Orvis sells Ross Reels...

planettrout · Dec 23, 2013

...to the Mayfly Group...

“With the help of the Abel engineering team, the Ross brand will be updated and new products added; in addition, Ross will re-introduce selected reels from its former product lineup including the Gunnison and Cimarron,” said David Dragoo, president of Mayfly. “Mayfly Group is honored to be associated with Ross Reels, an iconic fly fishing brand. We hope to expand upon the creativity and quality of the brand developed by founder Ross Hauck more than 40 years ago.”

Orvis Sells Ross Reels to the Mayfly Group | Angling Trade

That would be nice...:thumbsupu

PT/TB

r reese · Dec 23, 2013

That is great news for Ross reels!! Nice of Orvis to sell Ross to keep a great thing going. Will be good for both.

waterfordcreek · Dec 23, 2013

I knew an announcement was coming. Just didnt know what. I heard was was to be big......ahh

I was thinking Orvis was going to tie the knot with Abel.

sweetandsalt · Dec 24, 2013

It is nice when a cast off company gets a new lease on life. I am more optimistic on this Abel effects Ross than Waterworks effected once solid Lamson.

moucheur2003 · Dec 24, 2013

That didn't take long. Orvis is developing a lot of experience buying rival companies and then dumping them -- they did the same thing with Redington. They weren't too successful with BFR either.

sweetandsalt · Dec 24, 2013

Since Orvis is successfully having their upper end reels made in Korea by an excellent fabricator that, under other brand names, builds higher class reels than Ross is known for, they really did not need Ross. I was sort of hoping they were going to infuse money into Ross, unify their all-over-the-map designs and upgrade them but, clearly, it was SA's state-of-the-art fly line division they were after. SA has been building Orvis lines for at least 30 years and, even with the inroads from RIO and Airflo, remains the fly line leader. So Mayfly Group will assist Ross with funds and hopefully great new leadership. The previous head guy responsible for Ross's lack of focus left and is running a famous fly rod maker similarly now.

Jackster · Dec 26, 2013

sweetandsalt said:
SA has been building Orvis lines for at least 30 years and, even with the inroads from RIO and Airflo, remains the fly line leader.

I'm not so sure about that. Orvis spent a million bucks or so a couple of years ago to redo their fly line making facility and from my understanding has coated there own fly lines since then. I've also heard from reliable sources just lately that the premium Orvis lines are slicker than the SA premium lines and the agreement made between the two companies keeps it that way for quite a while.
There was a time that most line manufacturers went elsewhere, mainly Cortland from my understanding for their braided cores.
I'm of the school that the line stands just behind the operator as the most important component in a fly fishing outfit so I tend to try to keep abreast of what that facet of the industry is up to.
Times and things change which means keeping tabs on the latest scuttlebutt isn't easy or always timely.

sweetandsalt · Dec 26, 2013

Hi Jackster, As you know we are on the same page re. the significance of the fly lines' design and attunement to the given rod. But as far as SA, we went through this some months back and the "coating" Orvis applies, as stated by them, is a proprietary surface treatment, not the material that creates the taper. That is applied by SA as on their own lines. And Orvis's textured lines, with their dimples are identical to the SA equivalent Textured Series. Further, Orvis has indicated that the future is in question of their much marketed secondary treatment's relevance, in light of continuing coating chemistry advancements and, now that Orvis owns SA, further clarification should soon be forthcoming.

Additionally, I have no disparaging things to say about RIO or Airflo, both companies offering some terrific product to us fly fishers. And I hope Cortland regains their once major footprint in the fly line industry too.

throssing · Dec 26, 2013

This surprises me. I have always thought that Orvis reels were rather crude, and I imagined that the acquisition of Ross might lead to an improvement in the sophistication and performance of the Orvis reels. Apparently this is not to be.

utah daveii · Dec 26, 2013

Sweet, I am curious, which fly rod maker is this guy running?

sweetandsalt · Dec 26, 2013

The green colored one. STILL without hiring a rod designer, which, as an industry pro, I was hoping this guy would (will) do.

kwb · Dec 26, 2013

I find it pretty sad Orvis would rather continue having reels made offshore than here in the states myself...

I definitely feel this was the best move for Ross though, they will likely flourish in this environment much better...

---------- Post added at 11:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:03 AM ----------

sweetandsalt said:
The green colored one. STILL without hiring a rod designer, which, as an industry pro, I was hoping this guy would (will) do.

That is not an accurate statement according to Winston statements.

While you or others may not consider Annette a "rod designer", that is one of her roles at Winston now from what I have read. I know nothing about her, but they state she is the rod designer, been there a long time, maybe she knows more about it than most think she does or why would you say she is not?

utah daveii · Dec 26, 2013

Thanks Sweet. That is what I thought. I really like Ross reels, but I get what you are saying. You have the CLA with a completely different drag system than the evolution or fly rise.

I won a vexsis in a casting competition and love it. I am sad that reel was discontinued but I guess the magnetic release did not work great. Never had a single problem with mine.

sweetandsalt · Dec 26, 2013

I sincerely wish Winston a bright, green, competitive future. I understand Annette has been a strong force in the rod shop but tends to build upon the last designer's, Sam Druckman's, work more or less via committee. I have tested a #5 BIIIx and actually consider it an improvement over Sam's BIIx but Sam's old friend at Scott, Jim Bartchi has his Radian and Jerry Siem, briefly at Winston himself has designed ONE...BIIIx does not fish with these top dogs not to mention Sam's own, later, Freestone.

I agree about Orvis. The guy they tapped from within to run SA is the same guy that designed and oversaw the making of their Odyssey reels, so he know his way around reels. But it is the profitable, frequently replaced line business they were after. Orvis and probably Mayfly Group would/will have to fully redefine Ross. They have several fine reels and some better than fine ones in their past but if you spend a little time on their web site and look a the drag and other design features, it is like the reels come from different reel makers. The deigns tend toward over complexity with lots of itty bitty parts and no two are directly related. I think F1 may be a very fine reel but now it is going to be in the same stable as Abel...check out the complexity and potential for issues with this drag compare to an Abel Super Series. Below it is the exploded drag set up in the popular Evolution; again, like they're not even related.

von behr · Dec 26, 2013

I know not of the politics of the brands or the people who run these companies, but I have experienced tremendous joy using reels from both Ross and Abel, which are the two brands I fish the most.

Ross has been around a long time, and I really like their reels. I'm interested in seeing them continue to thrive and innovate. If this new arrangement facilitates both of those things, then we will all benefit from it.

Abel has changed hands several times, but the core group of people running that company has remained. They continue to bring new products and designs that keep me and many others on the hook.

I don't know what's next for these companies, but if their future is anything like their past, count me in. I'll go along for the ride.

-VB

sweetandsalt · Dec 27, 2013

The guys at Abel are the same who were there when Steve and Gina ran the company...Abel's have done nothing but improve. They remain among the elite handful of great reel makers. Ross is very good too but I believe will be better for this change. Abel has two competitors; Tibor and Islander. Ross has to go toe to toe with Galvan Torque, Nautilus FWX, modern Hardy's like Ultralite DD all in the same price category as Evolution plus a slew of also rans that have their own followings. In my opinion (we have 3 Ross Reels) Ross needs to lose or further differentiate their Asian offerings (Ross Worldwide reels) and streamline and simplify their core reels. Having the Abel gentlemen as advisors WILL facilitate this and provide Abel an opportunity to explore ideas they have rejected for their own brand like one way clutch bearings and sealed drags.

miamimikepa · Dec 27, 2013

moucheur2003 said:
That didn't take long. Orvis is developing a lot of experience buying rival companies and then dumping them -- they did the same thing with Redington. They weren't too successful with BFR either.

I don't think this had anything to do with being successful or unsuccessful and more to do with that they probably never wanted Ross, just took them as they wanted SA.

mojo · Dec 28, 2013

miamimikepa said:
I don't think this had anything to do with being successful or unsuccessful and more to do with that they probably never wanted Ross, just took them as they wanted SA.

I agree. And to Moucheur, Orvis never owned BFR. They made the Battenkills and the CFO click pawls for Orvis. Orvis had Hardy, Pflueger, BFR and I'm sure others make their reels.

saflyfish · Dec 28, 2013

I didnt even know orvis owned ross.Very surprising since i had much better service from orvis.
Contacted orvis about a spare spool for a reel i purchased 10yrs ago,within days they made a big effort to get me one at the right price.Half of what i paid for the reel.
I contacted ross the same day for a spare spool for a cimarron i purchased 10yrs ago as well,and they found me one for $20 less than i paid for the whole reel!
I queried the ridiculous price and i received a luke warm response saying basically "thats the price,take it or leave it"

grouch · Dec 28, 2013

sweetandsalt said:
Having the Abel gentlemen as advisors WILL facilitate this and provide Abel an opportunity to explore ideas they have rejected for their own brand like one way clutch bearings and sealed drags.

Abel does have a pretty sweet sealed drag in the works right now. I am not sure about how the drag is engaged but from the people I have spoken with that have handled it, they say it's going to be real nice.

Orvis sells Ross Reels...

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