Two Rods: Favorite & Best

I’m often asked which fly rod is my favorite, and it’s a simple answer: the Winston TMF. I’ve always wanted a brand-new TMF with a down-locking reel seat, but Winston stopped taking special orders regarding reel seat options around 2008. So, for years, I searched for a genuine Winston nickel silver seat to covert a new rod with the standard up-locking seat into a down-locking seat. I did eventually find the hardware and asked Ben of Flat Creek Rods to upgrade the seat of a brand new TMF into a down-locker. I love it and use it often in New Mexico and Colorado streams. No other rod has the action that matches the TMF...a small to medium size dream rod! Yup, my favorite rod.

But there’s more to my fishing tools than my favorite TMF rod. I’ve found that there’s one rod that I consider the best of all the ones I fish. The taper and action of my Winston WT 7’ 2wt rod are perfect for mountain Rio’s. It’s truly impressive and the best fly rod I fish on home waters. It can even handle a 3wt fly line as if it were designed for that weight. But it’s a 2wt rod and casts both 2wt and 3wt lines so smoothly and effortlessly that it’s packed for fishing trips more than any other rod model on most years. I’ve written several posts on my blog about this rod because it truly is amazing. This rod is why I hardly fish glass fly rods in my mountain creeks; it’s simply a better rod.

Photos top to bottom: Winston WT TMF 8' 4wt fly rod; Winston WT 7' 2wt fly rod.