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Reels Rods Fran
Betters Custom
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Winston WT, TMF (Tom Morgan Favorite) February , 2006 My first exposure to Winston and the venerable WT series was through the same friend who gave me my first taste of this drug we call fly fishing. Tom bought an 8'6" 4wt. WT about 4 years ago and couldn't help but rave about it. The first time I cast it, I was less than a competent caster, but, three years later, and I've come a long way. With a spring creek in my backyard, I was weighing the options of a 3wt and a 4wt. Rod manufacturers these days don't really advocate over- or under-lining rods. I had actually done it with my Betters' Custom, and know that it's possible with some rods depending on the performance aspect you're looking for. I wanted something that I was comfortable casting both a 4wt as a primary and a 3 when needing to fool the spooky ones. When I posed this question to Kenny Schiffer from the Evening Hatch Fly Shop, I was at the Fly Fishing Show in Ft. Washington, PA last year. I've never known him to pull any punches, and when he just grinned and said, "TMF," I knew I was in for a treat. Kenny grabbed the rod, and two spools, which I could only assume were the two weights in question. Not telling me which was which, he lined the first one through the rod, then proceeded to take a few false casts before handing me the rod. I took a few casts, relishing in how smooth it was. Glancing over my shoulder, I said, "It's got to be the 4wt." The reply? "Nope...it's the 3." I was amazed at the fact that this 4wt rod cast a 3wt line more smoothly than my 3wt at home. Once the TMF was lined up with it's intended weight line, it really started to flex, showing me the magic that it's known for. Since that day, I knew that it was the rod for me. Now if only those damned Blue-Winged Olives would start coming to the surface... |