#Winston im6 fly rod review series#

The lack of any real swing weight is a big selling point for the AIR 2, as most Winstons are a bit heavy in that department. ItвЂ™s light at all stages of the cast, too, which makes it just wonderfully pleasant to use all day. I canвЂ™t find any info on just how light the AIR 2 is, but itвЂ™s noticeably lighter in-hand than the B3x. LetвЂ™s take a more in-depth look at why I feel that way. Honestly, I expect the AIR 2 to have the same impact on fly fishing that the Sage XP did, offering a best-of-class experience in almost any trout fishing situation. Other than its price tag, this rod should go down in fly fishing as one of the all-time greats. At this point, IвЂ™m struggling to find real issues with the AIR 2вЂ™s performance.

#Winston im6 fly rod review series#

In fact, IвЂ™d compare the swing weight of the AIR 2 to that of the Douglas Sky G.Д«ecause IвЂ™m still not sure how Winston managed to follow up the decidedly average AIR series with something so fantastic. ItвЂ™s casting stroke tracks straighter than any other Winston IвЂ™ve fished, and straighter than some of the other flagship rods on the market right now. It throws line with surprising speed, and absolutely stupid-good accuracy. It felt like the folks in Twin Bridges had tried to cater too much to the general crowd in fly fishing that demands a do-it-all rod, instead of playing true to WinstonвЂ™s strong suit вЂ“ making high-end, light, wonderfully smooth casting dry fly rods. It was a decent rod, but I didnвЂ™t fall head-over-heels for it like I did the B3x. When Winston introduced the AIR a few years back, I wasnвЂ™t completely sold. Even so, that rod has its own, albeit slight, failings. ThatвЂ™s a 9вЂІ 7wt Loomis-rolled pre-IM6 2-piece rod that feels like a modern 6wt. Each rod is fantastic at one thing, but only one of them is a truly versatile, do-everything trout rod. My collection of Winston models is large, ranging from pre-IM6 graphite, to a Tom Morgan Favorite, to a 6вЂ™6вЂі 2wt WT.

The B3x rods are what I consider to be WinstonвЂ™s best production rods ever.ДЇor a good long while, I didnвЂ™t find a modern Winston series that fished better than my trusty old 9вЂІ 5wt B3x. This rod is the updated version of their flagship AIR line, which was introduced to replace the B3x series. Bear with me while I set the stage a bit.

Where do I begin with this review? Rarely have I fished a rod thatвЂ™s left me as confounded as the new Winston AIR 2, and I mean that in a good way.