Orvis Western 9ft 2 7/8

[kb3lms]

Hi everyone,

First post here, although I have been lurking for a little while. This spring I took up fly fishing again after a several decade hiatus. My dad left me a number of fly rods and the one I have been using for a few outings is a 9 ft Orvis Western made in November of 1988. I don't think the rod ever saw much use and is essentially in new condition. On the case and the rod butt, it is labeled 2 7/8 oz. and #3 line.

How does a #3 line from 1988 compare to a #3 line of today?

I originally tried the rod with a #3 SA Aircel line on a CFO III reel. The line is new because the old one on the CFO was in poor condition. I didn't really care for the way it cast. So, when I went to an Orvis FF 101 class with the rod and the instructor there suggested maybe I try a 4 weight on it because he didn't feel it was loading well. So, now I have been fishing with an SA #4 Aircel on an Orvis Clearwater reel. The rod and reel seem to be a decent combination, but I still don't feel it casts all that much better. I seem to have a hard time getting short (~25 foot) casts to work well and the rod seems to vibrate a lot.

Would it be worth trying a 5 or 6 line? IDK if the lines of 30 years ago acted like today's. Or, am I barking up the wrong tree? I am no expert at this yet!

Thanks,
Jason

 

[jayr]

The Aircell is the basic cheapest line in the SA lineup from what I can tell. Go with a higher quality line. Skimping in the line is usually not a good idea.

My Western series Orvis rod likes Airflo Super Dri Elite. I really like the DT, but the WF casts well too.

 

[redietz]

AirCel was around in 1988, in fact, it's been around since the 1950's. There's nothing wrong with it, and it's a true to weight line.

The statement that "the rod seems to vibrate a lot" suggests that maybe you're already overloading the rod, and that going up another line weight will only make it worse.

Go back to the 3 weight, and slow down your casting stroke.

 

[sweetandsalt]

I was a fan of Orvis Western series rods back in the mid 1980's. I don't recall a 9'/#3 but there was an 8'3"/#3 that was good. The 9'/#4 and latter 9'/#5 were duds though. The closest current equivalent to Orvis's (SA made) lines of that era are today's SA Mastery Trout. Going up a line size will make the rod "vibrate", counter flex more...I often suggest going down a size in these older, softer tip rods.

My recommendation is not that you go buy new lines but rather go back to the Orvis instructor and have him try different lines from their inventory on it to see what he thinks is best and then have him evaluate and tune your rusty casting stroke. A long tip-heavy 3-weight might not be the best rod to get back into the game with, sorry.

 

[jayr]

I was a fan of Orvis Western series rods back in the mid 1980's. I don't recall a 9'/#3 but there was an 8'3"/#3 that was good. The 9'/#4 and latter 9'/#5 were duds though. The closest current equivalent to Orvis's (SA made) lines of that era are today's SA Mastery Trout. Going up a line size will make the rod "vibrate", counter flex more...I often suggest going down a size in these older, softer tip rods.

My recommendation is not that you go buy new lines but rather go back to the Orvis instructor and have him try different lines from their inventory on it to see what he thinks is best and then have him evaluate and tune your rusty casting stroke. A long tip-heavy 3-weight might not be the best rod to get back into the game with, sorry.

The 8' 3" Western is the one I have and it is nice rod to cast. I have used Rio Gold on it and it did okay, but the AirFlo Elite really lit it up.