As I get older the wear and tear on my body starts to show. I’ve been nursing two torn rotator cuffs that have been more than a handful to deal with. The downside of this has been more restricted movement in my shoulders which has definitely had an impact on my Spey casting.
I’d been giving this some thought over the closed season and wondered if a slightly longer rod may help a little.
My usual rod for my home water is either an 11 or 12ft 7wt and so not wanting to shift lines around with a new rod arrival, the Orvis Mission 13ft 7wt fitted my criteria perfectly.
This is a great rod for a small- to medium-sized river for anyone looking for an allrounder.
The rod, built in the US, is a pleasing matte olive with subtle edging in orange. If cork is your thing, then the quality is excellent.
Instead of a few casts I’ve spent a good number of hours fishing the rod and have got to know it a little over this time. It feels light in the hand yet has plenty of backbone. I’ve yet to hook a salmon on the rod but the progressive middle-to-tip action feels as though it will have enough in it to keep a springer in check.
I’ve strung a few lines through it and it will cast a Skagit line (500gr) with ease. I have also tried a 50ft Spey head that although worked just fine, put some stress on my shoulders but I could cast it with a 10ft S3 sink tip and heavy tube fly. Where the rod really sings for me though is with a VersiTip line set up. The 38ft head works beautifully with the rod and the river I’m fishing.
I found I really enjoyed making a short, Scandi-style, single Spey cast – it was easy. Sure, the more modern circle and snap casts work well too but the Speys, for me, were just plain fun.
I asked my wife to try the rod down a pool we were fishing and the response was equally positive. She felt the rod was forgiving, easy to work with and super smooth to cast. She said that the less effort she put in the more she got back.
So, negatives. There aren’t any that really stick out in the 50 plus hours I’ve been fishing it. I am always about how the blank performs and so far, I haven’t picked up another Spey rod since first using it. I guess that means I like it.
This rod is cleverly priced at £798 and the longer rods in the range are £898
The salmon rod line-up ranges from 11ft 7wt to 15ft 10wt and all rods come with the usual Orvis warranty. More at Orvis
