Winston's Boron Legacy?

Now that Winston has moved from boron and on to other technology as part of their fly rod builds, I have been speculating how past generations of Winston's boron rods will be viewed by the fly fishing world. I own and fish some nice ones. And, there are some impressive boron models that have already reached iconic status with Winston fans...like, the BIIt 8'6" 4wt that was dubbed the Staff of Moses. Since there will be no more boron rods leaving the Winston factory, there are past boron models that could become somewhat mythical and collectable in their own right. Yeah, it will be interesting to see just how this plays out in the second-hand marketplace.

Just guessing here, I think any model in the BIIt series will become more collectable as time goes on. We already know the BIIt 8'6" 4wt will continue to be a desirable acquisition. Winston included the BIIt 8'6" 4wt in their special edition 90 Anniversary Legacy rods for 2019, so they obviously think it is an iconic rod....just 215 Legacy rods were made through special order. Regarding other BIIt rod models to keep out an eye for increasing resale prices are the 7'6" 3wt, 8' 4wt, and the 9' 5wt models.

Another niche to consider with acquisitions are rod models (within a series) that were removed from the rod model's lineup while the series production continued its life cycle...like the Pure 7' 3wt. There are others too that would fall into that category like the AIR 7'6" 3wt, AIR 8' 3wt, and Air 8' 4wt to name a few from memory.

Probably, any boron rod with the name Joan Wulff inscribed on the blank should be on the watch list for potential collectables.

Out of curiosity, I'll be monitoring ongoing sale prices in the second-hand market for the following Winston boron rods:

• Pure 7'3wt, 7'6"3wt, 8'4wt
• Air: 7'6" 3wt, 8' 3wt, 8' 4wt
• Air2: 8'6" 3wt, 8'6" 5wt, 9' 6wt
• BIIt: all models
• BIIx: 9' 6wt
• BIIIx: 8'6" 5wt, 9' 6wt
• BIII LS: 7' 2wt, 7'6" 3wt, 8' 4wt
• BIIIx plus: 9' 6wt (fb)