One Line Up

 The tapers on Winston rods continue to surprise me, in an impressive way. I introduced my nephew to a beautiful freestone stream a couple of weeks ago. He and his wife Jessica had been wanting to return to New Mexico for a few days for fishing, shopping, and exploring the region. They stayed a couple of nights with us in May which brought much laughter throughout the house. Sylvia and I loved it. 

The morning after their arrival, we all piled into the truck for a day of fly fishing on one of my favorite streams. I packed a Ross Colorado reel with a 4wt fly line. The fly rod I brought for the day was a Winston AIR 7'6" 3wt rod. Yes, I intentionally brought a reel with a WF4F Rio Perception to see how my Winston would handle it. For years I have over lined my Winston WT 2wt rods when conditions called for such, and I was curious how my AIR 376 would handle one line weight over the rod's designation.

I didn't make any casts of consequence until we had trekked up the stream for a ways. I had Kevin work a couple of sections with me tailing behind him, as I shared tips about the stream. He was really doing nice work with casting and drifting a fly. So, I stopped in one area and let Kevin put some distance between us. There was a fishy looking spot by a boulder about thirty five feet out from me, and I wanted to drift a dry fly along the edge of rock. It was then I realized how good the rod casted a line one weight over the rod's intended design. Dang, it was really sweet, and accurate!

Experimenting with different lines on a fly rod can really be beneficial. An angler learns exactly what capabilities a rod holds, first hand. I now have confidence to pack that Winston AIR 376 to remote locations, and lock in either a 3wt or 4wt fly line depending on the conditions at that moment...for wind primarily. Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised how sweet the AIR 376 could zing a 4wt line out to distance with a nice loop.