Three Pack Of WT

This specialty rod quiver will be visiting some fresh destinations this summer. It just occurred to me that I've been taking the same routes on highways throughout the Southwest for a few years, and I want to change it up a bit for 2026. To re-visit old destinations, and explore new ones this year. This change will cause me to pack three specific WT fly rods for specific freestone streams on my agenda. The rods look identical, and fishing partners will most likely be guessing which one I'm fishing based only on the stream we're wandering through. Readers may have noticed I featured each fly rod on the blog earlier this year:  Winston WT 6'6" 2wt; Winston WT 7' 3wt; and Winston WT 7'6" 4wt

These fly rods were highly prized during the heyday of "Blue Line Fishing" twenty-some years ago, with the Winston WT predecessor (IM6) using the same taper and action going back even further in Winston's history. They are exceptional rods designed specifically for creeks and small streams. Yes, they were fished by the most passionate of small stream anglers who would hike far into back county to reach tiny, remote streams. Streams with no fishing pressure were a piece of Heaven for them...and for me too.

Sadly, R.L. Winston Company doesn't make these models anymore. Seems there are fewer anglers who follow the Blue Lines these days. Most anglers in today's world are nymph fishing with long rods, in keeping with the current fad. And I'm good with that. You can probably guess why.

While I'm not able to hike into the back country as far as I once could, I'm still able to reach Rio's where much of the public are not interested in fishing. Most fishers want a huge trophy trout to heist up into the air and post on their Facebook page. Yeah, there just are not as many fishers interested in hiking into the back country for the wild Leetle Fellers as once were. Thank Goodness!

What did John Gierach say about fishing for small trout? Maybe your stature as a fly fisherman isn't determined by how big a trout you can catch, but by how small a trout you can catch without being disappointed - John Gierach book, “Fly Fishing Small Streams”