This year, get back to what started your love of trout fishing. Hit those small streams. Go after those wild, feisty brookies, cutts, rainbows and goldens. As much as we all love blue ribbon rivers, they're busier than ever. So, there’s no better time to fish small streams. And no better rod to fish them with than our entirely updated and upgraded Superfine Trout Bum rods. Fish one and you’ll never go back to another rod for small waters. They’re a delight in the hand and a savior on small, tight waters.

For decades, the Superfine’s created some of the most memorable times for thousands of fly fisherman who love to fish small water. Its slower, full action is legendary. You can feel the entire rod working as it lays out a dry fly with delicate grace — a grace that can mean the difference between spooking those wild trout and landing a few.

Tight quarters also mean roll casting — and no rod roll casts among the alders, boulders, or bank-side brush more sweetly and accurately than does the new Superfine. It lays out your line and fly with precision and an easy touch. It’s a dream rod for such waters.

Plus, the new, updated and refined Trout Bums—crafted in our Manchester, Vermont fly shop—are made with our exclusive, proprietary thermoset thermoplastic resins found in our T3 and Zero Gravity rods. These resins not only make the new Superfine's lighter in the hand but also far stronger and more impact resistant— a huge plus when fishing those tight quarters. All that, and they sport a new olive blank with gold wraps, maplewood and cork inlay reel seat with nickel-silver hardware, gold cermet stripping guide, and titanium nitride snake guides.

So, go wild. Enjoy getting back to the basics on small, challenging streams in some of the most beautiful settings anywhere in the world — your favorite, true getaway — your favorite little gem. Let loose your inner trout bum, and bring along your new Superfine Trout Bum fly rod.

New, upgraded features include:

• exclusive thermoset, thermoplastic resins for maximum impact resistance and lighter weight

• handsome olive blanks with gold wraps

• maplewood and cork inlay reel seat finished with nickel-silver hardware

• gold cermet stripping guide

• titanium nitride snake guides

• all handcrafted in Manchester, Vermont

Plus, you get the same signature smooth and legendary delicate actions with precise tapers. As well as integral ferrules for durability and a slimmer look.

Unconditional 25-Year Guarantee. Purchase an Orvis graphite rod and we will repair or replace it no matter what the reason, for a quarter of a century. Step on it, close the door on it, run over it with the car — it doesn’t matter, we’ll repair it. If we can’t repair it, we’ll choose a current fly rod of at least equal value to replace it. Your investment is assured for a nominal handling charge.

Faster is not always better. Drinking wine, eating good meals, a day of fishing, and certain other things are seldom more enjoyable when done at a quicker pace. And newer is not always better. For instance, my headaches always respond better to aspirin than any modern pain reliever. In my opinion, there has never been a finer graphite rod for fly fishing with delicacy at 40 feet and under than the traditional Orvis Superfine rods, with their Full-Flex action.

The trend in fly rod design is to go to rods with lighter and lighter tips. These not only feel better when wiggled on a rod rack, it’s easier for the average angler to cast tight loops and generate high line speed. Rods with this Tip-Flex action are terrific for a precise cast at distances over 40 feet. They cast farther with the same effort, and drive a line into a wind better because of their higher line speeds. Why then, would anyone not want a rod with Tip-Flex?

Here’s why: with a fast line speed and tight casting loops, there is less margin for error. Any sloppiness in your casting stroke, especially at short distances, is magnified. I feel the average caster, like me, has to think too hard on short casts with a Tip-Flex rod. If a Tip-Flex rod can be said to aid the average angler on powering casts over 40 feet, then it can also be said that a Tip-Flex rod can be a liability for the average angler on casts under 20 feet. Superfine rods, with their Full-Flex action, slow down and smooth the whole process. You don’t have to think as much about your casting. The sensation of casting a Full- Flex rod like one of our Superfine rods is more like paddling a canoe on smooth water than driving a speedboat.

I just know that when I try to straighten a 12-foot 6X leader on a small stream with spooky browns, I will have a better chance of putting the fly down softly and straightening the leader smoothly when using a Superfine rod. With the slower line speed, there is almost no chance the fly and leader will slam down hard on the water. And when tight quarters call for a tighter loop for driving flies under bushes, Superfines are up to the job. Your casting loop might not fit through a keyhole. But by shortening up your power stroke and using a touch more wrist, Superfine rods are terrific in tight spots.

Orvis rods from the 1970s and 80s were made from a low-modulus graphite (less stiff than what is used in T3 and TLS rods, which is in the neighborhood of 57 to 64, depending on the model). Because the rods were less stiff, they bent more under the same load, and also bent more over the whole length of the rod instead of closer to the tip. Today, rods like the Orvis T3 are as “fast” as any in the business. Despite the advent of higher modulus, Tip-Flex rods, we still maintain a significant, loyal cadre for more traditional rods. We kept them, and the exterior spiral marks made by heat shrink tape and their clunkier external ferrules, in our line as a special series called Superfines. (We don’t like to use terms like fast and slow, preferring a more quantifiable system of Flex Ratings. If you are not familiar with our Flex Index system, see introducing Orvis Flex Index.)

Time marches on, and over the past few years we’ve worked on these classic Superfine rods. Now, they are better than ever while maintaining all of its legendary action.

Crafted in our Manchester, Vermont fly shop—the new Superfine Trout Bum Rods are made with the same exclusive thermoset thermoplastic resins found in our Zero Gravity rods. That makes them both lighter and more impact resistant. Plus, their new olive blank with gold wraps with a reel seat of maplewood and cork inlay with nickel-silver hardware makes for as handsome a rod as any we’ve ever built. And that’s before we finish them with a gold cermet stripping guide, and titanium nitride snake guides.

With all these great upgrades the new Superfine Trout Bums still have the same wonderfully smooth tapers anglers all over the world have loved for 30 years, except now, they’re prettier and stronger than ever.

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