by Winston Rods | May 14, 2026
For Immediate Release
5/14/2026
R.L. WINSTON ROD COMPANY | BAUER FLY REELS
Lance Robertson and David Ondaatje. David owned Winston for 35-years before selling the company to Robertson in May of 2026.
Twin Bridges, Montana— Today, the R.L. Winston Rod Co., Inc. in Twin Bridges, Montana, which makes the celebrated Winston Fly Rods, Bauer Fly Reels and Winston Polarized Sunglasses that are sold around the world, announced that the business has been acquired by an entity owned by Lance Robertson. Mr. Robertson is a long time business leader, engineer, and passionate fly fisherman. He and his family live near Twin Bridges, MT.
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by Winston Rods | Feb 16, 2026
For Immediate Release
R.L. WINSTON ROD COMPANY | BAUER FLY REELS
Twin Bridges, Montana— 2/16/26
The R.L. Winston Rod Company and Bauer Fly Reels, located in Twin Bridges, Montana, are pleased to announce the hiring of long-time industry professional, Raz Reid to the role of Southeast Sales Representative, covering Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Raz Reid, Winston and Bauer Southeastern Sales Representative
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by Winston Rods | Feb 10, 2026
When Winston asked me to pull together some Field Notes for East Tennessee’s smallmouth bass, my mind fills with imagery—lunar phases, weather patterns, fish‑hotel geography, line‑speed mishaps, and countryside views best seen from the river. East Tennessee has a way of making those thoughts feel alive. Every bend is familiar, yet always shifting, always teaching.
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by Winston Rods | Dec 16, 2025
For reasons not understood by me I have had writers block for this final episode of Travel Season 2025. I thought maybe I would just keep it short and simple:
Australia—it was epic. The End.
Perhaps it is knowing that finishing this piece means that the passport, rod tube and duffel bag are put away for the year? Maybe it’s simply too hard to put into words just how special Cape York turned out to be?
I tried to get AI to help me. This was a theme of the Cape York trip. I came home as educated on artificial intelligence as Anak permit, thanks to Cooper the most technologically savvy guide I have ever fished with. But after opening the last article with the sentence “Trout Suck”, I am afraid I might be on thin ice with the Winston editorial team.
Olivia, the one with most of the good ideas in our house, told me to go back and read the other two posts to try and get the creative juices flowing. More often than not she is right, so I did.
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by Winston Rods | Dec 4, 2025
“Trout Suck” —Matthew Heskett
Not the most popular opinion in fly fishing circles. Certainly not the most diplomatic way to open a blog post for a fly rod company based in Twin Bridges, MT. But context is everything.
Christmas Island—or Kiritimati in the local Gilbertese language—lies just north of the equator and just west of the international dateline. By landmass, it’s one of the largest coral atolls in the world. Its interior lagoon is full of endless white sand flats, the most beautiful you could imagine. With names like Go Like Hell and Nine Mile, some seem to stretch forever. Add in the “smaller” flats, the pancakes, and miles of zigzagging shoreline in the Backcountry, and you have a fishery that would be the envy of any saltwater angler. Epic numbers of bonefish, flats crawling with triggerfish, shots at big GTs, and a variety of “bycatch” make CXI the perfect introduction to saltwater fly fishing.
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