Best Orvis Clearwater Review | Fishing Rod

Today’s topic is Orvis clearwater review! The Orvis Clearwater series is one of the top fishing rods for entry-level and early-medium-level anglers. Because it has a nice mixture of power and mastery with comparatively fast loading, and proper castings are simple to perform. You should skip this series if you are a professional or an expert fisherman.

Orvis Clearwater Series comes with a disciplined Mid-level flexibility taper. Running Clearwater series is an absolute renovation from Orvis’s English designers, not just the look. It can manage the actions like – medium in a small stream, and the medium-fast action in Clearwater.

The latest price remained the same as before. Though, the quality, performance, looks, and durability have increased significantly on top compared to the other Clearwater rods at a similar price level. These Clearwater rods have designed for an intend-made plan.

Are you looking for an excellent entry-level fly fishing rod outfit? Well, don’t worry, my fellow anglers, you are about to find one. 

On my last fishing trip to the Beaverkill River in New York, I had to take a friend of mine. Yeah, he wasn’t a regular. So, we bought a 5wt 9″ from the Orvis Clearwater series, which seems pretty good on the budget. In this article, I will share my opinion and experience of the product and some other products of the Orvis Clearwater series. Or, you could say – Orvis Clearwater/Orvis Clearwater Fly Rods Review. 

Before going into details, let’s have a look at some of their products-

What we like

  • One of the top Entry-Level fly fishing rod/outfit
  • Accurate and powerful in casting because of the lightweight
  • It can cover an excellent distance without compromising power
  • One of the best among the others at this price level
  • A life-long 25 Year warranty

What we don’t like

  • Not much of a decorative one if you fancy for the look
  • Don’t have the hook above the handle
  • It will feel a little stiff to a regular or professional angler
  • Not the best for a close-range fishing

This is the current price of this “orvis clearwater fly rod” at Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com).


Orvis Clearwater Fly Rod Review

Orvis Clearwater Fly Rod

Why is it better?

  • Multilateral Performance
  • Fine Presentation
  • Construction/ Build Grade and Quality
  • 25-year warranty
  • Affordable price with the price to value ratio

This is the current price of thisorvis clearwater fly rodat Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com).

Well guys, now let me share my Orvis Clearwater Review with you, which I have gained through fishing with this product.

I divide my whole article on a part by part. So, you will understand what I am saying and about what.

  • For whom the Orvis Clearwater Series is designed for?
  • Best fishing rods for beginners?
  • Key Features
  • Positive Feedbacks
  • What could be better?
  • Negative Feedbacks
  • Pros And Cons
  • Final Verdict

To Whom the Orvis Clearwater Series is designed for?

Tom Rosenbauer from the Orvis company said that – this rod is the best entry-level rod for beginners. If you are looking for fast fishing or maybe as a spare one to use normally, definitely this is for you. You don’t have to spend lots of money on it. Therefore, this is also a good budget rod in the market at this price level. 

If you are trying your new casting method, this can do that job too. Also, you can use the new Orvis Clearwater as a backup for saltwater as well.  This can be said that – The new Clearwater series is offerings better, or they can go head-to-head with their other fiercest competitors. 

Mainly it’s been designed for covering the basic fishing performance in all areas. If you are an expert or regular angler, it’ll feel stiffer in your hand. Orvis Clearwater can perform better for medium to medium-fast action.   

But if you are interested in the look. You will be a little bit disappointed. That doesn’t mean – the looks of it are bad, but not the gorgeous one I would say. 

Clearwater also offers standard 25 years of warranty, which shows us their belief and confidence in the quality of the product. And one more obvious thing is these are two-handed fly rods I am talking about.

You can catch plenty of trout and Smallmouth Bass with a 5-wt 9′ fly fishing rod

The Clearwater water series comes with lots of variety in weight and length. So, you can grab one as per your need- 


Best Fly rods for beginners?

If you are new in fishing or past only a few times before on this, this is the ideal product for you. This Clearwater fly fishing rods come with mid-flex capacity. Timing and casting feel very easy to perform. So, anyone can go with this one and have some trout in their bucket. 

The rod provides medium and medium-fast bending. This means the upper body carry-out the major bending activity, and the lower part carries the total weight. This is why it is a great choice for beginners or entry-level anglers. 

The Clearwater series is one of the best entry-level rods in the market at this price level. 

So, we can say – 

The new Orvis Clearwater series grant a good mixture of power and fineness. This one also offers a simple mid-flex and slow taper.  This series is best for true to moderate fishing performance. 


Key Features

There are some features that Orvis provides better, which you must consider while buying a one. Now let’s look at some key features which are worth mentioning.

Multilateral Performance: I already mentioned this product’s versatility.  In our fish trips with this product, we tried several ways and different types of casting. It seems worked pretty well. We have used 9’5 weight. That performed better than Milwaukee, Dewalt, and similar brands. I never expected this level of performance from an entry-level fly rod.

We felt like it was performing medium-fast actions most of the time, and the tip was soft enough to carry the job done. It had performed an excellent job in tippet defense. We tried around 6x tippets on our trip, but it never gave upon us. It’d a lightweight and a relaxed feeling while holding the handle, which was made from high-quality cork.

I also talked with some other users and read some articles about this. It seems, most of them are agreed on my opinion. 

Fine Presentation: Since we brought the total outfit of 5 weight 9′ from the shop. Orvis Clearwater Fly Rod outfit comes with:

  • Clearwater 905-4 fly rod
  • Clearwater II Reel
  • Clearwater 5-Weight fly line
  • 100 yds. 20-lb. Dacron® backing
  • Rod tube

The new reel II was something else. It was giving a very smooth and comfortable feeling while using. They impressed me with their reel. I was wondering whether I should talk about their reel or the rod. The built quality and performance of the reel was phenomenal compared to its price. 

The fly line wasn’t heavy or overweight. It felt ok to me.  That is why it performed its’ best at medium distance fishing. However, it didn’t perform well enough fineness in smaller dries. 

Hence, the overall performance was better or worth of our money. 

Construction/ Build Grade and Quality: The cork has a sticker of Helios-3. So, the new rods are made from H3 technology. You have to keep that in mind because it’s only around $200 rod; the building grade was captivating. The deep Slate-Gary yarn tucked in place the chromium guide. 

The cork was made from good-quality materials. Felt great in hand and provide a relaxed mood. It wasn’t the best one at this price level. But a moderate one. 

The body didn’t catch the mentionable scratches from the use. The deep chrome blank shines under the sun while using.

25-year warranty: The Clearwater series also came up with a 25-year warranty from the Orvis. It’s one best features of their every fly rod. The rod and staff will be under a life-long warranty. Warranty claims will be charged based on their cost of repair. 

If the Orvis can’t repair the product, they will replace it with another one. A life-long warranty also shows their confidence in their product built an admirable quality. 


Positive Feedbacks

Let’s look at some peoples’ positive reviews on Orvis Clearwater series:

Positive Feedbacks | From Amazon | One

Check Reviews On Amazon



Check Reviews On Orvis.com

What could be better?

Well, What? It seems too perfect! No, there isn’t anything perfect. Now let’s discuss some of the drawbacks we found in this outfit.

In close Range: Inside 25 feet, this is not a great rod as it sounds. The Clearwater rods are a little stiff, which needs more distance to perform well. Also, the rod will feel too stiff to the professional anglers because of its bending capability and fast action. 

It can do the work in a close range. But, not as fine as you want. 

Hook Keeper: There is no hook keeper above cork grip. Having a hook helps me more in managing the line and rod. So, it bothered me a lot. The company said – hook keeps are primitive. 

So, if you are a person like me, you should consider it before buying it. Though, adding one yourself on the rod is always a choice. 

Full wells Cork Grip: It’s not the standard or high-quality grip, but a remodel of a standard. Sometimes, it feels like too much for the rod. But their grip is ok for the 5 weight. I don’t think it will work well with other weights as same as 5wt. 

Also, the grip isn’t from the Helios-3. An opposite grip would be better for this type of rods. 


Negative Feedbacks

Some people also claimed – the rod broke too easily.

So, let’s see some of the negative reviews by the users.


Pros and Cons

We are nearly done with our review. Before the ending, you should check the list of pros and cons of this product. 

Pros:

  • Affordable price with the price to value ratio
  • Great variety in performance
  • 25-year warranty
  • Versatile
  • Rod weights very accurate
  • A protective case included
  • Durability

Cons:

  • Not a good choice for short-range
  • A little stiff rod
  • No hook Keeper
  • No eyelet Ferrule
  • Not a fancy looking one

This is the current price of this “orvis clearwater fly rod” at Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com).


Final Verdict

This was one of the best entry-level rods I have seen for a long time. Surely, it’s not the perfect one, but I believe, it won’t disappoint you with the performance. Any new anglers can easily master this rod without having much difficulty.  

The price isn’t also the best, but a moderate one. Though, the quality will surpass most of the fly rods at the same price level.  Fenwick Aetos was one of my favorites before having this one.  Orvis certainly came up with a good one. 

This rod delivers fast action and soft tip, which is a good choice for novice casters. It can handle distant casting pretty good while a small rod dries with moderate performance. Cork is not half bad, though the hook point is absent. Build grade is better than most of the industry at this price. 

To me, it was affordable, fun, and durable and could take place in your collection.

That’s all today, folks! Let me know – Which other rods or outfit you would prefer at a similar price range? [Obviously for the new anglers]