The 50-Year History of Orvis Graphite Fly Rods, with Tom Rosenbauer
The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast
James Hathaway
4.8 • 1.9K Ratings
🗓️ 24 September 2025
⏱️ 88 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week my guest is—me [34:55]. I asked Reid Bryant of the Orvis Wingshooting Podcast to interview me because I have worked at Orvis for 49 of those 50 years and lived through the various stages of Orvis rods, plus I just spent the past two months writing a history of the Orvis graphite rods. You'll learn about some interesting things that went on during those times that have never before been published. Some of them are quite surprising.
In the Fly Box this week, I answer these questions and more:
What hatch makes large brown trout leap fully out of the water?
Is there a hook sizing standard for fly-tying hooks?
How can I hide the final whip finish on my bead head nymphs?
What characteristics make for a good prospecting dry fly?
What do you recommend for a fly-tying light?
Can I use heaver hooks on my small nymphs? My lighter hooks keep getting straightened by large trout.
Is there a database for fly fishing locations around the world? I travel a lot and like to fish various places.
What rod should I travel with if I have no idea what I will fish for?
What flies should I carry that will work anywhere in the world?
What type of fly line should I put on older fiberglass and bamboo rods?
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi and welcome to the Orvis Flyfishing podcast. |
| 0:14.1 | This is your host Tom Rosenbauer. |
| 0:16.1 | And I guess this week is me. |
| 0:29.1 | I've been wanting to do a podcast on the 50-year history of Orvis graphite rods. And, you know, I kind of have a rule in the podcast is that the guest has to know more about me than a subject. And you know what? |
| 0:40.7 | Since I've lived through 49 of those 50 years at Orvis, and I just spent two months |
| 0:47.9 | researching the history of Orvis graphite rods, I guess I'm the most qualified. So I've got to be |
| 0:53.2 | my guest today. And luckily, |
| 0:56.7 | Reed Bryant, host of the Orvis Wing Shooting podcast, has agreed to come over to the house |
| 1:02.0 | and interview me. So hope you enjoy it. I have really enjoyed doing the research for this. |
| 1:09.1 | And I think you'll, I know you're going to find |
| 1:11.2 | out some things that you never knew about orvis graphite rods and before we get to the flybox |
| 1:19.0 | uh I wanted to give you some hints on some places you might want to visit uh with this being |
| 1:26.1 | close to the end of the season for a lot of places, |
| 1:28.3 | probably planning for next season. |
| 1:31.2 | But thank you for a number of people have recently written to me in the podcast mailbox |
| 1:38.1 | and thank me for recommending Orvis and Dors guides and Lodges and Outfitters on the podcast. |
| 1:45.6 | They've booked trips with these outfits and have had a great time. |
| 1:51.1 | So I appreciate those emails. |
| 1:54.2 | And I'm going to give you, going to give you three more today. |
| 1:58.0 | The first one is a lodge, and's spotted bear ranch. They have been in |
| 2:01.7 | Orvis and Dors Lodge for a long, long time. And they have a great remote location. It's on the |
| 2:10.4 | wild and scenic south fork of the Flathead River. And it's tucked away in the Bob Marshall |
... |
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