Orvis Helios F 9′ 7-weight

Reviews

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   What Orvis is shooting for here is not easy to achieve: an easy-casting rod that is still up to the various and sometimes onerous tasks of a 7-weight. Of all the line weights, a 7-weight is most called upon to cast unusual, specialized fly lines, whether an Anadro for nymphing, Predator or Titan Taper for streamers, or a bonefish taper for the flats. This rod casts them all beautifully, albeit with a slower, more relaxed cadence than the Helios D 9′ 7-weight. The key to the rod’s magic is stability. Most “moderate action” rods lose their command with heavy headed lines, wobbling under the weight as the fly rod loads past the tip into the middle section of the rod, where the blank tapers steeply. The result is a general loss of control. The Helios F 9′ 7-weight gives us the best of all worlds: a rod that casts with the relaxed familiarity of your favorite 5-weight yet with the confidence and bottom end power to hold up those heavy line heads and shoot them with command. This is a superb all-arounder for Alaska and it would be hard to imagine a better rod for bass and carp. It casts an SA or Rio Bonefish taper magnificently, too, although, by degrees, I prefer the SA version of this line on less-stiff fly rods like this one. This is a cross-genre fly rod that holds immense appeal for virtually any angler.

   John Duncan (Telluride Angler)