A Winston Fiberglass 9-foot, 8-weight Fly Rod

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.

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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

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

This entry was posted in Fiberglass Fly Rods, Fly Fishing in Freshwater, Fly Fishing in Salt Water, Fly Rods, Gear. Bookmark the permalink.

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