Ed Mitchell Outdoors

Available in ’70s and ’80s, the Winston Stalker fiberglass fly rods were designed to fish with the delicacy of Winston’s famous “Lettle Feller” bamboo rods; which had been around since the ’30s, and first developed for small dry flies on Catskill streams. And these fine “glass” rods did just that, and are justly world famous.

A Winston Stalker 6’6″, 2-piece, 2-tip, 2wt Fly Rod

Winston Stalker

There were nine models in the Stalker series, ranging from an 8-foot, 6-inch, 4-weigh, down to the one shown in photo – a 6-foot, 6-inch rod, for a 2 or 3-weight line. They came in red poplin rod sacks, with a handsome green & gold woven emblem. Nice, real nice. I acquired the above rod over the phone from Winston eons ago, with two tips and an upgraded tube with brass cap.  Believe me when I tell you this rod has brought me a great deal of joy over the years.

This Stalker is Montana built. The  e-glass blank is tobacco brown with red wraps, tipped with a few turns of clear. It has a spigot ferrule and a German silver slide-band reel seat. The grip is 6″ and fine. Seven snake guides, and a single carboloy stripper ride the blank. Listed weight is 1.6 ounces. My friend, the rod is a feather in your hand. It casts a fly with just a hint of fly line outside the rod tip. With five feet of fly line out, the rod comes alive, and delivers smoothly and accurately out to twenty-five feet and a bit beyond. It’s a joy to cast. All of this with a 2-weight fly line.

As you might imagine, this Stalker is best with dry flies size 14 on down. BWOs, Tricos, Sulphurs, small caddis, and midges, fit the bill nicely, as do terrestrials flies to match ants, and beetles. While this may sound like a limited range of application, in the right circumstance this Stalker becomes a rare gem. At dusk, when the wind drops, the water turns to glass and the hatch begins, my 6-weight gets put away. (A Winston “glass” rod as well.)  Now in the failing light the Stalker appears to drop dries with the softness of misty rain.

And fear no fine tippet, amigo. Bring on the 7x, hell bring on the 8X. The rod is very forgiving. Rear right back on it. Capable of turning a bluegill into a bluefin, and a fifteen inch trout into a river monster, this tiny rod can also morph a so-so day into a memorable one. Peewees rods are very cool. If you’re interested in learning more about glass fly rods, visit this excellent site www.thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot.com

(Earlier on Winston produced a less known group of  rods called the R.L. Winston Ultra-Light Fiber Glass Trout Rods. I believe these 5-weight rods were built with similar intent and predate the Stalker Series. You can see more info here.)

PS    Interested in looking at other Winston “Glass” rods? Check out the links below.

Winston Retro Rod, Winston Glass 5wt, Winston Glass 6wt, Winston Glass 8wt,Winston Glass 10-weight, Winston Glass Big Game 12wt

I spent decades on the New England coast with a 10-weight in my hand. So I appreciate large fly rods. Believe me. They get the job done where big fish and difficult conditions are the order of the day. That said, I have a special place in my heart for little fly rods. Yes, they have limited application, but where peewee size fly rods fit the fishing, they are a hoot.

So what qualifies as a peewee? To my way of thinking, it’s any fly rod 8-feet or shorter to handle a 4-weight, or lighter line. And it must also have moderate to slow action. No tip action rods should apply. A peewee should bend right down into the corks.

A Kabuto Fly Rod

Check out this little rod. It was built by Yasuyuki Kabuto, a custom rod builder in Japan.   The rod is a 7-foot, 3-piece, 3- weight.  www.kabutorods.com   The fiberglass blank is pale lemon yellow. The guides float under transparent wraps, and the slide-band reel seat is made from stacked piece of bamboo. It weighs 3.4 ounces. The workmanship is top-notch, and shows a steady hand and a desire for perfection. To the eye, the rod has a Zen-like simplicity. As you expect in Japanese Art, there is nothing unnecessary. Beauty resides in the bare essentials.

Kabuto Signature

Kabuto Stripping Guide

Kabuto Reel Seat

So how does it fish? It handles a 3-weight line nicely, although some folks will prefer a 4wt. And it does all I ask of it on the stream. Great trout tool. Can I nitpick for a second? The tip-top on this rod seems a tad small and is not heavy chrome. There is no hook keeper. And the black finish on the reel seat is not very durable.

At a later time I’ll go into the more casting details.  Be sure to read them if this rod interests you.  While we’re on the subject of little fly rods, I’m want to do the next post on another peewee. It’s a Winston  fiberglass fly rod from their Stalker Series, of the 70’s and 80’s. Learn more in recent update

(Back on April 27, 2011, I posted  a review of Cabela’s  Anniversary custom  fiberglass, 5-foot, 9-inch, 3-weight  )

Interested in reading about other Winston Fiberglass  fly rods?  Check out these links. Winston 2wt Stalker, Winston 5wt , Winston 6wt, Winston 8wt, Winston 1owt, Winston 12wt

Want more about glass fly rods, visit this excellent site www.thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot.com