by Winston Rods | Feb 10, 2025
Words: Sam Lungren
Photos: Jesse Males
The words caught in my throat: “…jaguar…” I wheezed under the outboard thrum.
The rest of our crew and clients were still facing back upstream as we headed down, hollering supportive trash-talk to April Vokey and Jesse Males working and filming the fast water around a mid-river rock formation for the violent yet stubborn payara—vampire fish as they’re appropriately known. I turned my head downstream as we came around the bend to see an oddly symmetrical lump on the sandbar.
Terry Haynes—Rewa Native, head guide, jungle warrior—saw it too. As we both pointed and gasped the lump rose into a 100-pound wildcat, turning and trotting back into the abysmal Amazon Rainforest, rosette flank undulating over cables of muscle. It was gone before anyone could so much as unsheathe their cellphone. I reached up to notice my eyes were wet.
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by Winston Rods | Nov 26, 2024
Sky-lined on a remote mountainside, stands the best kept secret in Alaska. A quaint timber-framed lodge, constructed of materials entirely imported from Finland, overlooks the meandering banks of the Copper River. It’s at this lodge, appropriately named The Ridge, that four to six anglers per week can have one of the premier experiences that Alaska’s Bristol Bay region has to offer.
Each week from June through early October, adventurous fishermen make the journey to The Ridge. Anchorage is the first stop. From there, Ridge guests take a spectacular flight to the bush village of Iliamna, well off the road system. There, the transfer is made from a small 10 seat prop plane to a smaller DeHavilland Beaver float plane. A 20-minute low-altitude flight across the breathtaking Lake Iliamna sets the stage for the rest of the week. Peering out the window, it’s hard to fathom the expansive 77-mile long, 1000 ft deep lake that is at the heart of the week’s adventures. It’s from this central location that a complex system of rivers and lakes interlace the unspoiled landscape. Once the floatplane sets down on one of these smaller lakes, anglers are taken on a short jet boat ride up one of the main arteries of the Lake Iliamna system: the famous Copper River. A few hundred feet above its bank, you will find The Ridge. While the Copper River itself could easily be the focus of an entire fishing trip, it’s only the beginning. A day or two of fishing on the Copper is complemented by four or five float plane excursions to some of the region’s other exceptional fisheries.
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by Winston Rods | Nov 22, 2024
Who first handed you a Winston and said, “Here, give this a try…”?
Was it your parents, or grandparents? Perhaps a professional fishing guide, fly shop employee, or your closest fishing partner? Regardless of who introduced you to your first Winston, it’s a special moment that will follow with a lifetime of fishing adventures and fond memories.
We believe that the only thing more special than receiving a new rod is receiving a new rod with a customized inscription. This holiday season, we’re doing just that. Until December 18th, with any new in-line Winston purchase through an authorized dealer, we’re offering a free inscription hand written by our professional calligraphers.
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by Winston Rods | Sep 16, 2024
9/16/24 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW WINSTON FLY ROD ANNOUNCEMENT
INTRODUCING THE PURE 2 – The latest greatest light-line presentation fly rods
Delicate. Light. Beautiful. Lively.
The R.L. Winston Rod Company, located in Twin Bridges, Montana, is excited to announce the PURE 2, our newest lightline,
dry fly, and technical presentation fly rods. These rods are available to purchase immediately, exclusively through
authorized Winston dealers worldwide.
The new PURE 2 series of fly rods (8 models in 2-weight through 5-weight) are made to excel in the world’s legendary
dry fly fisheries and in the most challenging technical trout applications. Utilizing new NanoParticle materials, these rods
are smooth, delicate and lively. In a broad range of dry-fly situations, from large tailwaters, technical spring creeks, and
small streams, these new light-line presentation rods flex evenly, recover quickly, and maintain an incredibly smooth
and balanced ‘Winston Feel.’
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by Winston Rods | Sep 16, 2024
9/16/24 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW BAUER FLY REEL ANNOUNCEMENT
INTRODUCING THE SLT: Welcome to the Next Generation of Big Game Fly Reels
Smooth, Beautiful, Powerful, Overbuilt
Bauer Fly Reels, a division of the RL Winston Rod Company, located in Twin Bridges, Montana, is excited to announce the new SLT Big Game Fly Reels – the most robust, smoothest, most powerful fly reels it has ever made with an entirely new proprietary drag and super-smooth clutch mechanism.
The Bauer SLT fly reels come in three new models: 7/8/9, 9/10/11, and 11/12+ and clearly have an enormous amount of ‘Wow Factor,’ built to revolutionize functionality, durability and performance when fighting the world’s most power fish. They offer a cutting-edge debris-tight and water-tight drag package that delivers a smooth and intuitive adjustment range with every click of the drag knob. With over four years of prototyping, the SLT has already been tested extensively on tarpon, GTs, permit, bonefish, snook, arapaima, tuna, salmon, and steelhead. They are powerful, smooth, beautiful and virtually indestructible.
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