Winston PURE 2 Fly Rod

I was one of the first, if not the first, in the US to buy the Winston Pure 2 on Monday morning September 16. I bought the 8’3” 5 wt for spring stream fishing in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and small river and stream fishing in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. A few weeks earlier as luck would have it I bought an exceptionally fine peer rod for the same fishing. I tested both back to back. Of two really fine rods, the Winston Pure 2 was better. The P2 had great feel. It felt like it loaded the length of the rod and had a wonderful smooth feel. It was more consistent and more accurate than its fine peer probably because the tip moved in a more controlled manner instead of bouncing around. The design, workmanship, and build quality were superb. A minor quibble that I found baffling was the rod sock lacked a string tie. I went with the 8’3” 5 wt because I needed the power to cast hopper droppers, small streamers, in addition to casting dry flies into the wind. I highly recommend the Winston Pure 2 which is destined to become a modern classic rod for dry flies, spring streams and small rivers.