New Green Stick- Shaking

[mbchilton]

I'm shaking. Just pulled the trigger on a Winston BIIx 8' 4wt. I've never owned anything nicer than a Cabela's private label rod, so this is a big step up for me. Now, what to pair it with? I'm thinking Abel TR1.

http://instagram.com/p/URh6AjtKqQ/

I'll upload more pics when it arrives.

Thanks Cletus!

[Diver Dan]

Congrats. I own a 9' 10 wt. BIIX and it is one of my two favorite rods. It's my favorite single hand rod. When Winston stopped making them there was a closeout sale on the blanks, so I got a 10' 7 wt. and another 9' 10 wt. blank. I might set on the 10 wt. for a while but I have the 7 wt. started and have the grip and seat on it.

If you are anything like me in your casting, you will love that rod. My 10 wt. has a flex that just feels sweet.

[r reese]

I have A BllT 8' 4wt awesome rod love my WT's also Winston is good stuff

[mbchilton]

This Abel reel should look comfortable on the new rod.

Photo by mbchilton • Instagram

[jaybo41]

Congratulations on your purchase, new gear is always exciting. Especially your first major upgrade! I have two BIIX rods, 486-4 and a 7100-4, just like Dan mentioned. The Box Elder reel seat is one of the more beautiful pieces of wood I've seen on a trout rod. I have the 486 paired with a Hardy LRH and it is absolutely perfect both in weight and the classic look I wanted.

An Abel TR 1 would also be nice, especially in the Deep Green which comes pretty close to matching the blank's gorgeous color.

Let us know what you end up with.

[littledavid123]

Congratulations on the rod, it's a real beauty. We will be waiting on your reply for the reel picked.

Dave

[FrankB2]

I fish 4wt rods a lot, and have owned an Abel TR. It's my opinion that the TR1 is just too small for line storage. You'll be lucky to get an entire 4wt line onto the spool, and much of it will be coiled close to the reel's arbor. That means you line had better be pretty supple, or it will look like an old phone cord (does anyone still have corded phones? ). In any case, I used a TR3 for my 4wt needs, and it was fine for what it was. There are lighter reels, with larger arbors available, and I wasn't entirely impressed with the TR series. That's just me, and I would look at a Ross Evolution LT #2.

Abel TR story:
I was fishing my favorite stream during the fall of 2011. My rod was an 8'6" 4wt, with an Abel TR3 reel. I thought the reel was kind of hip, in an old fashioned sort of way. It didn't take more than a few casts to hook into the biggest smallmouth bass I've ever seen! The fish ran instantly, and took half my line downstream before I was able to get my palm on the reel. The fish only had another 15 feet to make its way into a set of rapids that would have made landing it impossible. It was already in very swift water, and I did what I could to turn the beast away from the rapids. That meant my rod had quite a bend in it, and I had to keep my palm on the reel while trying to gain some line back. I was loosing the battle, and when the smallmouth was just about to reach the rapids, I clamped the reel hard. The fish leaped from the water like more like a tarpon than a smallmouth, and spit the little wooly bugger from its mouth. There was another angler with me, and we both stood there with our mouths hanging open. After a few seconds, we began saying, "Did you see that?" to each other, and my heart was still racing. That was the last smallmouth I saw in 2011, as the remnants of a hurricane caused the stream to rise 16 feet later that week.

I did two things after that day. First, I sold the reel. There are many large fish in that stream, and I can catch a two inch sunfish on one cast, and a 20" or larger catfish on the next cast. The smallmouth range from fingerlings, to beasts. Most of the fish I catch there are 12" or smaller, but there are days when stripers run up the stream from the Delaware River. Shad can also be caught during the Spring, so it's quite a variety. Here's a pic of a carp caught by a friend of mine just above the rapids I spoke of earlier:


The second thing I did was resolve to bring a heavier rod when the larger fish are active during Spring. While I love my 4wts, I caught many large smallmouth with my 5wt Z-Axis last Spring. While it's only a 5wt, the Z-Axis will turn a fish with much greater authority than my softer 4wt rods. Once the smallmouth, shad, and even striper activity slowed down in May, I returned to my 4wt rod. I still caught some larger fish, but the stream was running slower, and I had a real drag to work with. If that smallmouth hadn't been able to take so much line in seconds, I would have been able to keep it in calmer water long enough to net it. Some guys like that sort of challenge, but I would rather have caught that beast. It's challenging enough to get a smallmouth that size to take a fly, so I don't need the added excitement of seeing my line fly off a reel that doesn't have a drag. If I were fishing a small babbling brook, where a large fish might reside, but doesn't have much room to run, than maybe a reel without a drag system might work for me.

P.S. Enjoy the new rod! I've been thinking about an 8' 4wt for several years, but it takes me a while to make a decision sometimes.

[fishiowa]

Originally Posted by mbchilton

I'm shaking. Just pulled the trigger on a Winston BIIx 8' 4wt. I've never owned anything nicer than a Cabela's private label rod, so this is a big step up for me. Now, what to pair it with? I'm thinking Abel TR1.

Photo by mbchilton • Instagram

I'll upload more pics when it arrives.

Thanks Cletus!

Congrats on the new rod and reel (read on another thread that you ordered the TR1). Don't worry about fitting a 4 wt line on the TR1. I have a Wulff TT 4 wt on a TR1 and still room for backing. Sounds like a sweet setup, enjoy.

[mcnerney]

Congrats on the new Winston rod, that is a major hardware upgrade! Post some photos when you get the new reel and have everything ready to fish.

Larry

[planettrout]

This is my favorite reel for the BIIX, 9',5wt. and T&T Paradigm 9', 5wt....I have an older TR 1 and they do not hold enough backing with either a WF or DT line...for the larger waters I fish...and I don't like running down river anymore...



Tibor Light Reels Finishes

...these reels are smoooooooooth !!!


PT/TB