Here's a Classic Fly-Fishing Gift That Outlasts Every Trend

As much of a gear-head as I am, some of my most enjoyable days spent on the water are when I fish small creeks with small fly rods, and keep my gear load to a minimum.

The Japanese Call It "Forest Bathing"

There’s a real and satisfying pleasure in spending a day deep in the woods, fishing for wild brookies in creeks no wider than a one-lane road. Places like this make me stop and take pause. The stillness and quiet have a weight to them. Light filters through the branches with a kind of dramatic effect. It’s what I imagine church should feel like.

Keeping it Simple and Basic

I keep gear to a minimum because I don't want to be distracted by too much stuff. I make room in my pack for a good lunch, something to drink, and I take the time to go slow.

A wild brook trout in a net. — Wild brookies are indicators of extremely clean and healthy water. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

Slowing Down – Smooth Not Speed.

The slow-going part doesn't always come easy. The less gear I'm carrying, and the slower the rod I'm fishing, these help me shift to a lower gear. There is too much beauty in this kind of fishing to go fast.

A 3-Weight Day

I call this my 3-weight kind of day. A good 3-weight fly rod does more than catch fish. It’s a kind of medicine—or a metronome that slows everything down. Your casting gets easier, your breathing evens out, and your blood pressure goes down. Fishing a 3-weight fast would be like listening to a Merle Haggard song sped up – it kills the whole vibe.

Pure Pleasure

When you fish with a 3-weight, small fish feel big enough, and a big small fish feels like a real fight. Add to that the watch-like craftsmanship of a little reel, the soft, audible click of gear against pawl, and you’ve got a setup that’s pure pleasure to fish with.

Orvis Classics

My favorite 3-weight set-up is the Orvis Superfine Graphite rod with an Orvis CFO reel. This combo is made in the USA, and both are reissues of classic Orvis builds. The Superfine rod has undergone only slight changes from its original build. It is still a slower rod, but without the extra wiggle when recovering. Its accuracy has improved with the use of modern materials.

True to the Original

The new Orvis CFO fly reel stays honest to its roots. It connects generations of classic reel design. You can find visual similarities that date back to the original work by Charles F. Orvis in 1874, and then it remains true to Stan Bogdan's design of the CFO from 1971.

An Orvis Superfine fly rod resting on a Orvis CFO fly reel. — The honest mechanical sound of worn gears from time on the water takes the edge off any day I'm having. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

A Stronger Build

In this latest version, Orvis added durable, corrosion-resistant type III anodizing, made the tolerances more exact, and made it easy to change from left to right-hand retrieve. Other than that, it is still a CFO.

Put the rod and reel together, and it feels like a finely tuned tool that is easy to cast, emitting a click and pawl sound that borders on music.

Looking Ahead to Christmas

If you have a fly angler on your holiday gift list that you want to treat to something special, give them a piece of gear that will outlast trends and hold meaning. The Superfine Graphite rod paired with the classic C.F.O. reel is a reminder of what simple, well-made things can do. This is a fly fishing combo that will get meaningful years on the water, pick up some scratches, and find a home in the angler's hand.

And like the best kind of fly fishing gear, it is built to be passed on to the next generation. KB – Connect with me by following my Fly Fishing On SI's Facebook page

"Slow down...listen to the hoppers...be patient with yer wife...eat sardines with hot sauce... catch “Gagger” trout!!!" –Flip Pallot

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The gear reviewed in this article was provided to me at no cost for the purpose of evaluation.The views and assessments presented are my own.