Fly Fishing Hot Topics

Our New Favorite Dry Fly Rod: The Winston Pure

by MAngler

The Missoulian Angler Fly Shop has been a cornerstone of the local fly fishing community for nearly four decades.

But, our expertise extends way beyond Missoula, Montana.

This knowledge enables us to equip every angler for success, wherever their adventures take them.

And one company that has been a top-quality recommendation for us is R.L Winston.

Every Winston rod is handmade here in Montana, and a perfect example of craftsmanship at it’s finest. 

With this in mind, the award-winning Winston Pure is no exception.

My First Impressions of the Winston Pure

My first time fishing with the Winston Pure was on the lower Clark Fork river near Missoula, MT.  

It was a mild Fall day with great BWO and Trico Hatches and willing fish; a PERFECT day for the Winston Pure.

I noticed right away that this rod really shines with smaller dries in mid range casts.

The 9′ 4wt that I had with me that day reminded me a lot of my older Winston B III LS, which was my all-time favorite small dry fly rod.

Power

As the day progressed and the wind picked up (as it tends to do in Missoula), we found ourselves casting hoppers in about 10mph wind. 

This is the first time where the difference between the B3LS and the Pure came out. The upgrade in power made casting bigger flies way easier than it’s predecessor.

And when I hooked one of the many large Clark Fork Rainbows, the stronger backbone also helped fight fish harder than the B3LS.

Finesse

When you are fishing small dry flies on light tippet, finesse and delicacy is absolutely paramount.

The softer tip of the Winston Pure softened the hookset and made fishing 5x and 6x way easier. 

This improvement also absorbed more shock so that less fish broke off and more fish were landed. 

Overall

After my first day of fishing the 9’ 4wt Winston Pure, it was very easy to see the improvements over my beloved B3LS. 

The stiffer backbone made fighting fish in heavier current easier and helped power bigger flies through the everpresent Montana wind.

This rod really shines in delicate dry fly presentation with smaller dry flies like Caddis, Midges, Mayflies, Smaller Stoneflies and terrestrials on small and large streams.

But the improvements came to light when casting larger dry flies like Salmonflies, Hoppers and Golden Stones for shorter distances with little effort.

While I’m not going to go as far as to say it’s the perfect “do everything rod”, it handled a wide variety of fishing situations with elegance and ease.

From Small Streams to Big Rivers: The Versatility of Winston PURE

My second outing with this rod was a smaller stream to the north of Missoula.

This time I loaded up a 7′ 6″ 3wt for fishing smaller foam attractor patterns and terrestrials.

I quickly noticed just how accurate this small rod was for tight pockets on smaller streams.

Not that the the larger 9′ 4wt wasn’t accurate. All these rods are spot-on accurate!

But the range of rods transitioned from a longer rod on the bigger rivers to a shorter rod on smaller streams exactly as expected.

While the Pure is not designed for bigger nymph rigs and streamers, it handles smaller nymph rigs and small streamers with accuracy and delicacy that it is designed for.

If you’re looking for a rod with more power to cast larger streamers, large dry flies and big nymph rigs, check out the Winston Air 2.

It is a lot faster and has more power when compared to the Pure.

If you’re looking for a 5wt or smaller with a softer touch, pin point accuracy, and refined delicacy, the Winston Pure delivers this in spades.

Design and Build

The R.L. Winston Pure is still built with the advanced boron technology which gives it a lightweight feel but still as strong as ever.

The reel seat is Tiger Maple with uplocking nickel silver hardware with a slimmed down cigar cork grip that feels great in the hand.

The stripping guides are the nanolite guides that are chrome plated and light wire snake guides.

The highest quality construction and components for a top quality rod is standard on Winston.  So, none of this is really a shocker. 

This rod looks as beautiful as it fishes. 

Conclusion

I currently own 12 different Winston fly rods. Don’t call it a problem, It’s an obsession

From the old IM6 for trout to the newer Air Max 2 in 12wt for saltwater.

I’ve fished them throughout the northwest, all the way down to Christmas Island to Cuba and many other places around the world.

And I keep coming back to Winston because they just never let me down, and the Pure is no exception. 

In fact, I mentioned before that the B3LS was my favorite dry fly rod, but now that rod is being neglected, collecting dust in my closet and replaced with the Winston Pure.

It’s a little faster and has more power while also keeping the softer tip which any fisherman fishing technical streams with dry flies will tell you is key to the perfect dry fly rod.

I’ve been fishing this rod since it came out in 2018 and I now feel comfortable endorsing it.

For people fishing small to large streams, size 22 to size 10 dry flies, to smaller streamers and lighter nymph rigs, the Winston Pure is my NEW favorite dry fly rod.

It’s no wonder why this is one of the most popular rods with our fishing guides, fly shop staff and many customers.

Its combination of sensitivity, power and aesthetic appeal makes it one of our favorite fly rods of all time.

R.L. Winston Pure Fly Rod

The PURE series (2-5wt) earned the IFTD’s Best of Show award for freshwater rods, thanks to their unmatched ability to present flies delicately and accurately. These medium-action rods are ideal for technical waters big and small. The 2 and 3-weight rods excel in small streams, while the 4 and 5-weight rods are perfect for larger rivers and fish that need a light touch. Each rod comes with a graphite tube, logo rod sock and an unconditional lifetime warranty.

BUY NOW
R.L. Winston Pure Fly Rod
Complete Winston Fly Rod Breakdown
Air 2
Review
Air 2 Max Review
Fly Fishing Hot Topics

Best Fly Fishing Combos For Beginners

by MAngler

At the Missoulian Angler, we are big fans of the fly fishing packages for beginners. So many questions are answered, so many problems are solved with an outfit. The line, backing and reel come pre-loaded on the reel, so you don’t spend hours learning and tying knots you don’t really need very often. The rod comes in its own protective case for rod and reel. The rod and reel are balanced for comfortable fishing, and with the technology being used in manufacture, these relatively inexpensive outfits are very good fishing tools.

At A Glance: Best Fly Fishing Combos for Beginners

Echo Lift Kit

Echo Lift Fly Fishing Package

Echo Lift Fly Fishing Package

Check Price Here

5wt Recommended For Beginners

The Echo Lift Kit, upgraded from the Base outfit, has been our most popular fly fishing kit for the novice angler. This is probably based on price, as the Lift Outfit is our least expensive of the fly fishing combo packages. It comes in a 9’ 5 or 6 weight, and as an 8’ 4 weight. All rods in the Base series are 4-piece rods, which makes storage and carrying a whole lot easier. The Lift Rod is a mid-action rod, comfortable to cast, well made and durable. The reel is a cast composite with a mechanical drag, and is set up with a left hand wind but can be switched to right hand wind. The backing is pre-spooled, and rigged with an average fly line. The leader is 9’4X. Simply remove the protective plastic from the reel spool and rod handle, tie on a fly and you’re ready to fish. We used these beginner fly fishing outfits for our teaching and rental rods for years- they are an exceptional value in a starting fly fishing outfit and comes with a lifetime warranty for the rod and reel.

Echo Traverse Kit

Echo Traverse Kit

Echo Traverse Kit

Check Price Here

5wt Recommended For Beginners

The Echo Traverse is Echo’s upgrade in our novice angler choices of fly fishing packages. The Traverse outfits are available in a 9’ 4, 5 and weight rod outfits. The rod is a bit faster than the Lift, but not so much that it becomes difficult to cast. The biggest upgrades in the Traverse kit are in the reel and line. The reel is the Echo Ion. It’s a cast metal for better durability as well as closer tolerances. Cast metal reels are a superior option to a cast composite reel because of the closer tolerances.

It’s the line that has received the biggest upgrade in this fly fishing package. The Traverse line is a couple of steps up in quality from the Lift fly fishing kit. It’s a more durable, higher floating line than in their other kits. Because the line is so critical in fly fishing performance, we feel the higher price represented by the Traverse is often worth the additional expense for an outfit that performs at a higher level directly out of the box. As with the Lift Kit, the rod is correctly balanced, and the reel comes spooled with backing, line and leader, again in a left hand wind. This fly fishing package also has a lifetime warranty for the rod and reel.

Mangler Fly Fishing Package

Mangler Fly Fishing Package

Mangler Fly Fishing Package

Check Price Here

5wt Recommended For Beginners

At the Missoulian Angler, we are fans of the Douglas fly rods as well. New for 2022 is the ERA rod, available in a 5 and 8 weight. We are pairing the ERA rod with the Echo Ion Reel, a Scientific Angler Mastery fly Line, backing and a Rio 9’ 4X leader and offering this as an exclusive Mangler fly fishing kit. The ERA rod is an excellent casting rod, utilizing all we’ve come to expect from Douglas in every rod they make. The Frequency line is high floating and durable, and we’ve chosen it as the best value in a fly line. Please note the MAngler ERA fly fishing package does not come in a Rod/Reel case- the rod tube holds only the rod., and the reel will need to be stored separately. The same applies to the next fly fishing package listed as well. The Mangler fly fishing combo package reel and rod both come with a lifetime warranty.

Mangler Fly Fishing Package 2.0

Mangler Fly Fishing Package 2.0

Mangler Fly Fishing Package 2.0

Check Price Here

5wt Recommended For Beginners

For the angler looking for a step up from the basics, we are offering a fly fishing kit based on the Douglas LRS fly rods. Available in many line weights and lengths, we are pairing these rods with a Lamson Liquid fly reel, spooled with a Scientific Angler Mastery fly line. This kit is more expensive than an introductory fly fishing outfit, and the quality will show. The LRS rod has proven to be a shop favorite, while the Liquid is our number one selling reel, based on price and performance. The Mastery line is SA’s top of the line from 20 years ago- it worked well then and it works well now. Again, the reel will be spooled with the appropriate backing, and will come with a leader attached so you’re ready to go fishing. Like all of our fly fishing packages, the rod and reel comes with a lifetime warranty.

Echo Gecko Fly Fishing Package For Kids

Echo Lift Fly Fishing Package

Echo Gecko Kids Fly Fishing Package

Check Price Here

5wt Recommended For Beginners

Another outfit that bears mentioning is the Echo Gecko kids fly fishing outfit. The Gecko is designed for the junior angler, and is perfect for anglers in the age range of 3-10 years old. 7’9″ and a 4 weight, the Gecko rod has a narrow handle for smaller hands, and a small fighting butt/handle that a younger angler can use to add strength to their cast. Hey, two hands for beginners! If you have a young angler coming up, the Gecko kids fly fishing kit is the way to go. The Echo warranty is very good, so if an accident does befall the rod, all is not lost.

Selecting a Fly Rod

We talk about these fly fishing packages from the standpoint of a beginner, but can say with all confidence these are excellent fly fishing tools. There are many other species to chase with a fly rod other than trout like bass and pike to name a few, but not everyone wants to drop $700 on a rod and reel for a species they might not target more than 2-3 times a year. We would have no hesitation in recommending an 8 weight outfit for those couple of times a year a pike or bass rod might be required. For those with less need for a heavier weight rod, the 4 weight outfits offer a great introduction into a lighter rod without breaking the bank. For most trout fishing, the 4 or 5 weight options are usually the best all around option. 4 weight for smaller streams and 5 weights for larger streams.

Since The River Ran Through It, fly tackle technology has advanced geometrically from what had previously been available. Rods, reels and lines have undergone incredible advances, and what was once considered cheap and less effective has morphed into fishing tools that work exceptionally well. The only place this doesn’t apply is if you are venturing into the salt for the first time. The rod and the line are fine- it’s the reel that might be problematic. The reels that come with the outfits aren’t designed to withstand the corrosive effects of salt water. They will work in an emergency, but you had better REALLY clean them after fishing, or you’re going to have a problem on your hands.

Today’s outfits are wonderful pieces of equipment- well thought out, with performance far exceeding their relatively modest price. 30 years ago we couldn’t say this, but we can now. Like every industry, fly fishing benefits from trickle down technology and the beginning angler will be very well served by the fly fishing combo kits available today.

Mangler Fly Fishing Starter Kit

Fly Fishing starter kits are a fast track to getting started correctly, and we’ve developed other bundles to streamline the beginning fly fisher’s journey. For someone looking to get started in fly fishing correctly, we built the Mangler Fly Fishing Starter Kit. It begins with a 3-pack of 3X leaders, gel floatant, tippet in 3, 4 and 5X, a box of 2 dozen flies that work in all areas of the country, 2 indicators, nippers and forceps. With this fly fishing starter kit, an angler can step into the water knowing they have what’s needed for a successful day on the water. We’ve designed this fly fishing kit to take the guess work out of starting fly fishing. It can be a tricky and intimidating process, entering fly fishing, and this fly fishing Kit can remove a lot of question marks, as well as saving a few bucks when purchased as a unit.

Mangler Fly Fishing Starter Kit

Mangler Fly Fishing Starter Kit

Check Price Here

Great for beginners who are getting started in fly fishing

Complete Guide To Beginner Fly Fishing

Fly Fishing Hot Topics

Fly Rods 101

by MAngler

History Of Fly Rods

Yes, the fly rod did begin as a stick. It was a well chosen stick, flexible with butt strength, but that didn’t stop it from being a stick. What passed for line was tied to the end, and off they went. By the late 1400’s, rods were still being built from sticks, but separate stick sections were spliced together, in order to get the action required. The tip came from the center of a tree, for flexibility. They could be anywhere from 10-15 feet long, and were heavy. The line was still tied to the tip.

Rods continued this way until the arrival of Tonkin cane from China. While Tonkin was initially used in its hollow state, craftsmen soon discovered the culms could be split, and the first rods that could actually cast were born. Split cane forced the development of longer lines, reel seats and reels, more permanent handles, ferrules and guides. It was the first modern fly rod. The cane could be planed or sawn to create specific, reproducible tapers and opened up many new vistas for fly fishing.

Yes, some cane rods are worth $1,000’s of dollars. 99.9% are not. Valuable cane rods were hand planed to within 1/1000” tolerance. The vast majority of cane rods were cut with a saw, with much less accuracy. When AFTMA set the standard for fly line weights (Fly Line), they created a deflection chart to help anglers identify the proper new line weight for their rod. Utilizing a wall mounted reel foot and a known weight, the rod was mounted on the reel foot, and the weight clipped to the tip top. The rod would deflect, and the tip would land within a region on the chart, giving a line weight for the rod. The first diagram shows a deflection chart, the second shows a rod deflecting to a 5 weight line.

Tradition Meets Innovation: A Major Shift In Fly Rod Design

Cane was the best and preferred material for rod building until 1945 when technology developed before and during the war effort found its way to fly fishing. While fiberglass was introduced earlier as a solid blank, modern rod building began in ‘45 with the advent of the initial hollow fiberglass fly rod. For the first time, rods were tubular, and manufacturers had to develop brand new criteria for building and controlling action and taper.

There are two variables in rod design, the materials resistance to bending, described in terms of modulus in millions, and the diameter of the hollow tube. Fiberglass is a very low modulus material, meaning it has very little resistance to bending. Fiberglass itself is a very flexible material. Diameter is best understood this way. If you took a 9’ long, 1/16 inch steel pipe and shook it, it would bend quite readily. Take that same piece of steel and hammer it out to a 4” diameter, and it would lose most of its flexibility. Now the design conundrum comes in. How much material is needed, and at what diameter is it needed.

The manufacturing process of hollow fly rods evolved this way. The mandrel- a solid rod varying in diameter along the length- is milled, and used to control the inside diameter of the rod. The fiberglass scrim (sheet of fiberglass) is also cut in a taper as well, and then coated with resin or adhesive. The scrim/adhesive is wrapped around the mandrel, then rolled on a rod rolling machine under a lot of pressure to compress, shape and complete the process.

The diagram above is a simplification of the scrim/mandrel interaction. Notice there is less scrim at the top than the bottom, matching to the thinner tip of the mandrel. Less material over a thinner diameter provides flexibility, needed at the tip. As the diameter expands and more material is added, the rod gets stiffer as it goes to the butt section. How the rod will flex- deeply, or very little- is defined by this combination of diameter and material.

The above diagram is a simplification of flex patterns of fly rods. In the terminology of fly fishing- slow action, medium and fast action. There are variations and combinations of this found in every manufacturer of rods in the past and today. It’s important to know about action, so you can decide which action is best for you and your casting. YOUR CASTING. It doesn’t make any difference what anyone else thinks is a good action, if you don’t like it it’s not correct for you. This applies to the oldest cane rods and fiberglass as much as the most modern graphite fly rod available.

The Role of Technology in Modern Fly Rod Design

In 1973, the Orvis Company introduced the first graphite fly rod, and changed the face of fly fishing. Graphite has a much higher modulus than fiberglass, meaning it’s a stiffer material. Since its advent in the 70’s, graphite technology has continued to advance, and modulus has increased. If I remember correctly, the first graphite rods were about a 25 modulus. Now manufacturers are using graphite with modulus of over 80. This has provided such a wide range of actions, rod weights and strength, along with durability, as to be almost unrecognizable from its origins.

Due to the weight of cane and fiberglass, rods were shorter in their initial design. The modern graphite fly rod can vary in length from 6-15 feet in length, with the industry standard being 9’. Shorter rods are often used on smaller waters, while the longer rods are used to enhance mending and distance, as well as specific casting styles like spey casting. The longer rods often require two hands from the angler, and can attain tremendous distance when casting. Rods are designated by line weight, length and number of pieces. The industry standard for trout today is a 9’, 5 wt, 4-piece fly rod.

Graphite has opened up whole new vistas of fly fishing. 10-15 weight rods are now light enough to be castable, opening up the salt in ways not contemplated previously. Graphite ferrules are so smooth that 4-8 piece rods are not only available, but excellent casting tools. This changed the way we travel with fly rods, as well as opening up the back country and making bicycling with a fly rod much safer.

Graphite also revolutionized the action of fly rods. While modulus can be described as resistance to bending, another description is a more rapid return to straight. This has opened up amazing new avenues of action. As modulus increases, we are leaving simple fly rod actions as shown in the flex pattern diagram and getting into more complex actions. With high modulus graphite, manufacturers can create a deep flexing, relatively fast action fly rod. The higher mod graphite returns to straight more rapidly- so even with a traditional “medium” flex action, the graphite itself is faster. The rod returns to straight faster, creating a relatively fast medium flex rod. This type of compound taper was unachievable without graphite.

As tapers expanded with higher modulus, manufacturers continued to refine their tapers in lower modulus rods as well. Lower modulus graphite is less expensive to use, and as mandrels pay for themselves the creation of high quality, less expensive rods has become the norm, not the exception. With such a disparity in price in rods, even from the same manufacturer, what makes a rod more expensive?

As previously stated, the higher the graphite’s modulus, the more expensive it is. Component quality can vary. Some reel seats are Nickel Silver with exotic wood inserts, some are aluminum. Cork handle quality, rod tube and sock style and other costs vary. The time of build comes into play, with guide style and finish coats adding to costs. But the real cost of a fly rod is unseen.

When I toured the Sage Rod factory, I was amazed at how many pieces I saw broken in the short time I spent in the construction room. They had a machine for crushing unsuitable blank pieces. Look at the diagrams below.

While the rods in the first diagram are both 5 weights, they are going to cast significantly differently. It’s consistency that creates the greatest cost in fly rod manufacture. The second diagram shows how most fly rods are deflected by the manufacturer. There are incremental zones the rod must fall into to become a fly rod. The wider those zones, the more pieces can be used. The narrower the increments, the more consistent the action, and the more pieces are unusable. Once rolled, the graphite can’t be reused. It’s a dead loss, and needs to be paid for. It’s the most expensive part of high end fly rods, the pieces that don’t work and end up crushed and useless in a trash can.

Conclusion

To sum things up, if you buy a rod from a known fly rod manufacturer, it’s almost impossible to find a bad one. It might not be magic, but it won’t be awful. After A River Runs Through It, fly rod manufacturing, graphite construction and taper design went through the roof. Increased sales provided more funding for R&D, with fly rod actions improving exponentially. They continue to improve on a yearly basis. In 1985, when I started selling fly rods, I could say if you don’t spend $400 on a fly rod, it really won’t be any good. Now, it’s a bald faced lie to say if you don’t spend $1200 on a fly rod, it really won’t be any good. We sell fly rods for $100 that outperform any rod available in 1985. We are living in the golden age of fly rod design. Rest easy in your rod selection- it’s all good.

Our Favorite Rods On The Market Today