Orvis Recon Fly Rod Review

The Orvis rod designers have been at it again. Among others, the Recon is the latest creation. I have been fortunate, over the years, to be one of the Field Test Staff for the Orvis Company. Its like Christmas when unexpected parcels show up at the shop. When I received the 9' 5wt. Recon Fly Rod a little over a year ago I was a little hesitant. My initial response was, "how are they going to improve on the ever so popular Access fly rod?" After hours and days of putting it to work on the water, Id have to say it is quite an improvement.

So how do they compare to Access Rods? Recon fly rods are a replacement for Access rods and offer a big improvement in cosmetics, swing weight, tracking, and overall performance. Orvis put everything they could into these rods to make them the finest rod made in the USA in the $400-range, Recon rods use an improved ferrule design, which provides better ferrule engagement and fewer issues with the occasional twisting or dis-engagement of ferrules during fishing. The plastic reel seat filler and shiny gold anodized reel seats of the Access rods have been replaced with a more subtle black nickel anodized aluminum reel seat with a dark burl wood spacer (in the freshwater models) and a plain aluminum spacer in the saltwater models.

Like the Access rods, the blanks of the Recon rods are made in the Vermont rod shop, and the rods are also finished and assembled entirely in that shop. The tapers are entirely new and are based on the Award winning design protocol used to develop the Helios 2. They do not come in a choice of mid or tip f lex. We have chosen the best taper for each Recon model based on the rod’s line size and what that line size is typically used for. This should result in less customer confusion amongst intermediate and novice f ly fishers.

Recon rods are great casting and fishing tools. They are light and responsive and are a better casting tool than the Access rods. They track beautifully. If H2 Rods did not exist, they would be the go-to rods of the people who have tested the Recon rods in the field. Helios 2 rods are lighter in the hand and have lighter swing weight, and Helios 2 rods also have that amazing ability to cast well in close but then pull surprising reserve power for long casts of playing a big fish. Helios rods use a different, more advanced raw material with thermoplastic resins, which give the rod more precise fiber alignment and allows us to make the tips lighter for quicker response and lighter weight, because of the inherent strength of the thermoplastic resins. Helios 2 rods also use a proprietary trade secret to increase impact strength in the tip. The materials used in Helios 2 rods are more costly than the material used in Recon rods. Helios rods also use advanced Recoil guides, which are lighter and more flexible (and much more expensive) than the standard hard-chrome guides on the Recon rods.

Try one. Link to Recon Rods