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I'm strongly considering purchasing a Winston Boron IIT, 9' 5 weight. I'm not a fan of fast action rods so the Boron IIT seems to fit me. There aren't any local shops were I could cast this rod before purchasing so I'm looking for opinions from folks that own one or have cast one. $755 is a whole lot of cash to fork out for a plastic rod and I want to make really sure this is the rod for me BEFORE I buy it. Thanks for your replies.
-Darryl
Nice at short range, no backbone in wind or anything over 45 or so feet. I would also look at the Orvis Superfine Touch and Sage ZXL. I imagine the latter will be discontinued soon, and so cheaper.
I agree with LfC on the lack of punch in very windy conditions, but this rod will easily cast well over 45 feet. For the money, I'd make a road trip to a place where I could "test cast" several makes and models. There are a lot of very good, although pricey, rods on the market today. Have fun!
I've owned the 9' 5wt BIIT for several years and have used it quite a bit. I've found it to be an exceptional all around rod medium action rod than can generate quite a bit of line speed for longer casts. My favorite line for it is a Sci Ang WF XPS 5wt.
Only downside is its a bit sloppy on longer casts. Another medium action 5wt I own - 8'8" G2 - is more accurate with dries and long leaders at longer distances.
I've had a 9' 5wt BIIt for about thre years and I love it. What others have said about it being a relatively short range rod, I can confirm. It's still a sweet rod and a pure pleasure to cast! If you're looking for something faster ( but I gather you're not ), the BIIIX or the BIIMx will make you smile. And No, I'm not affiliated with Winston, just enjoy their rods.
It's too much money for a rod you can't test cast. I will say this however: If you have a nice deep flexing medium action rod such as the BIIT, you can easily overline it with a WF6F line if you encounter an unusually windy day. Many may think it blasphemey, but a softer (overall) rod will handle an upline better than a very fast, stiffer rod with a soft tip. I fish an Orvis full-flexing Far and Fine rod with a WF6F for throwing streamers with no issues out to 70'. You only need to adjust your stroke and slow down. I also find such rods to be better nymphers than the Fast "dry fly" tapered rods. Have you tried to find a 905-4 BIIt on the used market?
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I agree that that's a tough leap to take without even getting to test cast the rod somewhere. You don't say what you're needing this for. If it's small to medium waters, the distance limitations everyone is pointing out may not be an issue. If you're looking for greater range without feeling like you're casting a fast rod, I'd encourage you to try the BIIIX or a used BIIX if you can find one. I use mine with one of the half weight heavier lines (like Rio Grand or SA GPX) and find that it has loads of feel for short casts but plenty of power for the longest casts I'm ever going to have any hopes of making. I was hesitant to post this because this is definitely one of those "you have to decide for yourself" deals, but just thought I'd add my two bits to say you might want to expand your list a little bit. Good luck.
Thanks everyone for the replies. As there isn't any place locally I could cast the Winston, so I went and tried out a few Sage's today at a local dealer and ended up coming home with a Sage VXP 9' 5 weight. I got to cast it in the shop's parking lot and really liked it. A few minutes later I got to cast it on my home stream and loved it. It's not nearly as fast as my pre-concieved notions of a Sage rod were. I found it actually cast very nice in close at ranges of 20-25 feet and it casts pretty nice out to 50-60 feet too (no, the stream isn't nearly one requiring 60 foot casts, but I couldn't resist ;-) I'm quite happy with my new rod and happy that it was quite a few dollars less than the Winston I was considering. Now I can afford to look at reels too........
I just don't think any rod is worth that money. I have several top-of-the-line rods and several middle-of-the-line rods. To me, there's no big difference in the way they cast. IMHO, fly rod technology has surpassed any usable - or needed - features. I'd look at a less expensive Orvis mid-flex rod, or perhaps a Superfine. My two cents.
Randy