Winston’s B3-LS 2 Weight, A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing

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Photo by Louis Cahill

Photo by Louis Cahill

This little green wisp of a rod is so much more than I expected.

For some time I’ve been asking myself, “Do I really need a 2 weight?” At some point this year the question became mute. I wanted a 2 weight and that was enough. I always considered the 3 weight to be as fine as I’d ever need, but after fishing a two that belongs to my my friend Michael White, last year in Wyoming, I was pretty smitten.

I decided on the Winston B3-LS. My logic was this. A 2 weight is not a utilitarian rod. It’s a luxury, a rod you fish because you want to, because you love it. I wanted a two weight that got me excited. A rod that felt so good in my hand that I made excuses to fish it. A rod to turn good day into great days, and that’s what I got.

rod-winston-boron-iii-ls-b3ls-2

 

When you think about fishing a seven foot, two weight you think of tiny brook trout streams choked with mountain laurel and brightly colored four inch fish. I love those fish and that kind of fishing, and the B3-LS is perfect for it. The truth is, I only get to do that a couple of days a year and I’ll use the 2 weight, but that’s not why I wanted it. I wanted a super delicate dry fly rod that would give me the ultimate in feel.

I wanted to feel the line in the air, and on the water. I wanted to feel the fish like never before. I wanted presentations that fell as soft as shadows. I got all of that. But I got some things I didn’t expect as well. To be honest, I expected the tiny rod to make me work. I expected it to be willowy, soft and slow. I expected distance to be limited, mending to be a challenge, and wind to be completely out of the equation. Boy was I wrong.

The 2 weight B3-LS is a precision casting tool. Astounding in its accuracy, surprising in its distance. Thrilling in its ability to make tight, energetic loops. Magical in its mending ability. The action is crisp and lively. Matched with a Scientific Anglers Mastery, Trout Dry Tip DT line it’s a joy to cast. Any rise ring within fifty feet is yours.

Once I cast this rod, it quickly found its way off those tiny mountain streams. I simply wasn’t willing to put it back in the rod rack. It started going on the drift boat for sipping pods of selective fish. It started showing up on heavily pressured, catch and release streams with educated fish. It eventually showed up on notorious big fish streams, punching well above its weight. Scandalous, but so much fun!

_DSC6168I was a little unsure about playing big fish on a 2 weight. Worried for the rod, yes, but more for the fish. When a twenty inch rainbow ate my Yellow Sally, I was shocked at how much authority the B3-LS gave me over the big fish. Don’t get me wrong, I had to work for him, but I was able to land the fish without exhausting him. Somehow, this little rod that makes a four inch brook trout feel like a contender, let me fight serious fish with confidence.

Leave it to Winston to deliver so much more than promised. If I’d known how much fun this little rod would be, I’d have put my hands on one years ago. Light, elegant and beautiful you might be tempted to think of the B3-LS 2 weight as a frivolous luxury, but be warned, it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Louis Cahill
Gink & Gasoline
www.ginkandgasoline.com
hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
 
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