Fishing the 8’6″ 5-weight Winston Air 2

I’ve long been a fan of Winston rods. My first top-of-the-line rod was a 9′ 5-weight BIIIx, and I’ve since grown my collection to over a dozen green sticks, both vintage and modern.

The Air 2 series is, objectively, the company’s most versatile. An old 8’6″ 6-weight pre-IM6 Fisher-rolled Winston might be a bit sweeter to cast, but it doesn’t stand up to the versatility a modern rod offers.

I’ve fished a wide range of the Air 2 lineup, but my favorite is their new-ish 8’6″ 5-weight. This rod didn’t come release with the Air 2 lineup, but was added later, and I’m beyond stoked that Winston made this little addition.

The 8’6″ 5-weight is the ideal for for any trout angler who is willing to trade throwing larger flies for laser accuracy. A hopper-dropper rig with a big nymph is clunkier to cast on this rod than the 9′ 5-weight, and certainly the 9′ 6-weight, but that’s not really what folks buy an 8’6″ 5-weight for. You buy that smaller, shorter rod for smaller, more personal rivers, and that’s exactly where it excels.

The rod is scary accurate out to 60 feet (and probably further, but I haven’t pushed it that far yet), able to throw a tighter, faster loop than the 9′ 5-weight. I can tuck casts under branches, or into tight pockets, without a second thought. In fact, the 8’6″ 5-weight Air 2 has proven more adept at picking apart my local spring creek than a trusty 9′ 4-weight. The shorter 5 is just that much more accurate and precise in its fly placement.

And while it may not be as effective at throwing a large dry-dropper rig across a wide tailwater, the 8’6″ 5-weight still has the backbone to handle the wind and larger fish.

Photo: Spencer Durrant

I wouldn’t hesitate to fish this rod most anywhere that I take a 9′ 5-weight, with the exception probably being fishing a bigger river from a drift boat (the Green below Flaming Gorge might be a bit overmatched for this shorter rod). I also wouldn’t throw streamers with this 8’6″ rod, but it could probably handle some smaller size 10 leeches, or similar patterns.

I found the rod fished best with a half-weight heavy line. Surprisingly, even though it’s not a fast rod, this Air 2 didn’t love a double-taper. A true-to-weight casts well on it, but a half-weight heavy taper (like the Scientific Anglers Amplitude Infinity) loads the rod a bit deeper and generates faster line speeds, creating even tighter loops and increasing accuracy.

If you’re looking for a great new 5-weight that does just about everything, I highly recommend you consider the 8’6″ 5-weight Air 2.