much higher than with a $250 rod.

The unfortunate thing is that people of ordinary means think they "need" an $1100 fly rod and therefore make what is probably a poor personal financial decision.

Most people of ordinary means recognize that very expensive cars are targeting the wealthy, and don't even consider buying those vehicles.

But they don't come to same conclusion regarding $1100 fly rods, but they should.
 
I've wanted a 9' 4 wt for about 25 years. When the H3's were heavily discounted over the winter, I sprung for one. While I suppose I could technically afford a new Helios, I can't imagine spending nearly double what I paid for my H3F on one.

I can't say I regret the H3. It's a nice tool and the one I grabbed almost everytime I went out this Spring. I did have to make an adjustment to it. You won't know I'm fishing a Helios from the other end of the pool.

Spot the Helios:
 

Attachments

  • PXL_20240611_103655401.jpg
    PXL_20240611_103655401.jpg
    226.4 KB · Views: 38
  • Like
Reactions: CRB
6xAdams(Jones) said:
None of the high-end Americal fly-rod makers will sell their blanks anymore. I know that Loomis used to sell blanks decades ago but not anymore.
Click to expand...
If you're looking for high end/priced blanks I'm pretty sure you can still get Sage, Winston, Thomas&Thomas, and Burkheimer blanks - at least last time I checked earlier this spring.

Check Madison River Fishing Company for these blanks.
 
fcarp said:
Broke the tip on one of my H3s, put an order in for a replacement tiplast Monday and it arrived today. 8 days. Pretty alright by me.
Click to expand...
Also had a Recon tip replaced in under a week last month.

Somehow caught the butt end of the tip section when zipping up a combo case, and the pressure snapped the tip down in the tube 🤦‍♂️ $60 handling fee is fair punishment for being an idiot, I guess.
 
I hit a over head cable which I just fished under 15 minutes prior,and have fished under for years 😂😂
 
Bamboozle said:
People can say what they want but it is pretty special in this day & age that Orvis still knocks the customer service thing out of the park... (y)
Click to expand...
Their customer service people are even very helpful with 2nd hand Orvis rods. I bought an Orvis "99" on the 2nd hand market and wanted to verify some of the details on the rod like production year and line weight since the tube label was quite worn. I contacted Orvis, asked them the questions I had, and they emailed me the answers plus more info within 24 hours. They easily could have ignored me as it was only an email contact and I didn't originally buy the rod from them, hell I could be the 2nd, 3rd, 4th owner for all anyone knows.
 
DomR said:
Their customer service people are even very helpful with 2nd hand Orvis rods. I bought an Orvis "99" on the 2nd hand market and wanted to verify some of the details on the rod like production year and line weight since the tube label was quite worn. I contacted Orvis, asked them the questions I had, and they emailed me the answers plus more info within 24 hours. They easily could have ignored me as it was only an email contact and I didn't originally buy the rod from them, hell I could be the 2nd, 3rd, 4th owner for all anyone knows.
Click to expand...
A couple of years ago, they repaired a vintage CFO reel that I broke the reel handle screw on while taking it apart to clean. Their customer service people were fantastic to deal with. I’ve never had a problem them. I’ve used them a couple of times.
 
I only own two Orvis rods (graphite) that I bought new. One didn't come with a warranty while the other rod's 25 year warranty expired long ago, however...

I own more than a few Orvis bamboo rods, none purchased new and four that I had refurbished to some extent. The folks at the Orvis rod shop treated me as if I was the original owner with discounts and on two occasions free return freight, not to mention first rate work for an extremely reasonable price.

One rod I sent them decades ago was originally a one tip rod. I had them build me an extra tip and they even made me a new rod bag to accommodate the extra tip!!

While I will admit the turnaround is not as short as with a new graphite rod, bamboo aficionados, especially those that fish Orvis bamboo do things at a slower pace so the wait has never been an issue for me. :)

The other thing is a factory repair or refurbishment on a rod made by that company usually has minimal effect on the value of a used rod and often times increases the resale value. That's something that is VERY hard to make happen with older bamboo rods, (think Leonard, Payne, Edwards, etc.)

This is why I always suggest newbies to bamboo consider a used Orvis. If if it needs work, you can get it done AT the factory and end up with a rod that looks brand new!
 
  • Like
Reactions: CRB
kbobb said:
If you're looking for high end/priced blanks I'm pretty sure you can still get Sage, Winston, Thomas&Thomas, and Burkheimer blanks - at least last time I checked earlier this spring.

Check Madison River Fishing Company for these blanks.
Click to expand...
Thanks, kbobb. I'll look into it, but I'll need to get better at building on a $100-$200 blank before I spring for a $400-$600 blank.
 
Sort of on the subject, I just wanted to mention that my St. Croix Imperial 7' 3wt cost me $260 at Cabela's in 2019. The same rod is now selling for $396. I was amazed at the increase.
 
wildtrout2 said:
Sort of on the subject, I just wanted to mention that my St. Croix Imperial 7' 3wt cost me $260 at Cabela's in 2019. The same rod is now selling for $396. I was amazed at the increase.
Click to expand...

Why the shock? I'd say thats about the same amount that a lot things have gone up in that time frame from 2019 to now
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Harman's North Fork Cottages


Real Time Data From
the USGS Site

Share this page

Back
Top