Things I Really Like: Orvis Helios Fly Rod

I have decided to dub this week, "Things I Really Like Week" here at FlyfishMagazine.com. As the name suggests, my posts this week will be all about fly fishing related gear (and other things) that I really like. By way of disclosure, most of this we purchased on our own. Some, like the subject today, were most excellent Birthday gifts from the Editorial Trophy Wife. Some of these things came in the form of schwag. Trust me when I say that an item's inclusion in "Things I like Week" has nothing to do with origins and everything to do with performance.

My Orvis Helios 9' 5 Wt fly rod is probably is hands down the most versatile fly rod that I own. I have used it to cast everything from size 22 midges to the three inch long dragon fly over a dropper that you see me casting in the picture above. It is light as a feather which means you can cast it all day without wearing your arms out. It has caught everything from bluegill and bass to trout. It came close to catching a massive carp once but the tippet failed me. It has bluelined, brownlined, and just about any other kind of "line" I could get it near.

My own casting issues aside, this rod casts like a dream and I have found that it really excels when trying to punch the fly into tight spaces under the cover of bushes or between boulders on a mountain stream. Owning a high end fly rod is something that I thought (almost swore) I would never do. However, since I got the chance to put the Helios through it's paces, I have found it difficult to pick up any of my other rods. The Helios has quickly become my go to rod for 5 weight quarry.

We all have our favorite things and as the title "Things I Really Like" implies, these are a few of mine. Feel free to share your own in the comments section. More of mine will be posted as "Things I Really Like Week" continues.