[plland]

I'm thinking about spending a little of my extra cash on a decent slow action rod. The Orvis Superfine is mainly what I've been looking at. My thoughts are that a 5wt line cast by a slow action rod would set on the water a little more delicately than one cast by a fast action 5wt, and bringing in a fish would be a little more exciting because of all the flex. Other than that, I don't know. Seems like this type of rod would require a DT line, to get the full benefit of the quiet presentation and accuracy. What are everybody else's thoughts on slow action rods?

[BigCliff]

The delicacy of a presentation has much more to do with the casting hand than the rod being swung.

I think what you're after is more of a medium action rod, not a truly slow one. (slow= fiberglass or bamboo) I'd look into a Scott G2, the Orvis you mentioned, or something similar. A Sage VPS Light would be perfect for what you're describing (got one myself) but they've been discontinued. (worth checking ebay though)

Another option is to just get a 4wt. It will always present more delicately than a 5wt.

[Joni]

I fish mostly Glass and Bamboo. I also fish the 7' 4wt One Ounce, the 7' 4wt Trout Bum and the VERY POPULAR 7'9" Far and Fine.
My thoughts are they are a great learning devise. It will teach you to slow down and cast correctly, something faster action rods compensate for. In other words I think fast rods are more forgiving on bad habits.
Would I own JUST a full flex....NO! but I love using them on rivers where you might be targeting the usual 12" when a 20" comes out of the blue. You are able to use a lighter tippet with FAR less break offs. You will feel the takes also.
DT....? totally up to you, I hate them. I do prefer the lighter lines like the Selective Trout II, Sylk, and Orvis Superfine. All WF but thinner diameter so less resistance in the guides.
If you are thinking of a new rod as a specialty thing... I say that Orvis is GREAT!
Experience, I landed a 20" Brown in a good current with 6x tippet and a #30 fly. I do believe the full flex is WHY I landed this fish.
Oh Yeah! This weekend while in Idaho, I went fishing with my Nephew for an hour or so. I took my Zero Gravity mid flex 7.0 6 wt. with Windcutter line because it was very windy. I took the 6 wt. cause there are carp the sized of Cockerspaniels in there. I cast out and let drift, when I saw my indicator go down I pulled. I thought at first I was under a rock, but it pulled in slow and easy. I then remembered, I got this line last year and wanted to try it, so I took it to Macks in where the fish are small so I put 5X tippet on, just to try it.
Remember it was only 4lb., I lightened up on the pull. Anyway to make a long story short, I landed a 19" Bronzeback, again in current, thanks to the slower action of the rod.

[BlueDun]

Try Winston's BIIt and WT rods. The WT has a more traditional flex. The BIIt is similar to the WT, but made with Winston's higher tech materials. The WT is more of a dry fly type rod, while the BIIt does a really nice job handling drys, nymphs, and streamers.

[Joni]

My Joan Wulff (WT) does it all also, but as I said I prefer slow action rods, but it is nothing like the SUPERFINE series. They are closer to Bamboo.
They do have there limitations though, that is also why I mentioned as a specialty rod.

[Frank Whiton]

Hi plland,

You seem to have done your homework and have zeroed in on the Superfine. I would urge you to cast a full flex Graphite rod before you make the jump. I should qualify my comments with the fact that I don't like slow action, full flex Graphite rods.

If you want a softer presentation with a 5wt you can open up your loops a bit. From your comments I think you would be much better off with a 4wt or even a 3wt. This will reduce the line diameter and give you your softer presentation.

If you want a DT I would look at the RIO Selective Trout II.

Frank

[tightlines57]

I have glass and boo rod, incredible slow. Also have a Scott which is medium action. I prefer the slower to slow/medium action but that's just my style. Go with what works best for you.