I need help identifying this Orvis Rod. It's 2pc 7,10ft. No markings regarding what weight it is.
Its for sale for 75 bucks a little drive away.
Is there anything you guys can tell me, with the given specs? Is it worth it, despite the pretty rough shape?
Posted by gerberboon
3 Comments
These older Orvis often had the details on the butt of the rod. Maybe ask for a better pic? I’d take a wild guess and say it might be a Far and Fine, but I think they were 7’9 so I could be wrong
If it’s rated for a 5 then it’s a great model, although you may want to try a modern 4 line on it. Is the female ferrule wider than modern sleeve over ferrules? Also, it’s a custom job, not a factory. The wraps are a little amateurish, and the grip and reel seat aren’t standard issue for the 70s/80s when this rod is from.
For $75, you could always have it refinished if the guides and wraps aren’t what they should be, provided the blank is all there. Or you could pay around $200 give or take for a factory built one.
That is definitely a home-built rod on an Orvis blank, based on the amateur thread wraps and the nonstandard cork that Orvis never used. Chances are good it’s a 7’9” 5-weight Far and Fine, which is the first good rod I ever owned, and one of the sweetest and desirable rods ever built by Orvis. If it measures 7’10”, that could just mean they used a longer reel seat than stock (the original seat was down-locking) — or in a worst-case scenario it was originally an 8-footer that suffered a broken tip. It’s in rough cosmetic condition but it would be easy enough to re-wrap the guides and clean up the cork.