winston boron IIX and sage slt

so after fishing a tfo 6 wt. and a sage ds2 3 weight for quite a while,
i finally wanted to step up to a great 5 wt. i've fished a friend's slt
and loved it (subtle but backbone, yada yada). so i called the flyshop
and they said to try the winston boron IIX vs. the sage. i'm going into
the flyshop sometime this week and hope to do that, but isn't the boron
IIX supposed to be a fast action rod? is winston just giving this
salesman a bigger commission or something? anyone ever looked at a
boron vs. the slt?

thanks,
hjs

On 2 Jan 2005 19:28:18 -0800, "HJS" wrote:


so after fishing a tfo 6 wt. and a sage ds2 3 weight for quite a while,
i finally wanted to step up to a great 5 wt. i've fished a friend's slt
and loved it (subtle but backbone, yada yada). so i called the flyshop
and they said to try the winston boron IIX vs. the sage. i'm going into
the flyshop sometime this week and hope to do that, but isn't the boron
IIX supposed to be a fast action rod? is winston just giving this
salesman a bigger commission or something? anyone ever looked at a
boron vs. the slt?

thanks,
hjs

Not too many people here own one of these, let alone fished both so
you're not likely to get much in the way of worthwhile opinion. Which
one is best is strictly up to you -- at this price point, who else's
opinion would you trust anyway?



Peter

turn mailhot into hotmail to reply

Visit The Streamer Page at http://www.mountaincable.net/~pcharl...ers/index.html

On 2 Jan 2005 19:28:18 -0800, "HJS" wrote:


so after fishing a tfo 6 wt. and a sage ds2 3 weight for quite a while,
i finally wanted to step up to a great 5 wt. i've fished a friend's slt
and loved it (subtle but backbone, yada yada). so i called the flyshop
and they said to try the winston boron IIX vs. the sage. i'm going into
the flyshop sometime this week and hope to do that, but isn't the boron
IIX supposed to be a fast action rod? is winston just giving this
salesman a bigger commission or something? anyone ever looked at a
boron vs. the slt?

thanks,
hjs

Not too many people here own one of these, let alone fished both so
you're not likely to get much in the way of worthwhile opinion. Which
one is best is strictly up to you -- at this price point, who else's
opinion would you trust anyway?



Peter

turn mailhot into hotmail to reply

Visit The Streamer Page at http://www.mountaincable.net/~pcharl...ers/index.html

"HJS" wrote in message
oups.com...

so after fishing a tfo 6 wt. and a sage ds2 3 weight for quite a while,
i finally wanted to step up to a great 5 wt. i've fished a friend's slt
and loved it (subtle but backbone, yada yada). so i called the flyshop
and they said to try the winston boron IIX vs. the sage. i'm going into
the flyshop sometime this week and hope to do that, but isn't the boron
IIX supposed to be a fast action rod? is winston just giving this
salesman a bigger commission or something? anyone ever looked at a
boron vs. the slt?

Judging by postings on other message forums, the Boron IIX may be the latest
"go to" rod for anyone wanting to move up to a premium rod but the SLT is no
slouch. Winston definitely hit a home run with that one. My wife gave me a
IIx for our anniversary but I've not had a chance to do anything except lawn
cast it. It felt "different" than my SLT, but not as fast as a Sage XP.

The IIX and SLT are great rods in that they are med-fast to fast action rods
that load fully with 10' of fly line out or 60'. Can't go wrong with either.

wayne, that's an awfully nice anniversary present. can't help but
wonder how it is that your wife knew to get you a boron IIX. it's not
the easiest hint to drop. incidently, i was thrilled to pieces when my
wife pulled out a diamondglass 3 wt last week for christmas -- except
for the fact that i already have the ds2 3 wt that she and my local fly
shop didn't happen to know about. so i sent it back for a 5 wt reel
(i'm kinda regretting letting go of that rod which was really really
sweet). and now i'm dreaming of the rod. one thing i do know about the
winston: the grip seems slender. i like the beefier grip on the sage
rods. any ideas whether winston would make one up with a fatter grip if
i end up liking the cast of that rod?

it's a good point, peter. but to be honest, i'd guess i'd trust your
opinion given the number of rods you reportedly have. the only reason i
ask is that on paper these rods seem like they'd be real different and
not the kind of rods you'd mention in the same breath. needless to say,
it's the steep price of these rods that makes me want to ask as many
questions before i cut into my mortgage money.

best,
hjs

On 2 Jan 2005 22:22:26 -0800, "HJS" wrote:

it's a good point, peter. but to be honest, i'd guess i'd trust your
opinion given the number of rods you reportedly have. the only reason i
ask is that on paper these rods seem like they'd be real different and
not the kind of rods you'd mention in the same breath. needless to say,
it's the steep price of these rods that makes me want to ask as many
questions before i cut into my mortgage money.

best,
hjs

Wayne is one of the few guys here who will have owned and fished these
two rods -- I can think of a couple of others who might have. That's
not a large group if you're looking for a cross-section of opinions.
Anyway, at this price point, there shouldn't be any junkers so it
really is strictly a matter preference. A cheaper rod is going to
fish just as well, so when going for the mortgage breaker, buy the one
that tugs at your heartstrings the most. There's more to these rod
purchases than performance, so if you buy the one in second place in
the heartstring race because a couple of people recommended it, you'll
probably never been fully satisfied with it.

Peter

turn mailhot into hotmail to reply

Visit The Streamer Page at http://www.mountaincable.net/~pcharl...ers/index.html

HJS wrote:

wayne, that's an awfully nice anniversary present. can't help but
wonder how it is that your wife knew to get you a boron IIX. it's not
the easiest hint to drop. incidently,

It was totally unexpected. She was with me when I had bid pretty hard
on one at a conservation auction before backing down and letting
someone else spend their money. She kept the auction list and visited
the local Winston dealer figuring I wanted one. We celebrated 26 years
this past Thursday, not sure what she sees in me but I think she's a
keeper.

i was thrilled to pieces when my
wife pulled out a diamondglass 3 wt last week for christmas -- except
for the fact that i already have the ds2 3 wt that she and my local
fly
shop didn't happen to know about. so i sent it back for a 5 wt reel
(i'm kinda regretting letting go of that rod which was really really
sweet).

Grasshopper, we need to talk. The DS2 3 wt is a graphite rod whereas
the Diamondglass was fiberglass. Furthermore one was probably a
different length. If you are a trout fisherman you can never have too
many three, four and five weights. Going forward the appropriate
response is to keep the rod but politely mention she forgot the reel.

and now i'm dreaming of the rod. one thing i do know about the
winston: the grip seems slender. i like the beefier grip on the sage
rods. any ideas whether winston would make one up with a fatter grip
if
i end up liking the cast of that rod?

Winston offers some customization. I own 11 Winston rods but 5 of them
were custom made by a guy in St. Louis on IM6 and BL5 blanks with
fatter grips but Winston customized two others for me with beefier grip
and a different wood spacer.

I think you will like BIIx, but I also like the SLT and the XP from
Sage. Sooner or later there's no reason to think you can't own one or
more of each. grin

HJS wrote:

wayne, that's an awfully nice anniversary present. can't help but
wonder how it is that your wife knew to get you a boron IIX. it's not
the easiest hint to drop. incidently,

It was totally unexpected. She was with me when I had bid pretty hard
on one at a conservation auction before backing down and letting
someone else spend their money. She kept the auction list and visited
the local Winston dealer figuring I wanted one. We celebrated 26 years
this past Thursday, not sure what she sees in me but I think she's a
keeper.

i was thrilled to pieces when my
wife pulled out a diamondglass 3 wt last week for christmas -- except
for the fact that i already have the ds2 3 wt that she and my local
fly
shop didn't happen to know about. so i sent it back for a 5 wt reel
(i'm kinda regretting letting go of that rod which was really really
sweet).

Grasshopper, we need to talk. The DS2 3 wt is a graphite rod whereas
the Diamondglass was fiberglass. Furthermore one was probably a
different length. If you are a trout fisherman you can never have too
many three, four and five weights. Going forward the appropriate
response is to keep the rod but politely mention she forgot the reel.

and now i'm dreaming of the rod. one thing i do know about the
winston: the grip seems slender. i like the beefier grip on the sage
rods. any ideas whether winston would make one up with a fatter grip
if
i end up liking the cast of that rod?

Winston offers some customization. I own 11 Winston rods but 5 of them
were custom made by a guy in St. Louis on IM6 and BL5 blanks with
fatter grips but Winston customized two others for me with beefier grip
and a different wood spacer.

I think you will like BIIx, but I also like the SLT and the XP from
Sage. Sooner or later there's no reason to think you can't own one or
more of each. grin

HJS wrote:

wayne, that's an awfully nice anniversary present. can't help but
wonder how it is that your wife knew to get you a boron IIX. it's not
the easiest hint to drop. incidently,

It was totally unexpected. She was with me when I had bid pretty hard
on one at a conservation auction before backing down and letting
someone else spend their money. She kept the auction list and visited
the local Winston dealer figuring I wanted one. We celebrated 26 years
this past Thursday, not sure what she sees in me but I think she's a
keeper.

i was thrilled to pieces when my
wife pulled out a diamondglass 3 wt last week for christmas -- except
for the fact that i already have the ds2 3 wt that she and my local
fly
shop didn't happen to know about. so i sent it back for a 5 wt reel
(i'm kinda regretting letting go of that rod which was really really
sweet).

Grasshopper, we need to talk. The DS2 3 wt is a graphite rod whereas
the Diamondglass was fiberglass. Furthermore one was probably a
different length. If you are a trout fisherman you can never have too
many three, four and five weights. Going forward the appropriate
response is to keep the rod but politely mention she forgot the reel.

and now i'm dreaming of the rod. one thing i do know about the
winston: the grip seems slender. i like the beefier grip on the sage
rods. any ideas whether winston would make one up with a fatter grip
if
i end up liking the cast of that rod?

Winston offers some customization. I own 11 Winston rods but 5 of them
were custom made by a guy in St. Louis on IM6 and BL5 blanks with
fatter grips but Winston customized two others for me with beefier grip
and a different wood spacer.

I think you will like BIIx, but I also like the SLT and the XP from
Sage. Sooner or later there's no reason to think you can't own one or
more of each. grin