The cork grip varies by rod weight, starting with a Modified Full Wells on the 4wt end and working up to a Full Wells with a Fighting Butt on the higher end where it’s needed. The recoil snake guides are light and strong, and they should outlast you. SiC/Titanium stripping guides give both utmost strength and smooth line movement. The wraps are black on black, leaving a clean, nonfussy look. The rod itself is a sleek matte black, with the option of either white or blue butt detailing. The vibration reduction allows for cast energy to be more efficiently transferred from the rod to the line. An increase in hoop strength is one of the leading reasons for that ability to go farther. The Orvis Helios 3D (H3D) is specifically designed to cast long distances. In short: The Orvis Helios 3D is easily one of the best fly fishing rods on the market. The rest of the words you’re about to read are glowing. Digging a caddis into the cork on a $1,000 rod … ain’t happening.Īs a person who builds fishing rods and has numerous fly rods on my bench right now, I’m boggled at the exclusion of a part that literally costs pennies.Īnd with that, the negatives stop. Repeatedly hooking flies to the bottom stripping guide can cause wear on the inner protective finish. It’s a minor detail but a silly one to exclude. Everything else about it - aside from it being a possible budget-buster at $998 - is dang near perfection. In a 9’ 6″ six-weight, it’s a perfect all-around rod I would confidently take with me for bass ponds or on carp flats, any day.With impressive accuracy, insane power, and a wild ability to shoot line out like a cannon, the Orvis Helios 3D is straight-up bananas. He took a round of casts and confidently proclaimed (an apologetic grin on his face), “I have nothing bad to say about this rod.” An achievement, either way, and one of which I don’t appreciate being deprived.īut back to the rod, and my fishing partner, a man who sold his soul to Sage and Winston long ago. You know, the sort with holes that designers like to call “distressed.” A serious angler will put enough use into this fine fly rod to wear down the tube to a satisfyingly scratched gray, just as physical labor will put holes in the knees of your jeans. However, its pre-scuffed blue logo harkens just a bit too much of “worn” jeans. My only critique of the Helios 2 is of the tube (purely aesthetical), which seems silly, you might think. The Helios 2 was impressive and performed when and where it was needed: from long bombs deep for bass, to delicate shorts for feeding carp. The claim to transmit “energy directly from your brain to the fly and casts with the precision of a laser pointer” is not a far cry from the truth, marketing jargon as it may be. With a quick response time, it still had enough load throughout to power large and heavy streamers, as well as the delicacy required for up-close carp casts, where every motion and minute matter.Īccuracy, at both close and far ranges, was spot on. Laying out long casts, even with heavy flies to get deep in the cloudy and cool water, the Helios 2 was impressive. The newest graphite rod from The Orvis Company, who says it’s lighter and stronger than the first release, and in this case what’s purported in the glossy pages is true. The Helios 2 is the second generation (which means better genes, or at least how my mind works as a former farm girl) of the acclaimed original. We headed to lower ground, for old gravel pits and a farm pond, where we found some early season carp and bass. Call it cabin fever or shack nasties, or poor judgment from sinus pressure. It’s the ultimate all-around rod, I believe one could argue-that perfect balance of dynamism, efficacy, and command.Īnd on a day when my fishing partner and I both had nasty headcolds but the sun was shining and snow was melting in clods off the roof, puddling loudly in the stainless steel dog food dish out the back door, we couldn’t stay in. A six-weight allows a diverse angler to power casts out deep and finesse accuracy up close. And my choice was no question: a six-weight. So when given the opportunity to test and review the new Orvis Helios 2 rod, this is immediately what came to mind. Come spring, I start itching for warmwater – for carp and bass and the odd crappie or two. The trout fishing I love won’t open for a few weeks yet, and I don’t go to tailwaters or large rivers that keep moving through the year, with unrelenting currents of people and bugs. I see them as I walk to work through Boulder’s University Hill, peeps of yellow and small purple crocus, bulbs of memory, year after year. And when the daffodils have started blooming in the plains off the Front Range, there is still a thick covering of snow in my canyon, just below 8,000 ft. Living in two worlds makes you anxious, like multiple personalities will put you on meds (or wine, I suppose, lots of wine).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |