Hi all,
Please offer your advice
Swapped a load of old camera gear for an Orvis Silver Label 9 foot, 8 weight rod. The handle has never had a reel seated in it, the cork is absolutely pristine as is the carrying case.
My questions are...

Is this really a rod for a fly fishing novice (myself)
Would a 7 weight line be adequate
How old is the rod
Is it carbon fibre or fibre glass (says it weighs 4 1/2 ounce on rod)
Is it worth much (stays at home if it is)

Many thanks gentlemen

Dave

Hi Dave.I had the 10ft silver label rod from the same range that you have.I found it to be a great rod until it broke last year and was then replaced without any fuss.I would imagine that although a ft shorter it will be the same and it is made of carbon fibre.As you describe yourself as a novice then I believe that the rod you have will only make you better.You should get away with a 7 weight line no problem.I bought my rod about 11 years ago and it cost me about £250 then but I could not put a price on them now as they were discontinued about 8-9 years ago.The best advice is to give it ago and see how you like the rod,if it does not suit you then move on to a rod that does.Hope this is of help.
Shanker

I have the 9ft 9wt rod and absolutely love it to bits. (hopefully never the case)

Its a mid range rod and orvis as far as i know would replace the part free of charge something to do with the priceing stategy of their orginal models compared to the their newer rods. flex idex is important too the tip flex models are more desireable as they are have fast actions compared to mid range.

I had a test day a casting loads of rods and i have to say the silver label was better than some of the top of the range rods but only on some models.

As with any fly rod if you cast it and like it then it valuable to you. they are like shoes what someone likes, other people dont get one with.

value= probably not what it should be. as the rod is 5 years plus old.

I also had a 10 foot SL and loved it. it was a wonderful rod till i shut it in the car door replaced with a Western 2 which was nothing like as good, and i gave it to a mate who'd just started. i found the silver label cast best at its specified weight, so a 7 would underline it. you'd definitely get away with it, but for top performance get a WF8 off the pirate. Lovely rod and i wish i still had mine

---------- Post added at 08:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:22 PM ----------

Oh, and if you'd take #100 for it i'd be interested...

I believe that the `Silver Label` name was applied to a number of different blanks over the years. I have a silver label TL, which was the same blank that the Trident TL was built on but with cheaper fittings (reel seat, rings etc). It is every bit as good a fishing rod as the Trident TL (which was the "premium" rod built on that blank) that I own. So the answer is that it is probably a good quality blank.

Orvis rods used to (and still do) have a flex rating. The closer the number is to 10, the stiffer the rod and the less suitable for a beginner. A flex rating of about 7 or so would be good for a beginner. 8 or 9 would probably be too stiff for most novices. As to whether it is suitable for a 7 weight line, then I would have to say that I doubt it very much, especially in the hands of a beginner (and especially if it has a high flex rating). In my experience, Orvis rods will often take a line over their weight but not under. My view would be you will find it hard to cast a decent line if you are under-weighting it. You'd be better off buying a cheap 8 weight line if that suits your fishing.

As to your other questions, depending on what blank it is, it could be anything over 6 or so years old. It is made of carbon. It would probably fetch comfortably under £100 on ebay, so if it doesn't suit your needs, take BrownieBasher's £100 and buy yourself a rod with spec more suited to you!

they were lovely rods. I owned several 9' 7 weights because they kept snapping unexpectedly, and orvis kept replacing them. You have been warned!

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cumbriafishingfestival.co.uk

As a beginner, you really need to get an outfit that is balanced. My advice would be to sell the Orvis and go for something more tailored to the fishing you will be doing.

If you are mainly going to be fishing from a boat, then you will need a rod of at least 10ft. That length of rod would also do you for most bank fishing situations. For trout fishing, a 7# is the maximum I would use, and then only for sinking lines. If the majority of your fishing is going to be with a floater, I'd not go higher than a 6#.

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But Jesus beheld them and said unto them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Matthew 19:26

I used to have a 9` #9 tip flex. 9.5. Used it for pike flyfishing as well as streamer fishing for trout when conditions demanded a heavy head. Heads up to 400grain. Nice rod. As it was already said, they were made on Trident TL blanks with cheaper outfit. I remember it had a rubber fighting but, chrome guides, anodized aluminium reel seat (black). It came with green cordura tube.

BlueOne