Winston Air 2 Fly Rod: A Long Haul Review

The Long Haul review series is crafted to give you an honest, in-depth look at how products perform over time. After the marketing hype of launch day fades, are the latest and greatest tools of our trade living up to their billing? Or have they left us wanting? In this review, we’re looking at a personal favorite of mine—the Winston Air 2.

The Air 2 is Winston’s flagship lineup of rods, available in weights 3 through 8, with a focus on the most popular length and weight configurations. The rod I’ll review in depth today is the 9′ 6-weight, which I’ve owned since shortly after the rod debuted a few years ago. It’s frequently picked out for a day of throwing dry-dropper rigs, streamers from a drift boat, or if I know it’ll be windier than usual, and I’d like some extra backbone.

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Winston Air 2 Fly Rod

Winston Air 2

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Rod Specs:

• Size tested: 9′ 6-weight
• Intended use: multi-application trout fishing (larger dry flies, nymph rigs, streamers)
• Action: Moderate
• MSRP: $1,195.00

Pros:

• Smooth and sensitive
• Throws large dries and average-sized streamers wonderfully
• Accurate and light

Cons:

• Price
• The “Winston Feel” isn’t for everyone

The Skinny

Winston’s Air 2 lineup is a serious upgrade over the previous Air series. These rods are made with a new resin and graphite mixture, which essentially means you’re getting a lighter and stronger rod. These rods are noticeably lighter in swing weight than the Air or B3x rods of yesteryear.

The 9′ 6-weight comes with a traditional Winston Cigar grip, which is a modified reverse half-wells. That grip belies the rod’s ability to throw larger rigs with ease, which in my eyes, makes this a true 6-weight. It has the backbone to handle larger flies, and even streamers and sink-tip lines, but Winston still built it with the notion in mind that a 6-weight can also be a good dry-fly rod in the right angler’s hands. The tip is soft enough for tippets down to 6x, and with the right line, the rod will present flies down to a size 18 or 20 with plenty of grace. This won’t ever replace your 8’6″ 4-weight for laser-like precision and soft presentations, but in a pinch, it’ll do.

I’ve fished this rod primarily with Scientific Anglers’ Amplitude Infinity line, and the half-weight heavy design of that line helps the rod load well and throw tight, fast loops, even against the wind.

Despite the rod’s quicker action, it’s still a moderate stick by industry standards, and has that same progressive Winston feel that’s made the rods so famous for so many years. Again, this is a 6-weight that feels like a 5-weight that goes to the gym regularly. Stout, strong, and impressive, but without the heft and bulk of a 7-weight.

You’ll have plenty of feedback during the casting process, even if dialing in the right casting cadence can be tougher for some anglers with a slower rod, like a Winston. Like any fly rod, your accuracy with the Air 2 depends largely on your own casting mechanics, but the Air 2 is inherently accurate. It’s stable and generates nice, tight loops that a good caster can deliver on target.

The Time Test

I’ve had this 9′ 6-weight Air 2 for a while now, and on days when I know I’m throwing hopper-dropper rigs, fishing from a boat, or tossing larger nymph rigs, it’s become my go-to stick. It’s great with streamers and sink-tips lines as well, although I’m starting to favor 7-weights for most of my streamer work these days.

This rod does great throwing my usual summer setup of a Chubby Chornobyl and either a Zirdle Bug or Pat’s Rubberlegs as the dropper. Even with a clunky pair of flies like that, I’m able to get my flies where they need to be most of the time.

The Air 2 is a wonderful casting tool for those who enjoy a more moderate action. Although faster by Winston standards, it’s not in the same league as the Orvis Helios, Sage R8, or even the Scott Session. I grew up fishing rods like Winstons, and a Winston was my first big-ticket purchase more than a decade ago, so I’ve come to love their slower, more purposeful casting rhythm. The 6-weight Air 2 continues that tradition, and it’s not hard for the rod to generate nice, tight loops, out past 60 feet.

Over my years of owning it, I haven’t broken the rod or noticed any manufacturing defects. Winston has pretty great quality control, and their rods are consistently the best-looking production sticks in the market, in my opinion. If I ever do need to warranty this rod, I’m not worried about the process at all.

What stands out to me the most about the 6-weight Air 2 is that it’s a rod I keep coming back to. I’m lucky in that I get to fish and review quite a few rods throughout the year. When I’m not actively reviewing other sticks, it’s usually this Air 2 in my hands if the situation calls for it.

And I know I’ve said this earlier, but it bears repeating—this is the sort of 6-weight I think a lot of us expect, but that rod makers weren’t building for a while. It’s a beefed-up 5-weight, with the backbone to handle wind, larger flies, and larger fish. It’s not a wimpy 7-weight, designed primarily for streamer fishing. I think 6-weights got a bad rap for a few years because they were all built to be ultra-fast, powerful rods, instead of taking what I see as their natural place: the rod you reach for during hopper season, or for throwing stoneflies, or chucking heavy nymph rigs from the boat.

My Recommendation

If you’re an angler who wants a bit more power and backbone in your rod, but still want the versatility to fish smaller dry flies should the situation call for it, the Air 2 9′ 6-weight is worth a look.

If you enjoy fly casting, have solid mechanics, and love feedback from your rod, the Air 2 is definitely worth your consideration. And if you want what I consider the best-looking production rod on the market (not that aesthetics matters, but they do in some intangible way), then the Air 2 should be near the top of your list.

If you want a 6-weight that will serve more as your streamer stick, or large nymph rig rod, then you might want to look elsewhere. The Air 2, at least in the 9′ 6-weight variety, has more in its bag than that.

You’ll pay $1,195 for the Air 2, which is steep. But that’s the cost of top-tier rods these days, and if you’re in the market for the best you can buy, then the Air 2 needs to be at the top of your list.