Winston Air 2 9′ 5-weight 5-piece

Reviews

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   While lacking the ethereal lightness of its 4-piece counterpart, this is a really nice fly rod that flexes just a little deeper and engages with a full rod load that instills confidence and delivers a wonderful sense of connectedness to the palm of your hand. If the 4-piece Air 2 9’ 5-weight is a 7 out of 10 in stiffness, this model is a 6 out of 10. I cast it with two different lines that offered predictable, useful, pleasing capabilities. A Rio Gold casts with high line speed, rapid blank recovery and a sense of playfulness. This would be my line choice for dry flies. I also threw an SA Infinity Taper, which flexed the rod more deeply. I had to wait a little longer on my backcast, but the rod knew exactly what to do with the line, casting with authority, control and a semi-open loop ideal for nymphing or tossing light streamers. On the water, the slight extra weight from the 5-piece design is nothing but an advantage for roll casting and line mending.

   What impresses me most about the 5-piece design is that it flexes so evenly. With 4 ferrule joints, I expected at least one of the rod parts to be slightly out of sync with its adjoining sections, but every caster will appreciate how smoothly this rod casts and the impressive feeling of refinement in the overall way it handles.

   John Duncan (Telluride Angler)

2. Rated 5 out of 5

   Winston did a marvelous job, both in the creation of this fine instrument and placement within their rod offerings. The Air 2 5 piece 905 lies right in between the Air 2 905 and Pure 2 905 action wise. Not quite as fast as the Air 2, just a hair more playfulness, but more matter of fact and capable into the wind than the Pure 2. If you think the Air 2 905 is just a shade more than you want in your Winston 905, this 5-piece rod may be your move. Physically the extra section and ferrules blend seamlessly into the blank and impart no noticeable additional weight or interruption in the taper. This is an extremely smooth casting rod that you can step up into and drive a tighter loop or ease on back and lay it down very softly. It possesses a wonderful progressive springy nature that carries all the to the cork. A Rio Gold felt just right to me, great taper match and it brought out the best in the rod regarding line speed and liveliness. An Infinity taper slows the line speed down and gives the blank a stiffer feeling into the butt section. This was reminiscent to my casting notions of the venerable BIIX 905 that so many still fish and love. The rod kind of rocks back very evenly from the butt section and gives you the sense of having the length of the rod behind every cast. 5 piece is cool, unique, nostalgic and just different. This rod is all of that and then some as well. Modern action, performance and range, good line tolerance and adaptability, with nostalgia and a little more of that Winston feel.

   Richard Post (Telluride Angler)