Trident Fly Fishing is a full-service fly shop. We spend a lot of time testing gear and writing shootouts to give you all of the tools to make your next trip a success. We are not a blog, or a review site, and there are no ads. 100% of our funding comes from your gear purchases, so if this shootout helps you on your next fly fishing adventure, please support us by buying your next fly rod from us.

When Winston released the Air 2 fly rod a few years back, we were excited to see how their new “all-arounder” freshwater rod series compared to the original Winston Air, which was a classic moderate-action Winston. When we reviewed the 9’ 5wt Air 2, we were delighted with its buttery feel with a true-to-line-weight fly line. It offered a touch more speed than its predecessor, but still maintained its soul as a fun-to-cast Winston. Now that we've cast the full lineup of Winston Air 2 fly rods many times, we’ve put together a comprehensive model-by-model review of all 10 rods in the series. If you’ve been eyeballing a Winston Air 2, but can’t find much info on a particular length and line weight, this review is for you. For an honest comparison of each rod free of sugar-coating hype, read along for the full model-by-model fly rod review.

8'6” 3wt

I’ll admit that I have a soft spot for creek rods. There’s something about a short, lightweight rod that conjures memories of throwing dries to belligerent trout all day long, and I’m about it. Daydreams aside, this stubby 3wt is a joy to cast. It’s light, insanely smooth, and fairly quick. The best fly line pairing was SA Amplitude MPX, which loaded the rod perfectly for those 15-30’ casts which will dominate your creek fishing experience. If you need a little more distance out of it, Rio Gold will do the trick, although this rod is designed (and the most fun) for the short game and dry flies.

Lines: SA Amplitude MPX

Best Uses: Small stream Trout, pond Bass and Sunfish, dry flies, backpacking

9' 3wt

The first thing we noticed about the 9’ 3wt Air 2 was how soft it is. This bona fide dry fly rod demands a true-to-line-weight fly line. Even with a Rio Gold, it felt overgunned. For the best results pair it with an SA Amplitude Trout or a Royal Wulff Triangle Taper. Once you have the correct line, slow down your casting stroke and enjoy fishing dries or unweighted wets with this beautifully crafted tool. Although it doesn’t quite live up to the “fast action” tagline from Winston, it's a fantastic finesse rod for small water or spooky fish. Much like a Rolls Royce, the 903 Air 2 is much more about sophistication and enjoyment than high-end performance. 

Lines: SA Amplitude Trout, Royal Wulff Triangle Taper

Best Uses: Pressured spring creeks, Small stream Trout, pond Bass and Sunfish, dries

8'6” 4wt

Despite the 905 being considered the flagship rod in most freshwater rod series, the 8’6” 4wt Winson Air 2 is the crown jewel of this lineup. With its very light swing weight, extreme accuracy, and quick yet soulful action, this rod will appeal to both beginners and advanced casters. At its core, it wants to throw lightweight rigs; dries, wets, and weightless streamers and nymphs. Surprisingly, it also handles heftier setups like small conehead streamers and weighted dry/droppers remarkably well, making it one of the most versatile rods in the Air 2 lineup. We liked this rod with Rio Gold for an all-around taper. If you’re mainly throwing dries or other delicate rigs, SA Amplitude Trout is the perfect choice.

Lines: Rio Gold, SA Amplitude Trout

Best Uses: Small stream Trout, smaller streamers, dries, dry/dropper, pond Bass, backpacking

9' 4wt

The 9’ 4wt Air 2 feels every bit like a Winston. It’s buttery smooth with a Rio Gold, but it can be overpowered with an aggressive casting stroke. If you like more line speed, consider a Royal Wulff Triangle Taper. For anglers who strictly stick to dry flies and casts under 40’, this a very compelling choice. For those of us who like to mix it up with various rigs and lots of different water types, the 904 may be slightly limiting. While it’s not for everyone, this premium stick will be a go-to rod for longtime Winton fanatics.

Lines: Rio Gold, Royal Wulff Triangle Taper

Best Uses: Trout, dries, dry/dropper

9'6” 4wt

Longer 4wt rods like the 9’6” Air 2 are stuck in an awkward space. They’re not quite euro nymphing rods per se, and they often lack the backbone to be a go-to indicator nymphing rod. They’re also less accurate for throwing dry flies, and they’re heavier than their shorter counterparts. It makes us wonder what the actual purpose of this model is. Although I don’t know exactly, I’ll make my best guess based on how it performed. This is a very soft 4wt. Rio Gold overloaded the rod even at moderate distances of 30’. SA Amplitude Trout was better, but you still have to be careful not to put too much oomph into the cast, or it falls apart (if the wind blows, you’re toast). That being said, this rod is probably best suited to fish dry/dropper or lightweight indicator rigs on smaller rivers. A somewhat perplexing rod, the 964 Air 2 is a winner for only a niche group of anglers.

Lines: SA Amplitude Trout, Royal Wulff Triangle Taper

Best Uses: Lightweight indicator nymphing, dry/dropper

8'6” 5wt

By now you may have noticed that we really like all the 8’6” models in the Air 2 series, and well, the same goes for the 5wt. This stubby five is very light, and very fun to cast. It keeps up with a quicker stroke nicely, and seems to like an SA Amplitude MPX for all distances. This is probably the fastest action of the lineup so far - some expert R&D went into its taper. If you need a ‘do-everything’ 5wt that's more accurate and faster than the trusty 905, don’t sleep on the stubby 5wt Air 2!

Lines: SA Amplitude MPX

Best Uses: All-around Trout, dries, streamers, indicator nymphing, Bass

9' 5wt

The 9’ 5wt was the first model we got our hands on a few years back, and it’s still a popular rod for customers all around the globe. It’s a solid dry fly rod that can certainly do more, as long as you pair it with a true-to-line-weight line. An SA Amplitude Trout brings out the peppy feel and higher line speed of this rod, which separates it from previous iterations of freshwater Winston rods. While it is a wonderfully fun rod to cast, it isn’t quite as versatile as other premium 5wt rods on the market like the Orvis Helios or the Hardy Marksman. If you’re any angler who primarily throws lighter rigs and likes a more soulful 905, the Air 2 is one worth considering. If you like a bit more versatility in a 5wt, look to the 8’6” 5wt Air 2 instead.

Check out our full review of the 9’ 5wt HERE.

Lines: SA Amplitude Trout, Royal Wulff Triangle Taper

Best Uses: Trout, dries, smaller streamers, indicator nymphing

9’6” 5wt

Coming Soon.

9’ 6wt

Every fly rod series has a few special models that benefit from more professional input and “on the water R&D”, and this 906 Air 2 is one of them. The best way to describe this rod is a dynamite drift boat rod. It’s fast, springy, and powerful, and throws an SA Amplitude MPX extremely well. This is a rod that has no problems hucking 60’ of line with minimal backcasts. If you live for stripping streamers off the banks or throwing big salmonfly dries under willows on long floats, this is the stick for you. The only downsides? It’s not a finesse rod, and it feels a little heavy. Overall, western trout anglers and Bass anglers will go crazy for this fun and powerful 6 weight rod.

Lines: SA Amplitude MPX, Rio Grand

Best Uses: Western float fishing, streamers, big dries, dry/dropper, indicator nymphing, Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass

9’6” 6wt

After being blown away by the 906, we were excited to see how the longer 6wt compares. Unfortunately, this is a completely different taper and left us scratching our heads. This is a very soft 6 weight, and it reminds us of the 9’6” 4wt in this series. Like that 4-weight, it’s noticeably heavy, and it requires a lighter line to load properly. Even with the correct line pairing, which we found to be an SA Amplitude Trout, it lacks pinpoint accuracy. I’d call this an indicator nymphing rod at its core; It’s not the most fun to overhead cast, but it's deeper-loading blank will turn over heavy nymph rigs just fine.

Lines: SA Amplitude Trout

Best Uses: Indicator Nymphing

Favorite Rod:

Our favorite rod of the bunch is the 8’6” 4wt. It’s extremely versatile for a lighter rod, allowing anglers to do more than just throw dries on small streams. This model emobdies Winston's vision for the Air 2 series - faster, playful, light, and modern!

Least Favorite Rod:

The 9’6” 6wt was a head-scratcher. To be fair, we nitpicked this rod on dry land based on how it overhead casts, and some rods just aren’t designed for that. For the right angler (i.e. nymphers), this might actually be a great rod, but we couldn’t dial it in during our tests. On the bright side, it looks just as good as any Winston, which is outstanding!

Questions?

Give us a call at 888-413-5211 or drop us a line at [email protected]