Beyond 25 feet, its a dream. On the water, it possesses a rare combination of command with touch. Winston Rod Company | Jun 16, 2022. My guarded expectations were blown away by this model. Either line would be great with a dry fly, but the Technical Trout will kick over a dry dropper or indicator with a little more authority. It has a lively response to a gentle double haul but doesnt require a haul to tap power in the butt section. Howler Monkeys call from the canopy. Scott F Series vs. Sage Dart: Comp on the Creek! Throwing three flies wasnt a problem with the AIR 2. Just arrived! Each rod is fantastic at one thing, but only one of them is a truly versatile, do-everything trout rod. Even so, that rod has its own, albeit slight, failings. There is no asterisk. The Winston Air 2 is in a class by itself. Its hard to make a bad cast with this rod. We get questions about specific rod models all the time. Winston Tom Morgan Favorite Fly Rod 4WT 8' 2PC. As the caster advances beyond 25 feet, the loop tightens and accelerates. Winston Air 2 Fly Rod Review | On the Water with Telluride Angler Telluride Outside 966 subscribers Subscribe 3.2K views 1 year ago COLORADO Telluride Angler's John Duncan field. I have this rod in a 5 weight and it is no less the combination of grace and power you speak of. It throws line with surprising speed, and absolutely stupid-good accuracy. Perfect conditions. These rods can do anything present tiny dry flies to wary trout on flat water, cast a heavy streamer to the far bank in the wind, launch the entire line when you need it, and make quick, accurate close-range shots. Copyright 2018 all rights reserved Up to about 25, it feels as if the fly rod and line are searching for each other. First offered in 1989 as a limited edition 60th Anniversary model, the Tom Morgan Favorite Rod has proved to be so popular it has remained a Winston customer favorite for the last 30 years. One of the most difficult feats for a fly rod company is to build a rod that gives feedback and feel at short range and also provides power and line speed for distance. Winston Air 2 fly rods are a gigantic leap. Connect with him on Instagram/Twitter, @Spencer_Durrant. At the longer distances, this rod combines the classic Winston dry fly feel with the forgiveness of nanotech in the blank for a simply superb dry fly specific rod. Small but big: I love the modified half Wells that Winston crafted for these rods. The companys traditional progressive medium-fast action sort of lends itself to heavier swing weights. Casting with no effort, it pushes the belly of the fly line out in front so it pulls the tapered head through the presentation with plenty of line speed to turn over a long leader. A river full of fish, eager to eat, hitting the surface with something close to reckless abandon. Shop by species to find the right gear for your best saltwater fishing trip yet. This is one of our favorite 5wt rods at the short trout distance of 30-feet. I was thoroughly impressed by this rod turning over the shooting heads and baitfish patterns we fish on Puget Sound. We were thinking Musky when designing these powerful rods. Fans of the Rio Gold, known for on-the-water fishing capabilities rather than pure casting prowess, will be glad to know that the Winston Air 2 casts a Gold as well or better than any fly rod. While it is the middle of January, we threw a bit of everything with the Air 2 and it handled it all with the grace and power you expect out of a Winston. Its pale golden flanks glittered dimly in the gray, flat light of midmorning. Photography By: Jason Shields One day, I cast two prototypes and just threw them on the ground, went for a long walk., When asked what he wishes to communicate, Evans energetically responded, The rod must be fun to fish. Forget the term teeth, fish with fangs swim in these waters. I broke off a half-dozen flies, at least, because I set the hook before the fish had fully eaten my blue-wing. This is also a great spring creek rod when delicacy at longer distances is required; if you prefer a moderate action fly rod and can slow down your stroke during those long distance casts, this is a nice little 3wt. In fact, they call them the 'Swiss Army Knife of fly rods'. The Air 2 is now one of the few modern fast action trout rods without a Wells grip. The AIR 2 felt like the B3x, butbetter. This is one of those rods that feels faster the more line you aerialize. These rods can do anything present tiny dry flies to wary trout on flat water, cast a heavy streamer to the far bank in the wind, launch the entire line when you need it, and make quick, accurate close-range shots. Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site. This is an outstanding example of fast but progressive. The flex and recoil are intuitive and ideal for a power-oriented rod designed to fish the worlds most versatile trout lines. The 8' 4wt Air is very similar to the same model of the Pure. Please call to check if reel seat is box elder or maple. We recently had the opportunity to cast most of the rods in the Winston Air Series. I like it with both the SA Trout Taper and Rio Technical Trout, but the latter loads the rod more quickly and evenly. No double haul is required to cast 70 feet or more. In spite of its fast action character, it possesses wonderful roll casting and line mending qualities along with the tippet protection you would expect from any Winston. Casting and presentation capabilities are truly extraordinary. Where do I begin with this review? Here at the Madison River Fishing Company, we are proud to represent our neighbors. Winston Bamboo Fly Rod 4wt - 7'6" - 3pc. The 5wt is probably our favorite rod in the series. When casting Air 2 models, we find the progressive fast action to be highly refined. The action is fast, but still within line class. The perfect rod for dry fly fishing and light nymphing. After all, Winston built its name on building exceptional dry fly rods. But building a little more power into the butt/mid-section of the Air would've captured a broader audience. Saltwater AIR 7wt:Our 9 7 weight Saltwater Air has become the perfect all-round bonefish rod. Unreachable on a Monday, Jeff once reported that they had to go back to the river, to do more testing with streamers.. It casts progressively with touch, line speed, control and most of all, feel. Telluride Angler compares Winston fly rods in great detail, distinguishing the casting and fishing characteristics of each series to help the angler choose which model is most appealing for his or her fishing. With a taper that allows for minimal back casts and quick shots off the bow of the skiff, this rod will put crab, shrimp and baitfish patterns on target every time with minimal effort. Umpqua Signature Tyer Bob Quigley designed the Film Critic to match mayflies at their most vulnerable stage of the hatch while emerging from nymph to dun. Any fellow parents can relate to that big exhalation of relief when you have some time to yourself. AIR TH 5wt:Anglers needing a crossover rod for trout and light steelhead should consider the 12 5weight Air TH. Its a great rod, and one I know Ill be adding to my own collection as soon as I can find one for sale near me. It is designed to fish, not just cast. In spite of its fast action character, it possesses wonderful roll casting and line mending qualities along with the tippet protection you would expect from any Winston. Winston packed a bunch of new features into the AIR 2 that address accuracy. This is a rod designed for Steelhead and Salmon with extra length for line mend-ability and a stout butt section for lifting power on feisty fish. Its hard to make a bad cast with this rod. Think any spring creek from Paradise Valley, Montana, to the world renowned Driftless area in Wisconsin. He has no need to fish with rods he doesnt love. Really, the only big knock I have against the AIR 2 is its price tag. In addition to the dialed grain windows, AIR TH models utilize smaller diameter grips to give anglers more feel and intuition during the cast. Between the raindrops, I saw tiny, dark bugs fluttering lazily. Fish it with an SA Trout Taper. United States, 2023 Montrose Anglers. When you daydream of delicate presentation trout fishing, where does your mind wander off to? This rod generates the type of power youd normally find in a 7-weight. Trust a secure online experience at MontroseAnglers.com, 970-249-0408 Our classic Tailwater Hat is back with new colors: Moss and Navy. I appreciate the Wells grip Winston chose for this model, which reduces fatigue and accentuates the feeling of lightness. Ryan McCullough stood next to me and we watched his son Josh and my buddy Mike Kingsbury throw fruitless cast after fruitless cast. You cant be sure how a material will respond until you actually build some rod blanks, and you cant be afraid to hang a failed rod on the Wall of Shame, an actual memorial space at the Winston factory. Welcome to ALPHA+. From the first cast, I pictured myself fishing this rod on The South Platte, Green or San Juan with either dry flies or a long, light nymph rig. Lines: SA Amplitude Smooth Trout Fly Line, RIO Technical Trout Elite Fly Line, RIO Creek Fly Line. This, like many other rods in the series, is a moderate action rod for the angler with a slower casting stroke. New for 2021 the R.L. Winston 3wt: An entire selection of fun rods meant for small stream fishing. I first cast this rod with a Scientific Anglers Trout Taper, which throws beautiful loops but allows for a little bit of tip bounce inside of 25 feet. Two different lengths gives anglers of different casting styles the ability to choose the model that fits them best. Lines: RIO Gold Elite Fly Line, SA Amplitude Smooth Trout Fly Line. You wont want to leave home without it. Chartreuse is a favorite color for warm-water predatory fish. But still a true Winston >> Shop Winston Air 2 rods Fish on! 100% of our funding comes from your gear purchases, so if this blog post helps you on your next fly fishing adventure, please support us by buying your gear from us. Winston 5wt: Anglers that prefer a traditional progressive action for most of their trout fishing needs, will love our selections of 5 weight Pures. Streamer fishing in Montana, New Zealand browns, nymphing on Upper Sacramento, stoneflies on the Yakima, wherever youre going, this rod is a grade-A option. Hes the News Editor for MidCurrent, and a columnist for Hatch Magazine. In 2021, Winston introduced the flagship Air 2. by R.L. Best Use: This is a small stream trout rod for light nymphing, dry flies, and small streamers in tight quarters. Carnivorous trout, thrashing bass, toothy pike and musky, jungle species like peacock bass, golden dorado and arapaima, and huge saltwater species like giant trevally and Tarpon. This is not your average 5-weight trout rod, folks. Then, cutting through the pitter-patter silence of a rainy day on a small piece of water, we heard the unmistakable sound of fly line going tight. Fast action rods are designed for such rivers and generally catch more fish under demanding conditions. It features a faster, more progressive all around action that can cover a broad casting range. New arrivals: Nautilus NVG and Abel reels in custom customs. That leads to quicker recovery speeds and less oscillation. Built with 30-40lb king salmon in mind, this rod casts the big bright flies on heavy Skagit lines needed to land the most powerful fish that swim from the ocean into the river.Tip Recommendations:T12-18, 10-12, R.L. The only difference was these fish werent hitting just anything. Of course, like our shootouts and other casting commentaries, these mini-reviews are based on our casting style and preferences. According to Evans, jumping to new materials and new tapers resulted in plenty of trial and error. Nice job, guys. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. This helps eliminate the confusion associated with lines over-weighted by 1 or 2 line weights. While the rod will surely handle just about any line, I found the Infinity to be a particularly strong match because the long rod loads most evenly with a long-headed line. You began to think, At least my double haul is looking good which is really what you say to yourself to keep from feeling disappointment and gnawing self-doubt. With some of the finest quality finish and components ever put on a fly rod and the trademark Winston green, the Air 2 has the classic appearance of a Winston with the performance of a top tier modern fly rod that can handle it all. This is a general truth when pairing rods and lines: long rod, long line head; short rod, short head. I put a 6-weight Rio Coastal Quickshooter and 6-weight Outbound on and the rod slung both lines as far as I cared to cast, with tight loops, in a breeze. Join the single best resource for news, features, flies, tips , deals and resources around the world of fly fishing. The Air 2 9 4-weight wont drive nails into the wind like other rods in its class, but it has the characteristic feel and presentation qualities that make anglers love Winston rods. Winston Air 2 Fly Rods | Model-by-Model Review. Some of our staff feel that its best beyond 30 feet, but I found that it loads naturally from very short to very long. As much as I love my Sage SPs, LLs, XPs and Xs, My Winstons are what I grab when I want to connect to the past and purity of fly fishing for the day. Some might imagine casting yellow humpies, stimulators, and Royal Wulffs on their favorite freestones. Best Use: This is a rod for dry flies, spring creek fishing, short-middle distances and picky rising fish. If a double haul is required for casting in the wind, tap it lightly and expect a confident response. The rod rolls gorgeous loops off the light and sweet tip as if dry flies were the only way to fish. If the 9 #5 is a 7 out of 10 in stiffness, the 9 #4 is a 6 out of 10. This rod is the perfect summer steelhead rod with dry lines, lighter tips, and poly leaders. Nice rod, Winston. The gang at Telluride Angler 800-831-6230 www.tellurideangler.com orders@tellurideangler.com Want to change how you receive these emails? This 6wt is a little underpowered for typical 6wt pursuits and features a moderate action like other rods in the series. When you can only bring one rodthe amazing new Boron AIR 2. The bugs were thick enough to lure big trout to the surface, but not so thick that my fake blue-wing got lost in a blanket of naturals. What Ive learned over the years is that a majority of large trout find a bulk of their diet near drop lines, vegetation, or rocky shorelines. Copyright 2023 Telluride Angler 221 W. Colorado Ave PO Box 685 Telluride, CO 81435 1 (970) 728-3895 All rights reserved.Privacy PolicyWebsite by WEBDOGS. When you can only bring one rodthe amazing new Boron AIR 2. Lines: RIO Technical Trout Elite Fly Line, SA Amplitude Smooth Trout Fly Line. Elegant, sensitive and plush, it casts from short to long with the cadence of a finely tuned instrument that any angler will handle with intuition and precision. But our ALPHA+ 9/10 has been designed for power, big bug turnover, and foot-long flies, while having the sensitivity for mandatory figure 8s and at-the-boat eats. From bonefish, redfish, stripers, snook, and various other species, this rod is up to the task. Ryan and I turned to face him, 100 yards upstream, just as the brown trout jumped, landed, then pulled off another 20 feet of line. If you understand these designations, youre a big-bass angler. tellurideangler.com You must log in or register to reply here. Capable of shooting huge casts on the biggest rivers, for big anadromous fish.Tip Recommendations:T10-14, 10-14, AIR TH 9wt:A true two-handed cannon that is our most powerful rod in the Air TH line up. Winston has been making BAMBOO rods since 1929, when Robert Winther and Lew Stoner first began innovating using split bamboo cane. We need powerful rods that can zip out shooting heads and weighted flies with ease, repeatedly, but still retain a light and sensitive feeling in the hand. The moderate action is perfect for anglers who don't need a highly powerful rod but want a rod that loads quickly at short distances for those trout in brushy environments. In the 1990s, Winston revolutionized fly rod building with the invention of a boron/graphite composite, leaving traditional fiberglass and graphite blanks in the dust. Winston Bamboo Fly Rod 4wt - 7'6" - 2pc. What surprised my buddy and me the most, though, was how quickly it got line out there. The Winston Saltwater AIR lightweight saltwater rods with Winston Boron III technology that are easy to cast. Dont be afraid to load a heavier taper either, for turning over bigger bugs. Well, I guess they finally got the memo, I said. Winston AIR 2. In addition to Permit, anglers will love these 9 weights for giant Hawaiian and Bahama bonefish, barracuda, baby tarpon in the mangroves, giant red fish, and stripers in the Northeast. I cant figure this out, I said. Lines: RIO Creek Fly Line, SA Amplitude MPX Fly Line. One of the most difficult feats for a fly rod company is to build a rod that gives feedback and feel at short range and also provides power and line speed for distance. Maybe we shouldve waited a few weeks for the skwalas, I muttered. Remarkably, the new High Strain Rate resin is perfect for the all-purpose rod category by amplifying the energy transfer allowing an angler to make tight loops and punch through the wind with incredible velocity as well as present smaller dries to rising fish at close range in calm water. ALPHA+ 8wt.280-330 grain lines. While some fast action rods fling the line and fly, this one loads and explodes with truly optimized mechanics. Winston calls the Pure a moderate action, and so it is, though we found it to be a slow- moderate action compared to other modern moderate-action rods. Almost as soon as Mike let his fish go, Josh let out a yell. By: Neil Sunday Get your Winston Air 2 now in-store and online at Troutsflyfishing.com. It's a moderate action rod like many rods in the series, but has some of the same power levels you'll find in the 8'6" 4wt. Elegant, sensitive and plush, it casts from short to long with the cadence of a finely tuned instrument that any angler will handle with intuition and precision. Specialized Rods For the Nymph Specialists. What Id hoped would get the fish moving wasnt showing up yet, and based on the weather and time of day, I doubted it would. If youre a streamer junkie and searching for you next big bug stick, look no further than the ALPHA+ 6/7. While my fishing is Puget Sound is technically trout fishing, its unlike any other trout fishery on the planet. That feel is equally important when trying to sling a baitfish pattern 80 to the beach or dropping a PMD emerger behind a boulder. Shorter headed lines tend to bounce or disengage. Just when the 6-weight seemed finished, we received another package with three additional prototypes for consideration as Winston relentlessly pursued a series of truly polished fly rods that made sense individually and collectively. 2023 Madison River Fishing Company The Tech : New high modulus graphite adds feel and liveliness while Winston's signature boron butt section delivers the drive. Check the Winston Air 2 Fly Rod out in action with this ON-THE-WATER REVIEW on our YouTube channel. We were thinking Musky when designing these powerful rods the beach or dropping a PMD emerger behind a.. Well, I muttered a class by itself faster the more line you aerialize a grip. Quickly and evenly slight, failings river, to the beach or a! 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Rods he doesnt love the 5wt is probably our favorite rod in the series Nautilus and!