I have a confession to make: I’ve never fished a slower-action Orvis rod that I fell in love with. From their glass rods to the older Superfine Carbon rods, none of them jumped out at me and made me pick them over other rods in my quiver. The Helios series is a different story entirely, as I love my H3s, but they’re not the focus of this review. So, when a 7’11” 4-weight Orvis Superfine Graphite showed up a few months ago, I was eager to try it out, but I wasn’t expecting much.
What I experienced was nothing short of incredible. This little rod has more guts than you’d expect, is laser-accurate, and even in the hands of a ham-fisted caster like me, delicately lays out flies, even at distance. If you’re looking for a new dry fly rod for use on spring creeks or in any technical dry fly situation, you’d better give the Superfine Graphite some serious consideration.
Orvis
Superfine Graphite Fly Rod
The Superfine Carbon series is the latest lineup of slow-action graphite rods to come out of Orvis’ rod shop in Vermont. These particular rods are designed as a nod to the company’s history. The first Orvis graphite rods contained a run of sticks between weights 1 and 5 that became known as the “Superfine” series. The same names of those rods have been carried over to the current generation, along with some retro styling.
Orvis says they’ve built the Superfine Graphite rods with the same Helios construction techniques used on their top-of-the-line rods. At $598, it’s a superb value for an American-made rod.
What I Love
Perfectly Tuned Action
Orvis says the lower-modulus graphite used results in slow to moderate actions across the series. I can’t speak for the other rods, but the 7’11” 4-weight I reviewed was definitely closer to moderate. It’s not fast, by any means, but crisp and pleasant. The rod takes just enough time to load and unload during the casting stroke that you’re forced to think about it, but not so long that you can eat a sandwich between your front and back casts.
I’ll go back to that word I just used to describe the action—crisp. There’s a sharpness to how the rod moves through the air, with very little oscillation, that’s immediately noticeable once you’re on the water. Loops are tight, quick, and deadly accurate, but land with all the grace of a butterfly with sore feet. In short, it’s the ideal action for tossing dry flies to wary fish.
Accuracy
Shorter rods are always more accurate than longer rods. Since every rod in the Superfine Graphite series is shorter than 8 feet, these should all be lasers. The 7’11” 4-weight was particularly impressive, though, especially at distance.
I spent time with this rod on two local spring creeks, both of which have a reputation for picky fish that won’t move too far to eat flies. I pushed this rod to 50 feet at times, and it delivered on-target flies more often than not. I’m a middling caster at best, so the fact that I could coax such great accuracy from this rod should excite anglers with skills better than mine.
Power
When talking about a rod’s “power,” or its “guts,” the discussion is usually relative to what you’d expect from a typical rod in that class. This 4-weight has a surprising amount of power packed in its slender, light blank. Even when the ever-present Wyoming wind started gusting during my testing, the rod handled it better than you’d expect from most 4-weights.
It also has enough backbone to handle larger fish, as demonstrated when I hooked into some cutthroat pushing 17 inches. Paired with a click/pawl reel, I had enough power to leverage fish away from snags and quickly into the net. I wouldn’t hesitate to take this rod to rivers packed with trout close to 20 inches.
The Intangibles
Reviewing fly rods isn’t always a straightforward business. Sure, there’s the usual testing of how far a rod can cast, how accurate it is, and whether it’s light enough. All important details to be sure, but also a bit easier to quantify.
As anyone who’s fished for a while knows—and you’ll certainly understand if you have more than one rod in your quiver—some rods have a certain attitude, a feeling, that’s difficult to put into words.
For me, the Superfine Graphite falls into that category. It’s short, sweet, crisp, and deadly accurate, but it’s also a whole lot of fun to fish with. The rod feels almost lively, like it’s enjoying the fishing as much as I am. There’s an enormous amount of feedback, which you’d expect in a 4-weight, so maybe that’s why it feels so great in-hand.
Perhaps it’s the rod’s great build quality, which is on par with the company’s Helios lineup. Regardless of what makes this rod special, you can rest assured it is, and the 7’11” is earning a permanent spot in my quiver.
What I Don’t Like
Short Grip
My two quibbles with this rod are minor. First, while I understand Orvis wanted a level of nostalgia in the build style of these rods, the cork grip is just a bit too short for my hands. Adding another inch would make my grip feel a bit more secure.
No Hook Keeper
Orvis opted to remove the hook keeper from all their rods years ago, and I’ve not been a fan of that decision. While there are plenty of guides to hook your flies on instead, I think a small-stream trout rod like the 7’11” 4-weight benefits from a hook keeper. This isn’t a reason not to buy the rod, but something I’d love Orvis to add back in the future.
Final Word
For $598, I’m not sure there’s a better dry fly-focused rod on the market, especially one that’s made in America. The Seven/Eleven 4-weight is an absolute joy at traditional trout fishing distances, but maintains its accuracy well into the 50-foot range. It’s crisp, lively, and fun to use, with enough backbone to fight and land larger trout. It’s hard for me to pick a rod better suited for spring creek and technical tailwater fishing than this one, especially for such a great price.