The Orvis Helios F Fly Rod: When Slower Is Better in Saltwater Fly Fishing

The Orvis Helios F

What about the Orvis Helios F? It was fine until the wind started to pick up. I could still make the shorter cast, but when trying to throw long distance with a large profile fly, it didn't have enough power.

But it was such a nice feeling fly rod in the hand that I knew there would be a place for its use. Not for punching into headwinds or throwing meat, but for those times when feel matters more than force, and accuracy is more important than distance.

Where the Orvis Helios F Excels

I live in Charleston, SC, where I get to fly fish for tailing reds in shallow water. This is sight fishing for fish that spook easily. Most casting is in the 20-50 feet range, and it requires accuracy. To be able to place your fly on a target at thirty feet is more important than booming out a sixty-foot blind cast.

"Research"

My friend and Lowcountry guide, Connor Bryant, invited me on a "research" trip to explore new water for reds. Research is what he calls it, so he can justify fishing on his day off to his wife. I tell my wife I need to help Connor with research to justify my going fishing when I should be writing. We both get the green light.

Sight Fishing For Happy Fish

We are sight fishing a flood tide way up in the grass; it's more hunting than angling. Connor has a boat that he can "pole" in six inches of water. What we are looking for are feeding reds or "happy" fish, as the guides in the Lowcountry call them. When a redfish feeds up in the grass, usually its head is down in the pluff mud rooting out crabs, and its tail is out of the water, waving back and forth. A happy fish.

Accuracy and Finesse

When you find one waving, you sneak up on it, judge the direction it is facing, and place your fly in its visual window. This is where the accuracy of the Helios F shines. Most of the year, the water in the marshes is stained, and visibility can be as little as inches. If you land your cast too far from a feeding red, he won't see or feel it.

If you place a cast within the fish's visual window, but it lands with a loud splash, this can spook it. You need accuracy and sensitivity. This is part angler skill, and part having the right rod for the job. The Helios F gives you finesse—accuracy, tight loops, a clean turn-over, and a touch that allows for soft presentations.

A Quick Loading Fly Rod

Another scenario that happens often in the grass is when you suddenly come up on a fish that is ten to twenty feet from the boat, and you need to get your fly on it quickly. With glare, stained water, or floating debris, sometimes you are right up on the fish before you see it. Your boat is moving, and you have to make the cast right now.

With the Helios F, because it is softer and built for accuracy, you can still load it with a shorter amount of line and make a quick, accurate placement of your fly. I have needed to do this more often than casting to a fish at sixty feet.

Smooth is Fast

I thoroughly enjoy casting this rod. I’ve always been partial to slower tapers—rods I can feel load, and require me to slow down. My fishing improves when I’m not in speed mode, and can ease into a rhythm. You know the saying: "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast." This rod feels that way. Smooth and balanced, and a pleasure to cast. KB

"The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent in fishing.” - Herbert Hoover

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The gear reviewed in this article was provided to me at no cost for the purpose of evaluation. The views and assessments presented are my own.