The Days that are Worth It

By Mike Pogoda, Winston Pro Staff

Father’s Day is right around the corner.

As I’m writing this, my son is napping and I’m enjoying some quiet time. Any fellow parents can relate to that big exhalation of relief when you have some time to yourself. My son turns two this year, so I’m still pretty new to being a dad. What I’m not new to is spending most of my time in the outdoors. Naturally, when he was born, I couldn’t wait to share my love for the outdoors and fly fishing with him. When he was only a few days old, I put a Winston rod in his hands, hoping that he’ll grow up to be a Winston guy like his dad. Fast forward a month and we packed up the camper, hooked up the drift boat, and headed to the Henry’s Fork. His middle name is actually Henry, so you can tell that it’s a special place to our family. That weekend, we did his first float and the rest is history.

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NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: WATER VIEWS

WATER VIEWS – Released on June 14, 2022
by David Ondaatje
published by Monacelli, a Phaidon company
Format: Hardcover
Size: 254 x 203 mm (10 x 11.5 in)
Pages: 240 pp
ISBN: 9781580936002
Retail price: $45

The R.L. Winston Rod Company, located in Twin Bridges, Montana, is excited to announce the upcoming release of Water Views: Rivers, Lakes, Oceans, by David Ondaatje. The book features a stunning collection of new aerial photographs, including aerial flyfishing images taken for Winston while Ondaatje explored wilderness areas, local rivers, lakes, and oceans with a fly rod over the past several years as Winston’s Chairman.

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Early Season Dries – 9′ 3-weight Air 2 Review

Words by John Duncan (Telluride Angler)

My guarded expectations were blown away by this model. The rod rolls gorgeous loops off the light and sweet tip as if dry flies were the only way to fish. 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.

Fish it with an SA Trout Taper. It will handle slightly heavier lines, such as the Rio Technical Trout or Gold, but why not split hairs and bring out the very best? The 9′ 3-weight is one of the faster action rods in the series. 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.

Some of our staff feel that it’s best beyond 30 feet, but I found that it loads naturally from very short to very long. If a double haul is required for casting in the wind, tap it lightly and expect a confident response. It’s hard to make a bad cast with this rod.

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. Spring creek and tailwater anglers have a new favorite rod. From the Delaware and Silver Creek to the Frying Pan and Green, this Winston will rise.

Photos by Cole Leishman

Catalina Mixin’

By TC Valentine

Vaughn’s Salon- Catalina Island, 8:03 AM PST. In only 80 feet of marine blue water clear enough to see rock formations, yellow kelp forest and aqua green shadows lurking- the Hummingbird fish finder shows big red marks. “Yellowtail under the boat.” Growing up in southern California is wonderful but the eastern sierra mountains are 6 hours away. Trout fishing remains my passion, but the big blue Pacific Ocean is out my front door. With a little more opportunity to fish in the ocean, we have made the switch. Now, we fish trout and salt. (more…)

Weather Windows

After refilling my cup of coffee for the third time this morning, I sit back down on the couch and notice the view out the window hasn’t changed….not that I expected it to. Wind. Lots of it. Too much of it. The reality of my situation is inevitable. My Jon boat will remain on the trailer today. I shouldn’t be surprised though. A 50 degree day in April in Northern Michigan is almost always guaranteed to include a healthy dose of the big W.

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