![]() ![]() I fished it with Chris Budro from Orvis and our guide put us on rising fish less than a hundred yards from the launch. Most readers will know the Delaware’s reputation as one of the best and most challenging dry fly rivers in the east. I had the chance to fish it for the first time on the Delaware and it proved itself on the first fish. My new Helios 2- 9′ 4 weight mid flex is, in my opinion, the best fly rod Orvis has produced recent memory. Some better than others, but it’s been a while since I had one I really loved. I always have, but I admit that when I picked up the new Helios 2, my expectations were limited. Orvis has seen its share and they get a lot of trash for it but when you look at their record there have been far more good years than bad. I think it’s fair to expect that in over a hundred and fifty years of making fly rods there will be ups and downs. In short, the H3F proved to me, and my team, that it is truly the master of the Trout Rod category.Photo by Louis Cahill Every once in a while a rod surprises you. I flung big weighted pat’s stone nymphs, and tungsten-head streamers with good accuracy and distance. The H3F proved equally adept when casting #20 midges, and #4 hoppers. VersatilityĪccuracy is vital in dry fly fishing, but the Helios 3F also helped improve my fishing when casting nymphs, streamers and double-fly rigs (such as my favorite hopper-dropper set-ups for summer cutthroats). I caught fish from a couple inches to couple pounds in size and the rod took care of each of them with ease. The rod has enough backbone to hold and play hard-charging browns and leaping rainbows. When it came to playing the fish once it was caught, the H3 performed admirably. Simply put, I found the H3F the closest thing I’ve seen to the perfect trout rod, and each person on my team of testers agreed. The H3F earned second place honors in casting distance among this class of rods, but it swept the rest of the performance categories with perfect 10 scores. In short, the H3F made me a better angler nearly overnight. I was able to consistently target and catch fish in tight holes that I’d previously see success only periodically when I’d make a lucky cast. I found myself threading flies into narrow feeding troughs under overhanging banks with casts astounded me. The H3F let even imperfect casters - such as myself - toss flies into tiny pockets of holding water with delicacy. The Orvis Helios 3F earned unanimous praise as the Best in Class this season, and over anything, we’ve tested previously. And when not fighting winds, we found we could push line far out into the river, getting even heavy weighted nymphs and streamers across the breadth of the lower South Fork Snake River. With the H3F, we were able to power through the stout desert winds in the Lower Canyon of the Yakima River - we pushed tight loops into the teeth of 15-20 mph winds, letting us get out to fish when other anglers struggled. That said, the H3F threw line farther and easier than any other rod in the class except the Sage Method. The H3 D-series focuses on pure casting distance with good accuracy. This series is designed with an emphasis on finesse and accuracy over distance. In full disclosure, we opted to field test and review the Helios 3 F-series rod. The modified wells grip fits snugly in hand and the balance and low swing-weight of the rod ensured we could cast all day without fatigue. The Helios 3F felt like a true extension of my arm in casting. I found the rod exceptionally accurate whether throwing tiny mosquito patterns a mere 25-30 feet out into an alpine lake or when hucking heavy #4 foam hoppers to big cutthroat in fast western rivers. The designers also incorporate slightly different composite configurations in each rod section to highlight the desired performance characteristics of each portion of the rod. That creates sharp-shooter accuracy even in tough casting conditions. The result is a rod that minimizes vibrations, allowing the rod to track forward and back with little or no side oscillations. The Helios 3F design team used new composites and a wealth of unique research in rod action to fine-tune the structure of the rod from tip to grip. NOTE: The sibling to the F-series, the Helios 3D (F for finesse, D for distance) stiffens the mid-section and gives greater reach, but sacrifices just a bit on delicate touch, so that version would give a point on the distance score, but lose a point on accuracy - keeping the total score at 99! The Orvis H3F focuses its design on precision casting, allowing more mid-flex to handle delicate fly placement. Instead, our Best in Class winner takes home a score of 99 out of 100 points. The Orvis Helios 3F earned just the second-best performance in casting distance in this class - that fact alone kept the H3F from earning a perfect score. ![]()
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