Rare And Beautiful...

I regularly explore all the second hand fly rod sites, and have come to a conclusion. Anglers are holding on to their classic 2-3wt rods that are 7'6" and under in length. It's rare to find one for sale these days. I'm talking about the classic Winston fly rods that were made between 1990 and 2005. Small stream fly rods from other brands (during this era) are also getting hard to find.

I can't remember when I last saw a 7'6" Winston IM6/WT 3wt rod for sale...and even more so, a Winston 6'6" 3wt IM6 or WT rod. Anglers are holding on to these classic graphite beauties for a good reason. They are as good as it will ever get for small stream fly fishing. Yep, the old technology and genius taper designs with these classics can't be beat. The new high-tech rods (from all companies) in 3wt models don't even compete with the classic rods. My advise? Hang on to what you have and enjoy fishing those old graphite rods, because anything new being launched in today's market has no soul.

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