Line recommendation for Orvis Battenkill

[Kfish]

I've been admiring bamboo rods for a long time and finally took the plunge.
My first bamboo rod (en route) will be a Orvis Battenkill Impregnated 7 1/2' 3 7/8oz 5wt (built in 1980). I can hardly wait until it gets here.



So my question is what line would you recommend for this rod? I will be fishing lakes with it so will need Intermediate or type 3 sink line.
Cortland classic full intermediate camo? 444 full sink type 3? 444 sink tip type 3? 5wt I assume?
Should I try a 4wt line as well?

Thank you in advance!

Lou

 

[Dave Westburg]

I've been admiring bamboo rods for a long time and finally took the plunge.
My first bamboo rod (en route) will be a Orvis Battenkill Impregnated 7 1/2' 3 7/8oz 5wt (built in 1980). I can't hardly wait until it gets here.

View attachment 129355View attachment 129356View attachment 129357

So my question is what line would you recommend for this rod? I will be fishing lakes with it so will need Intermediate or type 3 sink line.
Cortland classic full intermediate camo? 444 full sink type 3? 444 sink tip type 3? 5wt I assume?
Should I try a 4wt line as well?

Thank you in advance!

Lou

Phil K what say you? You've fished that exact rod when we've hiked into alpine lakes.

 

[Dave Westburg]

I've been admiring bamboo rods for a long time and finally took the plunge.
My first bamboo rod (en route) will be a Orvis Battenkill Impregnated 7 1/2' 3 7/8oz 5wt (built in 1980). I can't hardly wait until it gets here.

View attachment 129355View attachment 129356View attachment 129357

So my question is what line would you recommend for this rod? I will be fishing lakes with it so will need Intermediate or type 3 sink line.
Cortland classic full intermediate camo? 444 full sink type 3? 444 sink tip type 3? 5wt I assume?
Should I try a 4wt line as well?

Thank you in advance!

Lou

Lou I suspect a 6 weight Cortland camo intermediate will be a good fit for that rod. I fish Cortland Camo intermediates with all my bamboo rods. I like the Cortland camo because it's not overweighted like most of the rio and other modern streamer lines. A 6 weight line is a 6 weight line and not a 7 or 8 weight line marked as a 6 weight. I also like the cortland camo line because it has a pretty thin diameter so plays will with the small bamboo rod guides.

 

[Kfish]

Thanks Dave, sounds good !

 

[Bambooflyguy]

Right on Lou! Casting/fishing bamboo is a blast! Glad you joined us…..what reel are you hanging under this beauty? I swear by Crystal River type III sink if you can find one. Dry line for indicators too!

 

[RCF]

As others have said Cortland makes great lines. Match your rod weight and you are good to go.

Been fishing them for years ---> no complaints what so ever!

 

[kmudgn]

I know it's my dry fly snobbery talking, but you don't need to fish with a sinking line just because you lake fish. My experience with various bamboo rods over the years is that DTF lines perform much better than sink lines on "slow action" bamboo. You can use a floating line to fish with wet/nymph/streamer flies, but you can't use the sinking line with a dry fly.

 

[Bambooflyguy]

Lou…..I have three bamboo rods strung up in my pontoon or pram when I fish lakes, which is 95% of my fishing year round. One sinking, one dry indicator and one dry emerger. For dry lines I swear by Cortland Sylk!

 

[Kfish]

Right on Lou! Casting/fishing bamboo is a blast! Glad you joined us…..what reel are you hanging under this beauty? I swear by Crystal River type III sink if you can find one. Dry line for indicators too!

I already have an old Orvis CFO IV click and pawl, so I’ll use that. Might be too light to balance out…also have a Douglas Argus click pawl which is on the heavier side.

 

[Mike Monsos]

For an intermediate I like, RIO Products Fly Line Mainstream Aqualux Intermediate Wf5I, Clear

For my floating lines, I like the 406 lines out of Montana

For my full sink line; I like RIO MAINSTREAM WF-5-S6 TYPE 6 FULL SINK SINKING

All these lines are thin in diameter, have minimum to no memory and are reasonably priced. You can buy all three for under $175 total.

 

[Para_Adams]

Those Douglas Argus reels look great and have the extra heft you'll appreciate to balance the rod. The rod will feel lighter and more fun to cast with the heavier reel, IMO.

 

[Dave Westburg]

Talked with Phil K about his Orvis 7'6" 3 and 7/8's ounce rod and he said this: "Yes, dear old dad always referred to it as a 6wt, and that's what I typically use. Or at least I'm pretty sure that's the line. I'll bet it would work pretty well with a 5wt."

 

[Phil K]

I seem to be late to the party here. Yes, I believe a 6wt is the way to go. If you happen to need a Medalist 1494 to pair it with, I think I could fix you up.

 

[Kenneth Yong]

I'm even later to this party than Phil.

Firstly, congratulations on a great choice as your first bamboo rod!

Line choice: my personal feeling is that the 3-7/8 ouncer loads fine and casts really nicely in a relaxed way with a true to weight 5wt line, I tend to prefer floating DT lines. 4wt lines will be too light, unless you want to be waving about a long line in the air to load the rod.

Mine is from 1969, and the guy who sold it to me threw in a Battenkill spring and pawl reel with a spare spool. I started out with a Hook and Hackle DT5F:

Then moved onto a Hardy Prince 5/6 with a British-made Barrio Mallard DT5F line:

Nowadays I love it with a Terenzio Artificial Silk DT5F, sorry no pic, for some reason.

Good luck on your hunt for the right line,
Kenneth

 

[Kfish]

I'm even later to this party than Phil.

Firstly, congratulations on a great choice as your first bamboo rod!

Line choice: my personal feeling is that the 3-7/8 ouncer loads fine and casts really nicely in a relaxed way with a true to weight 5wt line, I tend to prefer floating DT lines. 4wt lines will be too light, unless you want to be waving about a long line in the air to load the rod.

Mine is from 1969, and the guy who sold it to me threw in a Battenkill spring and pawl reel with a spare spool. I started out with a Hook and Hackle DT5F:

Then moved onto a Hardy Prince 5/6 with a British-made Barrio Mallard DT5F line:

Nowadays I love it with a Terenzio Artificial Silk DT5F, sorry no pic, for some reason.

Good luck on your hunt for the right line,
Kenneth

Beautiful setup!