Broken in

[Kfish]

Took my new to me Orvis Battenkill and drove east to a “nearby” lake hoping to get out of the wind and rain. It was pleasantly calm and warm, I was overdressed for sure with a puff jacket.

First fish hit shortly after launch near the shallow stumps. Little guy is pretty chunky for this lakes standard, fought hard and put a good bend on the rod. I can see why people like split canes now, slower casting pace and you can feel a lot more of the fish vs graphite.

Kicked out to the end of the lake and made a wide turn back to shore, picked up a few more on the way back and one closer to launch again. This was a larger one compared to the first but it got away before I could snap a pic.

Fun short outing, Battenkill is now officially broken in (by me). I fished with Orvis Clearwater full intermediate and SA Sonar Stillwater sink3, it was obvious that the rod prefers a more aggressive weight forward line. Super fun to cast!

 

[Bambooflyguy]

Way to go Lou! Great you got out and caught some fish with bamboo! Your title scared me a little…..I call it devirginizing a new rod!

 

[Bambooflyguy]

Have you tried casting a dry line on it yet? Bamboo, dry line and emergers with sipping trout on a lake is really hard to beat!!

 

[Kfish]

I have not, next time!

 

[Greg Armstrong]

Nice looking bamboo (and fish!).

What’s the length and weight of your Battenkill?

 

[BigSplashTom]

Nice looking rod. Love the fully loaded rod picture.
I started with one bamboo rod that Steve refurbed for me, now I fish with 3 sometimes 4 bamboo rods. Way more fun than plastic rods. even with all of the crappy casts that I seem to make. Bad habits seem worse on bamboo but hey I catch a lot of fish so its all good.

 

[Kfish]

It’s an impregnated Battenkill 7’6” 3 7/8oz HDG (6). Built in 1980.

 

[Greg Armstrong]

A lot of folks find the Orvis rods cast best when underlined.

Have you tried a 5wt line on it?… curious to know if that’s the case with your rod.

It’s an impregnated Battenkill 7’6” 3 7/8oz HDG (6). Built in 1980.

 

[Kfish]

A lot of folks find the Orvis rods cast best when underlined.

Have you tried a 5wt line on it?… curious to know if that’s the case with your rod.

I was fishing 5wt. The SA Sonar Stillwater is over weighted anyway so that makes sense. It’s 185gr so basically a 6wt

The orvis Clearwater 5wt intermediate is 165gr, less aggressive taper. I found that took longer to load and find that sweet spot.

 

[Greg Armstrong]

Ahh, good to know. That’s a sweet little rod.

 

[Phil K]

Well done. Yeah, you had me worried too

We should get together for a Battenkill outing sometime.

 

[Para_Adams]

It's always a nice surprise, to me, just how much those bamboo rods will bend toward the fish when fighting them. An extra fun part of the experience. Nice rod, great post!

 

[Dave Westburg]

Nice day, nice rod. My guess is the 7'6" Orvis 3 and 7/8's is the most popular of the classic Orvis bamboo rods. I really enjoy bamboo because it allows for a much more relaxed casting stroke and it's sensitive. My brother in law was fishing a super fast super stiff graphite fly rod on a river and I handed him my bamboo rod to try. When he hooked a fish on the swing he said "I can feel the take."