Orvis Clearwater Fly Rod Review

My take on the Orvis Clearwater rod. I have used this rod in a lot of varying conditions and it has stood up well for the year that I have owned it. I would definitely recommend this rod. I am not sponsored nor affiliated in anyway to Orvis. Thank you so much and please be respectful in the comments.
Cheers!
Milan
Greenhorn Flyhorn

[@danbolton3180]

Another rabbit hole to fall into, yet again. I have a couple of 30 year old fly rods/ reels, but here I am watching fly rod videos. Last year I wanted a decent foraging knife because I broke my old folder, which turned into an expensive everyday carry knife. The internet is not your friend when making choices because there are too many choices. After spending hundreds on some really nice knives that I don’t want to lose or have stolen I bought a $13 Amazon special. As with fly fishing there are too many choices. Thank you for doing the review, good entertainment. For the time I’ll watch videos until spring, and then maybe I’m going to dust off my old stuff and see if the arthritic hands can even work the line.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

I am in the camp of use what ya got. This rabbit hole is deep. Originally this review was 30 minutes long!! I went over all possible scenarios that led to me buying the clearwater. I really bought it so I could cast medium sized streamers and heavier indicator(bobber) rigs. This rod is faster(stiffer) than most budget 6wt rods and does this job well. Anyhoo, there i go blabbering again hahaha! I wish you the very best this upcoming season my friend. Thanks for stopping by.

[@danbolton3180]

@Greenhorn Flyhorn Living on the Olympic Peninsula, I've got to fish occasionally. The angel on my shoulder( my wife of 38 years) keeps me from doing too much damage. Really, I'm a piker when it comes to gear. I just cover a bit of everything.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

@@danbolton3180 nice spot! never been there but the west coast steelies are in every fishermans dream!

[@bluewtr]

Should have bought a Benchmade Knife - USA…..a treasure, a new part of your family! Not everyone is seventy years ol as well..some are 13 years of age. Others on our planet besides you, ya know?

[@schadowolf]

Nice video and yes I'm an Orvis person. After first guided trip (as I mentioned in another video comment) I called him and asked him for suggestion on buying rod/reel. He recommended a 9' 5wt, good middle of the range for multiple species although I primarily fish trout in my middle age. I did kind of go overboard and got the Orvis Helios 3f as well as the Orvis Mirage reel. Not cheap but I love it! Enjoying your channel, info you provide and the humor! Had no idea you were from Ontario, have a good friend up there as my other hobby is model trains. I spend my free time fly fishing and working in my layout room. And yes, I baby this rod even though if mess it up I know their customer support will take care of a broken section or something dumb on my part (like closing lift gate and catching rod in it (not happened yet, I am VERY conscience about this. A quick tip I learned is you often see in videos and in real life anglers with their rods facing forward navigating through brush, trees, etc. The better way (at least in my experience) is to hold rod by the handle with rod pointing BEHIND you. This way you know where you are walking, will in most cases not get the rod stuck/broke in brush etc. YMMV.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

Nice and fast rod. Don’t think you can get much better from Orvis than the Helios. I did play around with one last week. It should serve you well and launch pretty much any trout fly there is.

[@davecollins6113]

I have an Orvis Clearwater I bought back in the 90's, out of warranty now, but, it has stood the test of time. It's not the same as a newer one I have, but, still like it. Nothing wrong with the newer one, it's a 7wt vs the old one which is a 5wt, got it for a warranty replacement on a previous model I forget the name of, that broke because I overworked it, somwwhere around 18 yrs ago. No issues with either one really, one's a midflex, one's a tip flex. Both have handled a lot of fish.

[@gibsonrocker17]

I'm excited to give it a try. Just found a screamin' deal online for the 5wt 9' combo at $358 after tax. I figured for that price, I might as well just take the leap and give it a try. Fortunately, I was able to test one out at my local Sportsman's Warehouse earlier this afternoon and make sure I liked the action. It seems like overall, the reviews are pretty positive for the rod and the combo for being pretty affordable, even at its normal price. I'm definitely looking forward to branching out from my usual tenkara setups and opening up a much larger world of possibilities!

[@greenhornflyhorn]

Other than the cork handle getting a little rough prematurely. I gotta say they are a fine value especially with that warranty. Wish you the best on the water👊

[@johndingwall1210]

I use the 10' #2 Clearwater for Euro nymphing and can't fault it , lovely rod to use for this technique.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

I bet!! Been thinking of getting the 3wt or 4wt in a 10ft to do monorigs and dries. Thank you for watching.

[@DaveMitchellOutdoorsyStuff]

Great review buds! I’m inching closer haha

[@greenhornflyhorn]

Oh you will soon enough! Hahaha!

[@intothewild2345]

Got a Clearwater #4 8'6" two years ago and was impressed with the perfect cork grip, caught 100+ large trout so far, it's still pristine tight unlike yours. Sad to see they've went with less quality cork as of late, great rod though

[@greenhornflyhorn]

8’6” 4wt is such a versatile rod! Great choice for a trout stick. I will say mine has takin a beating. I actually (by accident mind you) whacked the tip on a stone last week and my heart sank. I was so dang impressed, not a scuff! Just a workhorse of a rod. Thanks for the comment

[@kenwebster5053]

Alignment dots as overrated fluff IMO. I find it easier and quicker to just align the guides as I put the rod together. Like just look at the sections & rotate as you slid them together.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

Right on Ken! I like the dots but of course with everything it’s personal preference. Keep er’ tight!

[@Cigarhiker]

Totally agree, Ken. Having been putting rods together many years before alignment dots I find that I get the alignment correct on the first try almost 100% of the time. Ironically, I do use the dots on my rods that have them but often still have to tweak the alignment! Not sure the dots really make it any quicker for me.

[@JoeBarone-bp6lm]

Works great although it kzbin.infoUgkxLoZpKHn4w7dtzXk1eygBlOhbLxuVe3uD took a while to figure out how to reverse it. Nearly disassembled the entire thing. Looks better than my Redington Rise 5/6 reel too.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

Sounds like a blast! Thank you for sharing 🙂

[@whisperingblues9887]

hi there from Ireland I am going to purchase one of the older model Clearwater rods second hand of course it's a 9ft four piece 8weight tip flex going to be using it for sea trout saltwater fishing and sea bass etc would you have any info on the rod thanks.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

Hi Steve, I can’t comment from experience of the older clearwater model as I only have experience on the newer clearwater model. I will say that I did listen to an Orvis podcast recently(probably a month or so ago) and Tom Rosenbauer made mention about a discontinued made in USA rod they made that was economically priced. Anyways he said that they used the technology and layups for that rod for the Clearwater(the older model at the time) but just moved the manufacturing to overseas. I wish I could recall the episode but he answered it on the “FlyBox” portion of the podcast. The warranty might not be transferable but I also have a video on my channel on How To Choose a Fly Rod, give it a gander closer to the end where I briefly discuss what to look for when you’re physically looking and touching the fly rod before purchase. There are bookmarks on that video so it should be simple to find that. I hope this helps you and I wish you the very best this season! Milan.

[@GillzOnly]

Listen , I bought this rod and reel combo …. I thought it was nice at first but my drag knob on my reel was broken off fairly easily and needed it replaced I used it a total of four times up until then, then about 6 months into using it on occasions my rod snapped on an average size trout on the piece closest to the handgrip … the strongest part I’ve never seen it happen before . I take excellent care of my rod always transporting it in a hard case so I’m not sure exactly why it snapped maybe a manufacturer error. But needless to say I am unhappy with the setup , unfortunate because I really looked highly upon orvis. Even cheap rods never gave me this many issues

[@greenhornflyhorn]

Not sure what I can do with this BUT!! If you copy and paste your comment to Orvis, I am sure they will help you out. I have used their warranty and it works great! Keep er’ tight!

[@mbmplayz7548]

Orvis also has a 25 year warranty

[@greenhornflyhorn]

Ughh! Did I fail to mention that? Thanks for this. Yes 25 year on the clearwater and up models. The encounter is I believe 5 years. AND! I also forgot to mention it’s non-transferable! Just starting out on KZbin, so lots of room for improvement. Tight Lines

[@calvinkoebler3308]

First comment!

[@greenhornflyhorn]

I’m second!! Hahaha! 🤘

[@valruscheniko2321]

Cheapskate pennypinching omission of the fly keeper ring by Orvis on my 10’. I’m not impressed. Inexcusable! Seen better quality on other Chinese rods for 50% less bucks. C’mon Orvis, get your priorities right - look after your customers and give Rosenbauer a smaller pay check!

[@greenhornflyhorn]

Maybe express this to Orvis. The more they hear this stuff, the more they might consider some improvements

[@xJesseJames33x]

Worst rod I’ve ever owned lol do not but spend a little extra

[@greenhornflyhorn]

If you have a few moments, please share your experience. Would like to know what happened and am sure others would appreciate it as well. Thanks

[@MichealBacon]

@@greenhornflyhorn Those Clearwaters break/crack below the mid section. Blanks are too thin, lots of complaints. You're better off with the Fenwick Aetos, a superior rod in every way

[@greenhornflyhorn]

@@MichealBacon mine has held up great! Smashed it on rocks, throw it in the back of the truck all the time and it keeps on tickin. The aetos is a great rod too, the bummer is only a 5yr warranty though.

[@MichealBacon]

@@greenhornflyhorn Fenwick doesn't offer long warranty's simply because their build quality lasts

[@gregkosinski2303]

@@MichealBaconthink about what you just said.

[@leighj8885]

Let's all be honest. Orvis gear is over priced. I always try to by American made goods, but it's my bank account that is suffering. That my friends is a major problem for us all.

[@greenhornflyhorn]

I would agree with you on the price point(for the clearwater). I believe i Mentioned that I got in sale which i highly recommend. The US made stuff is pretty much inline with their competition. Still have no idea why those rods are about $1500CAD

[@charlesjarome5995]

Agree completely, pays to know one or two people that get pro deals. 60% is hard to beat