What I Have

I'll just say it, "new trout fly rods don't do anything new." It's a stretch to say they provide new performance benefits that fly rods from twenty years ago didn't deliver for fly fishers. Is it fun to have a new trout stick? Sure, but it won't give you any advantages over older high-performance rods.

Technology for fly rods peaked years ago, and rod companies can't go any lighter without losing the performance and feel we anglers demand in our fishing equipment. It's a physics thing. And, rod actions...yup, there isn't a taper or action that hasn't been designed and built for fly rods going back decades ago. There is nothing new in trout rods. Oh, a new rod series' aesthetics and action can be tweaked to look like something new is going on, but it will add nothing significantly new in the performance area...newly tweaked actions and flex profiles have already been done, often, through history.

So, that begs the question, "why are anglers always looking for a new rod?" Especially when they already own a rod that they absolutely love and does everything for them in a trout stream.

A personal example: I own a Winston WT 7' 2wt fly rod from twenty years ago that is ideal for my little trout creeks. There is nothing that comes up short in its performance, aesthetic, or status in the fly fishing world of tackle. The rod is perfect as far as I'm concerned. So, why would I be interested in a new Winston Pure2 7'3" 2wt rod being offered in today's market? The short answer is, I'm NOT.

The only reason I can think of why I would stop fishing my classic WT 7' 2wt rod and buy a new model is if my old classic rod becomes too rare and valuable to risk fishing and damaging it. Or worse...actually breaking it! But, until that time comes, I will continue to fish it, enjoy it, and know I have the ultimate short 2wt that will do everything I prefer in a fly rod...and that sentiment applies to my other classic rods in various line-weight categories as well.

Streaming: What I Have by Kelsea Ballerini