The primary time I solid a Pure 2 was a blustery spring day in Twin Bridges, Montana. I used to be there to interview Hank Haen, Winston’s new Design and Manufacturing Engineer, for my podcast (everybody has a podcast lately). After we completed, he casually requested if I needed to solid a “candy little prototype rod” he’d been engaged on.
A couple of minutes later we have been exterior with a handful of rods leaning in opposition to the workshop wall. Hank handed me a rod with the guides taped on and stated, “Don’t fear if the reel seat strikes, I by no means glued it on there. I simply needed to see how the rod casts.” It was a close-to-final model of the 7’9” 4-weight Pure 2 and it solid like a dream. The rod flexed with a vigorous, but relaxed, motion that might be excellent for small dry fly work, however it wasn’t a slouch in opposition to the stiff breeze, both. Put merely, the Pure 2 felt precisely just like the type of dry fly-centric rod you’d count on from Winston.
I spent the previous couple of months of the season with manufacturing fashions of the Pure 2, fishing them in clouds of tricos and in the course of the remaining caddis hatches of the 12 months.
The Winston Pure 2 replaces the unique Pure sequence, which has already gained a little bit of a cult following amongst Winston aficionados. Whereas these rods are good—I personal an 8’ 3-weight myself—the Pure 2 is a big step ahead for just a few causes.
What Works
Constant Really feel and Motion
The unique Pure sticks have been constructed as nearly one-off rods, in order that 8’ 3-weight I personal is quicker and stiffer than the 8’6” 4-weight. Every rod in that first run of Pures had a unique really feel and motion, typically extra so than you’d count on.
With the Pure 2, Hank Haen redesigned the rods from the bottom up, which he says allowed him to make sure each rod within the new household has a constant really feel and motion.
“The large accomplishment with these rods is that all of them match within the field the place you set a real to line weight on them they usually’ll solid nice,” Haen stated. “You get an outstanding quantity of really feel with every rod.”
In my time with the rods, I discovered Scientific Anglers’ Amplitude Trout Commonplace line labored finest. It’s a true-to-weight line with a gradual taper that paired nicely with the progressive medium motion of the Pure 2. I additionally threw an SA Amplitude Infinity and a 406 DT, earlier than deciding on the Trout Commonplace as the most effective line for these rods.
The Pure 2 delivered all of the suggestions I’d count on in a rod designed for delicate dry fly work to cautious fish. Casting felt pure and relaxed, and I didn’t should consciously take into consideration my timing like I do when reviewing some rods. The Pure 2 excelled at 20-30 ft, which is strictly what you’d desire a rod like this to do.
The 7’9” 4-weight was improbable on small streams with brief casts that have been extra chief and fly than line. The 8’3” 5-weight had the heart to push small tricos out to distance, but in addition the softness to put these flies down with the subtlety they demand.
Distinctive Rod Lengths
Winston’s Pure 2 isn’t out there in an 8’ or 8’6” 4-weight. These are sometimes the gold normal fashions for dry fly fishing, and among the hottest Winstons of all time are a kind of configurations.
As a substitute, Haen opted to chop the favored lengths down by three inches, though you possibly can nonetheless purchase a 9’ 4 and 5-weight. This was performed to offer the rods extra torsional stability, and to make them lighter.
Shorter rods are inherently extra correct as a result of they’ve much less side-to-side motion throughout a solid. By taking an 8’ 4-weight and turning it right into a 7’9” 4-weight, you don’t lose hardly something when it comes to attain, however you acquire a noticeable quantity of torsional stability. The top result’s a rod that has an uncanny means to drop flies precisely the place they should land.
I’m a middling caster, and I’m the primary to confess my very own accuracy wants assist. The Pure 2 didn’t dramatically remodel my casting accuracy, however I seen a distinction, particularly at distances previous 40 ft. An ideal rod can solely achieve this a lot within the fingers of a mean caster, however the Pure 2 did sufficient to point out me that these shorter lengths aren’t only a advertising and marketing gimmick from Winston.
New Supplies
The Pure 2 options the brand new “NanoParticle Double-Bonded” graphite know-how, which allowed Winston to interchange boron fully. I’m advised that is much like the know-how within the Air 2, the corporate’s flagship rod.
Boron is a comparatively stiff materials, so ditching it permits for elevated really feel and flex all through the clean. That’s to not say the Pure 2 is a noodle—removed from it—however that it’s noticeably extra delicate than the unique Pure.
Winston additionally dropped the grip from the unique Pure and used the identical 6.5-inch cigar grip discovered on the Air 2. Cork grips on the primary run of Pure rods have been polarizing as a result of they’d a big swell which compelled many individuals to carry the rod additional ahead or backward than they have been used to. The brand new grip is slimmer and a bit longer.
What Doesn’t Work
Lack of Versatility
The one knock I believe you can also make in opposition to the Pure 2 is that these rods are a little bit of a one-trick pony. These are dry-fly rods, and when you can throw all kinds of dry flies with them, that’s what they’re constructed for.
The 7’9” 4-weight dealt with a measurement 16 Parachute Adams and measurement 18 Zebra Midge dry-dropper rig simply fantastic on my native freestone, and the 8’3” 5-weight was fantastic with most nymphs. The 5-weight did nice with hoppers (I needed to throw just a few only for curiosity’s sake), however it’s not a rod I’d decide for a day of hopper-dropper fishing in the midst of summer time.
Certain, you possibly can fish nymphs on these rods, and possibly do alright, however they’re not the simplest instrument for the job. When you worth a rod that has a variety of skills, you’d be happier with the Air 2.
Closing Phrase
The Winston Pure 2 is a reliable improve from the Pure. With the brand new design ethos and upgraded supplies, you find yourself with a rod that’s dialed in for superior dry-fly work. They’re correct, vigorous, and light-weight, however nonetheless have the spine to cope with wind and massive fish. If I needed to think about a fly rod made particularly for casting PMDs on a big spring creek, it’d be the Pure 2.
It’s more durable now than it was 20 years in the past to construct a fly rod that feels prefer it does issues higher than its predecessor, versus simply doing them otherwise. The Pure 2 is a big step up from the Pure in each efficiency facet.
BUY THE WINSTON PURE 2
