About the Author

Roger Shearer

Roger is captain of the spey team here at Red's Fly Shop. He brings a wealth of knowledge on two handed fishing that comes natural with his love for migratory fish species. After a long history in the commercial fishing industry Roger decided to shift gears and make a career in the fly fishing business and has become a staple part of our operation. If you are looking for a spey or switch outfit, call Red's and ask for Roger. You will get superior service and knowledge. His genuine desire to help other anglers combined with a skill set as legit as they come.

He has spent many years fishing almost every watershed in the Columbia River basin and provides a lot of insight to our staff. Want to know the fish counts at any dam on the entire Columbia River? Ask Roger! This guy is all over it. Please try to take advantage of his knowledge and skill set in the spey realm when shopping with Red's.

Winston BIII - TH Two Handed Spey Rods and 7129-4 Review

August 28, 2014

Tuesday I fished the Klickitat River for Steelhead with Tony and Craig C from Stinson to Ice House. Swinging Burnt Chicken flies and heavy tips with my new 7129-4 Winston BIII TH was easy. I was compelled to make a post and share my experience with this new rod because Steelhead season is ramping up everywhere across the northwest. Plus I just got a new rod! I genuinely enjoy spey casting, A LOT, and appreciate a fine two handed rod which I found in the 12'9" 7 weight Winston BIII model.

When it comes to Steelhead fishing if you don't enjoy the casting and the process of fishing you won't stay with it long enough to get good at it. There is more casting than catching. The Winston BIII TH rods make casting a joy. Of course it should, these cost $880 but for those serious about a productive and enjoyable spey fishing experience it is a very palatable price tag. If you are new to spey or thinking about just giving it a shot this fall we certainly have some less expensive spey fishing gear that will suit you fine. It won't have the touch and punch of the Winston but it will be a great starting point.

Proper Line and Grain Weight for the 7129-4 Winston Boron III-TH Spey Rod

The light to hand, silky smooth casts reached any spot on the river I directed the cast. I was casting a 480 grain Airflo Rage with a 14 ft Super Fast Sink Airflow Polyleader-- 4.9 in/sec with Olympic Peninsula Skagit Tactics new Razor 40 lb running line. The 480 grain Rage cuts through the afternoon upriver wind, turning over your fly no problem. The new spey rod from Winston is equally comfortable casting a 450 RIO Scandi and 12ft RIO Spey VersiLeader- 7 ips. The real power of the 7129-4 is realized with the bottom hand stroke, and down locking reel seat for the FAST action, balanced touch and go, or sustained anchor casts.

Tony took a few shots with it. This rod casts as smooth in real time as it does in slow motion!