A review of my first fly fishing setup.

I wanted to take a moment and give you a more thoughtful and detailed review of my first fly fishing setup, The Orvis Encounter.  I am not being paid by Orvis to make this review, and all opinions are my own. 

Encounter Combo in cordura rod case and reel case.

I purchased the Encounter in a 9 foot 5 weight version but it should also be noted that the Encounter is available in 4 other options. The Encounter comes with everything you will need to get started with fly fishing. Included is a rod, fully spooled reel(backing,fly line, leader), rod case, reel case. 

First, I want to talk about the reel, since that is what I have the least to comment on. The reel performed its job. It is a large arbor reel that comes spooled with backing, fly line, and leader. You can start fishing straight out of the box, and that it important when selecting a combo for the new angler. It is made of a polymer like material, but I did not expect anything less for the price of the combo. I am not easy on equipment and I had no durability issues with the reel, so don't be weary of the polymer. The drag system is plenty for smaller to medium sized fish.

Now for the important part of the combo, the rod. Upon casting I noticed a few things. Before purchasing, I did research on what action of fly rod is best for a beginner. One school of thought is a slower action rod is better to learn because you can feel the rod load better. Another school of thought is that getting faster action rods are more difficult to learn on, but allow casters to achieve more once they figure out the learning curve. Orvis, for some reason, does not list what action the Encounter is, but I would put it somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. I would describe it as a moderate fast action rod. For the beginner, it is plenty fast enough to allow you to achieve longer cast, but is slow enough to let you feel the rod load. 

The durability of the rod is outstanding. I have hit this rod against rocks and trees and have had no problems with it. Would I run it over and expect it to survive? No. But the rod will handle the daily abuse of the average fly angler. Being a 4 piece rod it stores away very nicely in the provided cordura rod case.

I felt as though a 5 weight would not be enough rod for Smallmouth. I was thankfully wrong about this, but I do regret not purchasing the 9 foot 8 weight as it would've been easier to turn over the flies I want to throw for chunky Big Sandy Smallmouth. I still suggest purchasing the 9 foot 5 weight however, because it will allow you to do the most amount of fishing for different species. IF you primarily fish for bass however I suggest the 9 foot 7 weight or the 9 foot 8 weight. 

The Orvis Encounter allowed me to start my journey into the wonderful world of fly fishing. This is the outfit that I personally recommend to anyone who is wanting to start fly fishing, but does not want to drop a fortune on equipment. The Encounter allows anglers to grow into the sport, not out of a combo after a season of fishing.

Jacob showing off the Orvis Encounter in all of its glory.

I can not recommend this combo enough. It gives the angler everything they need to start fly fishing, minus flies (And if you aren't sure what flies to get, stick around, I will talk about that topic soon.) Thank you Orvis for making sure a great entry point combo for the budding fly angler. 

The Encounter retails for $169 and can be purchased directly from Orvis or from an Orvis authorized retailer. 

Good Luck and Tight Lines, 

Josh