Orvis fly line report...

Well about a year ago I bought five closeout flylines from Orvis called 'Green Mountain'...entry level I believe and no longer offered. I finally got around to spooling one up yesterday...a wt forward 7 floating...surprise, it had a nice loop on the front end.

Chartruese in color, really slick and it loads my 9x9 2 pc just like I've always wished a flyline would. It's a short line...82ft. I think, since I could cast all of it with ease. I think it's rated wrong and that may have something to do with the close out price.

What I'm wondering is, does anyone know who makes these lines for Orvis and what they might be called elsewhere if they're even made anymore? If I had to guess, I'd say it was a Cortland but I don't know of any way to tell.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

Hello MM,

I don't know who makes their line but I've used Orvis Clearwater line for years and found it to be a great line for the price. Yes, there is a front loop and the last time I purchased this line it was only $28. You can't ask for much more than that. 8T :)

Dag nabbit, I bought several of those and was sorely dissappointed as I could be with a cost almost nothing line.

Glad yours are good and your report confirms what I think....the line, I suspect was just specked-out and bought on the market from the lowest bidder as they needed more..

I would bet some are great and some are no so much.

I hope I am wrong...

Hello ET, well I see the Clearwater is still available and when the Green Mountain was on closeout I think it was 7 bucks...why I got five. I was tickled yesterday when I lawn cast it...so much so it's going to be my 'go to' line for a number of uses..I'll take it of the Orvis Madison (thought I'd only use it in a pinch) and put it on my Fly Logic, add some backing if I can, see how that goes for a season. Nice having 3 spares...may fill the Madison with the same, more backing (shorter line allows this) and keep that for a backup..

brhoff, you have me wondering what's wrong with your Green Mountains...did you get them when I did on the closeout? So far all I've done is lawn cast mine but with luck it will get wet today for a while anyway whilst searching for voraciously feeding smallies.

Would like to hear the details about the Green Mountains if you can. Thanx in advance !

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

Check it very well.
I got some and all of the reels ( 4 ) were all shot through with imperfections and holes. Holes of all things. They sank in different places along the line. Check them very well before you have them for your "Go to lines" They nearly wrecked a good trip of mine. 6 bucks a spool. You somtimes get a deal , other times you end up with what you pay for.
The line is Great for tying up tomatoes. Albeit a bit expensive.
Perch

Thanks for the heads up perch...well I made it to the river yesterday and the OGML casts fine and floats fine...so for now I'm happy but will keep watch for the sinking syndrome. Hey, I even got an unexpected bonus of a nice cutt while smallie fishing ! A 13 or 14" cutt smashed the my streamer on the cross current 'inch'. Weather was perfect and I tried two different places and wound up in king and silver water at the end of the day. Light breezes, not a lot of ppl and just a totally relaxing day.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

My guess is Scientific Anglers make the lines for Orvis.

Bob Scheidt

The Orvis Green Mountain lines were originally sold at Wal Mart as part of an Orvis Green Mountain line of products (including rods and reels). I've picked up some of the Green Mountain leaders on close-out and at $.99 they have performed well enough (though they do seem to abrade quicker than other leaders).

As others have noted Scientific Anglers makes lines for Orvis (though I've heard Orvis puts their own coatings on the lines post production). My guess is these lines may not be any different (though probably made to fit into the budget line category). My personal favorite Orivs line is the Silver Label Hi-Float. I have this line in a 4 & 6 wt. and it casts as well my Sci Anglers GPX. Right now Orvis has their Silver Label lines on sale for $29.00 (regularly $39.00) and IMHO they are worth it.

Brian

Montana,

I posted a while ago about this line...I have 2 spools but only tried one. To me, it seemed as though it was not coated, it was very stiff and rough on the outside.

I do intend to try the other spool sometime as many people said they liked this brand just fine...for the 5.00 I paid, I can't complain but the spool I did reel up was just aweful and I am by no means a fine line snob.

Well, Scientific Anglers could be the maker as easily as anyone else that makes lines. I got some Bean lines 10 years ago and I know they were made by SA. Now that I think about it the recoating makes sense too because for a 7 wt fwd it seemed thin..kind of reminded me of the WalMart lines...forgetting the name of them...the light green ones. Cast fine, but always felt a little rough as mentioned.

I'll put some miles on this line on a few rods as it loads the 9, will no doubt load the 7 and it will make the old Fenwick glass 5 a cannon. Will let all know if the line short lifes or if any other probs crop up. Sure looks good and feels good though, which supports the previously mentioned 'batching' idea. Quien sabe?

Thanks for the many comments good ppl.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

Actually, I heard from a former Orvis manager that the lines are made by Cortland, but the final coating is done by Orvis. He said the coating isn't very durable.

Might want to check out Sierra Trading Post and eBay to stock up.

Hi All;

I've tried both the Orvis green mountain & Clearwater lines and prefer the clearwater. Although the green mountain casts well, the clearwater casts better. I only purchased the green mountain in wf7 and one at that but, I see no flaws and have used it several times in scumwater and it cleaned up nicely with Zipcast. Same for the clearwater line.

Fly Shop closeouts has both lines:

Green mountain wts 4,6,& 7 $7.99ea

Clearwater wts 4,6,& 9 $15.95ea

Wayneb

I've fished my 5 WFF Green Mountain all year thus far for LMB, Bream, and Montana trout. They work, float, and cast reasonably well. The only shortcoming is the short length. I think mine is also 80 ft but for my application on my backyard lake with lots of abuse it's just fine and it's hauled in lots of fish-lots. Not bad for $6.00 + shipping.

And here I thought I was the only one that bought any of the Green Mountain lines. At the price I paid I don't mind if this one only lasts half a season but I'm sure that with plenty of armor-all protectant I'll be able to make it last a lot longer. I don't abuse flylines much to start with and have some pretty old ones.

Thanks again everyone for all the responses !

Cheers,

MontanaMoose