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7ft Orvis fullflex 4pc?
Post 26 Aug 2009, 13:44 • #1 
Master Guide
Joined: 08/16/07
Posts: 389
Location: US-ME
Anybody have any comments, opinions, reviews on the 4piece version of this rod?


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7ft Orvis fullflex 4pc?
Post 27 Aug 2009, 00:22 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 03/20/07
Posts: 2544
Location: Wofford Heights, Calif. Kern River
If you have the fly rod which was based on a Phillipson Scotchply blank and wrapped by Orvis rated a 6wt, its an excellent pack rod and great little all purpose 6wt. If you have the four piece spin/fly that Phillipson supplied the blank for its rated a 7wt and even at that feels a b it stiff. Ive managed to pickup half a dozen examples of this rod, one an Eddie Bower, another branded and wrapped by a private fly shop, two are Orvis and one is A&F. Of the 5 spin fly rods which are all closely patterned the same (only the guide placement on the third piece differs) all feel the same to me and are not as crisp as the fly rod build on this blank by Orvis. So saying Ive one of the Orvis Spin/Fly rods Im rebuilding as a pure fly rod to see if it will match the Orvis made rod. Personally that big long footed spinning guide on the second section might be a major contributor to the stiff feeling of the spin fly combo rods. Anyway for what its worth the pure fly rod is quite nice.
Richard


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7ft Orvis fullflex 4pc?
Post 27 Aug 2009, 00:34 • #3 
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Joined: 07/05/05
Posts: 1154
Location: US-OH
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It's a nice rod. I just fished mine on the Snake River in eastern Minnesota for smallmouth bass a couple weeks ago.

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Despite being labeled as a 7wt, it is definitely better performing with a 6wt line. It's a slowish rod action, flexing well into the bottom third of the blank with any strong casting and it really bends nicely with a fish on. It's got enough bottom end to control a fish, but I really don't think I'd pick this rod to present a fly to a 15lb carp. This is a "trout 6" and not really a "bass 6" in action. I like to use a double taper SA Ultra 4 (iirc - I'll have to check the reel to be certain which line) on a Pflueger Medalist 1494 1/2 on the rod, it seems a good balance.

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The One Pfoot made for a fine match with the reel seat, but the rod handled an unaltered Pflueger just fine. It's a tiny, little package that breaks down into a tube that really does fit into a computer bag.

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Overall I'm quite pleased with mine. It's a specialized rod - if I was tossing small to mid-sized streamers or wet flies down-and-across on a smallish creek or fishing larger dry flies to smallmouth or trout in a tight waterway it could quickly become a favorite. Not a rod for a windy day as the soft blank tends to limit line speed. I've cast it with a Rio Gold WF5 and it's a bit faster, but you lose a lot of feel for the cast loading. Select a line that presents 155 to 170 grains at the distance you cast and you'll find it to be a fine glass addition to your collection.

Joe C.


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7ft Orvis fullflex 4pc?
Post 27 Aug 2009, 04:42 • #4 
Guide
Joined: 06/25/05
Posts: 239
Location: Albany, NY
Joe-
I just want to say that that is one of the most useful/helpful brief reviews of a rod that I've read. I've also wondered about that rod model a couple of times, and the review really helped me clarify some things. Thanks again.
Regards,
Steve


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7ft Orvis fullflex 4pc?
Post 27 Aug 2009, 10:14 • #5 
Master Guide
Joined: 08/16/07
Posts: 389
Location: US-ME
Thanks guys, this one was made in the 80's, brown glass. I'm really on the fence.


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7ft Orvis fullflex 4pc?
Post 27 Aug 2009, 14:51 • #6 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
nice rod - Phillipson.


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7ft Orvis fullflex 4pc?
Post 27 Aug 2009, 16:19 • #7 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 03/20/07
Posts: 2544
Location: Wofford Heights, Calif. Kern River
Hello Fingernail, I believe yours would be a fullflex A which is based on a blank that Orvis rolled inhouse after Phillipson closed down. It would have been a late in the game glass rod produced well within the time period that Orvis was rolling their own Graphite rods, which at the time were very popular. As such their is a little less interest in the brown Fullflex A glass rods than there is the Phillipson made blanks used by Orvis, which draws both Orvis and Phillipson collectors.

Hay Joe nice find, I believe your rod is a late model, I have both models in the spin fly and the early fly rod as well, mine the early one is wrapped in Black and the fly rod is rated 6wt the black wrapped spin fly 7wt. I also have a red wrapped Orvis spin fly, it also is wrapped in red. What makes me believe the red wrapped rods are late is that I also have a rod finished I believe by Phillipson in house for Eddie Bower and it has the same red wraps. What makes another difference is that the red wrapped spin fly rods both Phillipson and Orvis have the guide placement the same on the third and tip sections and its different than the earlier black wrapped spin fly and fly rod. All the 4 piece 7ft rods appear to be build on exactly the same tip over butt scotchply blanks, and the weights are stated the same, so Im guessing they might all exibit the same line preferences if they were all fly rods with the same fly rod guide spacing. If true then I would say they are great little 6wts, and Im hoping to convert several of mine to pure fly rod.

Richard


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7ft Orvis fullflex 4pc?
Post 30 Sep 2009, 06:00 • #8 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/27/06
Posts: 774
Location: SW Missouri Ozark Plateau
My Orvis fly/spin glass fullflex 7 foot, 4 piece, is translucent brown wrapped with standard Ovis brown thread. It flexes way down into the corks. It came in an Orvis plastic triangular case, and was the very last one Orvis had at their main store when I bought it in the late 1980s. Apparently, it was the last of the breed.


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Post 24 Jan 2013, 18:23 • #9 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/10/07
Posts: 1632
Location: The Netherlands
I also have the brown glass version.
It came with a (very nice) alu rod tube.
Although rated as for a #6 it casts a #5 wonderfully.

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Post 24 Jan 2013, 18:47 • #10 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/29/10
Posts: 1048
Location: Osage Orange Range, North Texas, US
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.. . translucent brown. . .

That one's a looker!


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7ft Orvis fullflex 4pc?
Post 26 Jan 2013, 04:05 • #11 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/10/07
Posts: 1632
Location: The Netherlands
I always wondered why Fly Spin rods never got the appreciation it deserves. These rods are very versatile.


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Post 27 Jan 2013, 10:20 • #12 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/27/06
Posts: 774
Location: SW Missouri Ozark Plateau
I haven't fished mine much, but about ten years ago, I hooked and landed a ten pound redfish with it in Phillippi Creek, in Sarasota, Florida, right under a bridge on the the Tamiami Trail/U.S.41, a couple of blocks from my home. The fish bent the rod right down into the corks and the rod was a half circle from the load. This rod is one of the fullest loading rods I have ever fished. I was fishing it with a spinning reel that day, and it would toss a half ounce lure a mile, it seemed. I think the words "real slow" is the best description for its action. I was out on my bicycle that day, and happened to stop overlooking Phillippi Creek, which empties into Sarasota Bay a few hundred yards downstream of U.S. 41, when I spied two big reds over a sandy spot. I rode my bike home, grabbed my rod and a couple of lures, and went behind an abandoned restuarant where I could get a cast to the fish. On the third cast, this big red fish swirled the water and I set the hook, and the fight was on. I'm just lucky I had a good reel with a smooth drag, or I would never have landed that fish. I was using ten pound mono. I need to get that little rod out and go chase some trout here in Missouri and see how it does in fly rod mode. It casts a 5 or 6 weight very nicely. It's a very versatile rod.


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Post 27 Jan 2013, 16:57 • #13 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/10/07
Posts: 1632
Location: The Netherlands
Great story!
I've yet to experience such an epic day with this rod, but I'll certainly add more days with this rods.
I've never used it in 'spin mode' though. Yet!


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