Ok, lets do another fiberglass rod. Hey, we’re on a roll. This time we’ll look at a larger one. It’s a Winston fiberglass 9-foot, 3-piece, 2-tip, 8-weight fly rod. This rod came from a series Winston built – once upon a time – for salmon, steelhead, bass, or light saltwater. I used it in the brine for striped bass. It was ordered as a “‘set” with the 6-weight in the previous post. They arrived together in an 2.5″ diameter rod tube.
Winston Glass 9-foot, 3-piece, 2-tip, 8-weight
Overall, this is a handsome rod. It has a half-wells grip. The reel seat (Cal-Air?) is very attractive, down-locking, and excepts a removable butt extension. It has a rosewood insert. The rod’s weight is listed as 4 5/8 ounces. Rod color and wraps are the same as the 6-weight I posted prior. Spigot ferrules, once again, and 2 carboloy stripping guides.
Winston Glass 8-weight Reel Seat
The catalogue called the action “moderate”. Fair enough. Yet I don’t believe this rod is simply progressive. To me, it feels slightly parabolic, suggesting a compound taper. Initially I lined it with a 9-weight shooting head and mono running line. Then I swapped it for a full length WF8. The WF8 handled big flies better, and caused fewer tangles -a major boon. Either way the rod effortlessly threw a long line. And it is a wicked hoot with a bass aboard. Man, you gotta love it. Still this rod saw little use for one reason only. I soon learned that a Winston glass 10-weight was a more appropriate general-purpose striper tool.
I’ve had a blast covering these “oldies but goodie” glass rods. Hope you liked reading about them. Let me know if you did. I have more Winston fiberglass rods I could cover. Winston Stalker Winston Retro Rod Winston Glass 5wt, Winston Glass 6wt, Winston Glass 10-weight, Winston Glass Big Game 12wt
If you’re interested in learning more about glass fly rods, visit this excellent site www.thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot.com
