Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Orvis Glass Vs. Carp = Glass Wins

The latest dispatch from Shawn Combs, who is a product development specialist for Orvis, arrived in my inbox yesterday and it's really cool to see the field testing of the Orvis fiberglass fly rods is still in the works to make sure everything is ironed out before these fly rods become part of the line up in January 2014.


There are three things to take note of in these two photographs.

1.  Shawn Combs doesn't just catch dink trout during field testing.  He pushes the material to the max and tackles piggy carp.  I dig that.  This biggish carp was caught on the eight foot five weight and pushed into the low 20's.

2.  Look closely in both photos and take note of the next generation of the C.F.O. fly reel.  The skinny that I know so far is this is a click and pawl which will be offered in three sizes, Made In The U.S.A., and with a price point that won't break the bank.

3.  The gaudy carp cap has got mad mojo.  Buy HERE


This is further proof that Orvis is serious about getting back in to the glass game after quite a hiatus.  From the late prototype/final product images that I've seen, it looks like just about everything that I asked for in this T.F.M. post will be part of the series as well.

7 comments:

Jay said...

CFO reels made in the USA? Really?...
That's like Scotch whiskey made in Japan :)

Orvis should take more care of their heritage. Real CFO's are made in England. If Orvis wants to make an USA made reel, that's fine but don't name it CFO for g*d sake!

Looking forward to their glass rods though.

Rob Ceccarini said...

sweet lid

Cameron Mortenson said...

Jay...I agree with you that CFO fly reels are something special but I think they lost a lot of identity when they were made in Asia.

The UK made version is $700 which out there for a click and pawl fly reel even if it will become a collectors item.

I think the decision to make a CFO made in the states is a good decision to carry on this heritage offering at a reasonable price point and the finish work on this series is flawless. I've held and fished the prototypes and they are mighty nice.

Cameron Mortenson said...

Rob...you didn't have to erase your first comment. I agreed with it just so you know.

You're right on the cap. It's pretty damn cool.

Jay said...

Cameron,
Obviously the 'CFO' from Asia was a mistake as well.
The reissue CFO that's currently on the shelf is way too expensive.

Making an Orvis reel in the USA is an excellent choice. It helps the economy in the US and fly fishermen will buy them, no question.

Cameron Mortenson said...

Jay...just to follow up a bit more. The heritage of the CFO is more about Made in the USA then one might think. The original 1971 prototype CFO was designed and made by Stan Bogdan in the USA for Orvis and now resides in the American Museum of Fly-Fishing in Manchester, Vermont.

You can learn more about the history of the CFO and see pictures at
http://therustyspinner.blogspot.com/p/history-of-orvis-cfo_5.html

Jay said...

Cameron,
That's correct indeed.
Orvis however didn't get the production made in the USA but commissioned Hardy to make the reels.

What's more interesting is that later on Orvis (eventually) bought an English reel company and let them make the CFO's.

Well anyway, lets see what the new USA made CFO turns out.