I just thought I would warn people about buying Winston fly rods from anyone other than an authorized dealer. I bought a Winston rod on Ebay with a warranty card and Winston will not warranty the rod because I bought it from some one private. That is a load of crap if you ask me what does it matter where it came from it is a brand new rod, I phoned them and they could do nothing to help me. I used to think that Winston was a great company but after this experience I will not buy anything from them again. If you buy a rod like I did find out where that person bought it and fill out the warranty card from the shop where they bought it. I know that is dishonest but that is what they are gonna force people to do, that is why I paid more for the rod I got is because it had the warranty card. So to me unless you lie when you fill out the warranty card there is no use buying a rod with a warranty card, the only thing that the card is good for is fire starter.