Almost exactly a month ago, Orvis made a splash by introducing the new, generation four “Helios,” which is either the Mother of All Fly Rods, or one of the most hyped and expensive production graphite rods ever made, depending on your own point of view… and we’re all entitled to our own points of view.
You can read our honest POV on Helios over at Flylab.fish. For those of you who are still unfamiliar, Flylab is where the editors of Angling Trade (and a small team of unbiased, unaffiliated reviewers) are parlaying years of covering the fly-fishing industry professionally into a methodical catalog of unfiltered—no ads, no affiliate kickbacks—product reviews that say what we really think.
Last week, Scott Fly Rods announced the launch of “Session” a $675 model that very much smacks of that sentimental Radian “fast meets feel” action. You can read what we really think of Session at Flylab.fish also.
We’ve also heard that Thomas & Thomas has jumped on the accuracy train with a revamped Avantt II model, retailing for $965, which we haven’t tested, but will, and will render an honest opinion or two on Flylab once we get it in our hands and on the water.
There will be more, we’re sure, as rod makers try to find the honey zone in the ever-dynamic market that is fly fishing these days. Which leads to a question…
