Pioneer in American Fly Fishing. To satisfy the demands of sporting gentlemen in 1856, Charles opened C.F. Orvis Company in Manchester, Vermont turning his hobby of rod building and fly making into a business and America’s first mail order catalog. Patenting the first vertical mounted and ventilated fly reel in 1874, Orvis continued to provide unique and technical advancements in the fly fishing market through out his life. His legacy lives on now, bearing his name, as the most recognized fly tackle dealer in the world. Less