A Winston 2wt Year

Last year was mostly about roaming trout streams where a 4wt rod up to 8 feet could be fished. I was often wandering a valley floor and casting a dry fly to wild trout during the summer...and, it was fabulous. My fishing journal revealed I fished my Winston TMF 8' 4wt rod more than any other rod last year, and I could easily repeat that again. However, I'm going to change it up a bit this year. Oh, I'll still be fishing that TMF a whole bunch, but a little less so, to allow stream time for another special rod of mine.

This year, I'm going lighter and will be fishing a 2wt rod as much as I possibly can. And, I'll be giving those little mountain Rios, and their Leetle Fellers, a good look and see this year. Yeah, I'm going to be roaming the 'blue lines' for most of my fly fishing adventures where eight to twelve inch trout thrive in the wild. It's the year of ultra-light fly fishing for this dry fly guy. Have you ever had a tight line fight on a 2wt rod with a 12" wild trout? If you haven't, I'm sorry. Because, it makes for a memorable day! And that's why this is the year of ultra-light fly fishing.

The fly rod lengths will vary with the 2wt rod I rig up on any given day, depending on the trout stream environment. I suspect the WT 7' 2wt rod will see most of the action, where I'm looking for a little versatility when moving about the mountain and fishing multiple streams. For the really tight canopied streams, it will be a Winston IM6 6'6" 2wt getting the assignment. And, for those wide open valley streams, there is the Winston WT 8' 2wt that will be casting a dry fly to those little sippers.

I'll be honest here and share my motive for this 2wt focused year. Fly rod manufacturers have devolved to a point of only offering one 2wt model, if that, in their line up of fly rods. For small stream anglers, they are essentially just throwing a bone our way, hoping to appease us. But, if you're a guy who loves to seek out the 'blue lines' and find joy in playing tight lines with the Leetle Fellers, well, you really need more optional lengths for these adventures. I'm simply hoping to create a focus on the need for more ultra-light rod options...and, would love to see the rod companies begin to listen to us small stream guys. Will they hear our voice from out in the middle of the wilderness? Well, maybe....

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