Picked up the Orvis Superfine Glass 7ft 3wt 3pc yesterday and tried it out at a nearby park pond this morning. An old Battenkill Disc Drag click and pawl with some dirty WFF 3wt line on it was all I had to cast with (I'll get some DT 3wt later).

Used some 4x mono leader and tried the Orvis tippet rings for the first time. I took a 7 1/2 ft tapered leader, cut about 2 feet off the end and tied about 4 ft +/- of 4x tippet to the ring. I cast some small plastic panfish poppers (Sneaky Petes...Bluegill poppers) and was really pleasantly surprised at both the control of the line and the distance I could cast with minimal false-casting - 30 to 40 ft - although I won't ask for that kind of distance on the small, skinny streams...good to know it's there.

Love the unhanded blank and the pea-green color, and it weighs just over 2 oz. You may already fish glass, but if you don't, check it out. Just be careful about casting your ultra-fast graphite the day before you try one of these...gotta really calm down your casting stroke and let the game come to you.

Slow glass is fun to cast. I'm seriously considering getting rid of all my graphite rods and going to glass. For me tippet rings are a must. I hate going through leaders like crazy.

I don't have any expensive glass, but I have four of the yellow Eagle Claw Featherlight rods and love them. I have vintage Martin tuna can reels on three of them and a Martin 67SS on the 8-foot model that I added an extended butt onto in order to do two-handed casting. My four $45 combos have caught fish everywhere I have used them and can't be beat in my book.

Okay, good input. And here is some full disclosure:

I'll be 70 in 2019. My days of standing on a gyrating deck trying to make 60 foot double hauls to tailers, and scrambling over rocks to get set up in a really fast current are probably over. I now more fully embrace "the tug is the drug," and you can get it from a 12 inch rainbow or a 2 pound bass, and it's just as good. Looking forward to wading some of the small streams in Texas, Arkansas, NM and Colorado. Thinking this glass rod will be a nice addition to my arsenal.

Second disclosure: I worked at Orvis Dallas for four years and enjoyed a great associate discount. Left 8 years ago but my wife still works a couple weekends a month so...still got the discount. If not, I wouldn't have 10 Orvis rods and a bunch of reels. I'd be haunting the aisles at BPS, Cabelas and Tailwaters looking for bargains.

I am NOT an Orvis shill and never will be. Yes, they make some really nice gear, but they have always had the rep of drawing in the angler with deep pockets and emptying said pockets. Brother, that ain't me. There are lots of great brands out there for every pocketbook, and it seems to just be getting better.

For McKinney Longhorn, and for anyone interested, check out this vid from the Olympic Peninsula website. What this guy can do with a 3wt glass and a skagit or skeeena line is pretty sick.


https://youtu.be/_cl0DE_95r8

Well, my bad. This is the video I meant to post.

https://youtu.be/5Lc4H8KB40g

eatshadanddie, have you ever fished an e glass rod? If so how do they compare to the s glass that orvis uses? My only experience with fiberglass is my e glass blue halo and my grandfathers Shakespeare offset baitcast. I'm just wondering if the price difference between e and s glass is truly worth it.

Mitt78, not in a long time. I think it may be a "Ginger or Marianne" thing. I used to fish with a Fenwick guy and he swore by their "electrical" glass rods. Said it was like fishing cane. S glass - the experts say - is stronger...greater modulus, more line speed, blah blah blah. I honestly do not know what Orvis uses in their blanks. It wasn't a consideration for me. I just like this rod in my hand casting some line. Hell, if it breaks on a 12 inch 'bow Orvis can just send me a replacement.

Cast both, and buy the one that feels better.

I have been fishing glass pretty much exclusively over the past 11 years. I have rods in E-glass, S-glass, and even T-glass. Basically T-glass is the Japanese version of S-glass. S- glass has a higher modulus (12 million vs. 10 million for E-glass), so if two rods of differing glass types are built to the same length and taper, the S or T glass versions will have a faster action. Because S-glass is a little stiffer and stronger, a rod can be built with thinner walls, meaning a lighter blank. The taper of the rod has more to do with its action than the type of glass used. I have some E-glass rods that have faster actions than some of my S-glass rods. Some really great rods are built in both materials.

Larry

That video is so sweet, I have developed a 2 weight shooting head for my CGR with Amnesia shooting line. with another line for my TFO 8' Professional and Slickshooter line absolute blast to cast.