R. L. Winston Rod Company was founded by Robert Winther and Lew Stoner in 1929. The company’s name is a combination of the founder's names: R from Robert, L from Lew, Win from Winther, and Ston from Stoner. The company started in San Francisco and was closely tied to the Golden Gate Angling Club in its infancy. Early Winston rods were made from Bamboo, a classic style at the time. Eventually, as was typical with many rod companies, Winston made the transition from bamboo to fiberglass to graphite. Today, Winston builds state-of-the-art boron graphite rods. “Winston Green” has become a company trademark rod blank color and stands for Winston’s superb craftsmanship and attention to detail. Winston’s rod factory is now in Twin Bridges, Montana.

One of Winston’s new high-end rod series’ is called the Winston Air 2 Fly Rod. These rods replaced the well-known Winston Boron III X. The Air 2 is a premium, lightweight, all-around fly rod series. These rods sport a medium action blank that’s perfect for all freshwater applications from trout to carp and everything in between. Winston’s trademark medium action rods are slower than most rods on the market today. Slower rods allow anglers to capitalize on the ability to make delicate presentations to rising trout. The Air also has a new advanced carbon fiber and Supersilica resin system that adds strength to the rod. This system makes the Air a true pleasure to cast and one of our favorite Winston Fly Rods.

Another new series from Winston is the Winston Pure Fly Rod. The Pure is designed to be a purposeful rod series. The Pure is a phenomenal rod for medium-distance trout fishing and allows delicate presentation and encourages tippet protection. We recently cast and reviewed the Pure on our Blog and YouTube channel and we were very impressed with the rod. Not only does the Pure boast typical Winston artistry, but it also is a very capable rod. The Pure’s performance at longer distances sets it apart from other medium action rods from Winston. This series redefines versatility and promotes functionality and feel.

Winston no longer makes a mid-priced rod series, but the Winston Kairos, was also a purposefully built rod. The Kairos caters to anglers who fish at an intermediate level. The Kairos is super caster-friendly, promotes incredible smoothness, and is made to perform in a variety of fishing scenarios. The Kairos has a black anodized aluminum reel seat with laser engraving, chrome nanolite stripper guide, and chrome plated snake guides. The Kairos is different from other Winston rods in that it has a modern fast action tip flex with quick recovery. The Kairos is a great mid-priced rod option for any angler.

Winston, like so many other rod companies today, also makes two-handed rods. The Winston Air TH rod series includes Spey rods and Microspey rods from Winston. The Microspey series is an innovative light line series. The Boron III TH Microspey is perfect for big trout rivers in the western US like the Missouri River. Its cousin, the Boron III TH Spey rod, is perfect for larger water applications like Steelheading and Salmon fishing. Both rods are lightweight, powerful, and incredibly strong and dependable.

Winston has continued to define fly fishing innovation since its inception in 1929. The history of this company is truly incredible and has contributed to the creation of some of the very finest rods in the industry. Shop Winston rods with our price match guarantee and FREE SHIPPING on all US orders.