North 40 Fly Shop eMagazine February 2015 | Page 37

Winston says that the
“Nexus is a full series
(3-weight through 12-weight)
of exceptionally beautiful,
smooth-casting ‘all-around’
fly rods.“

Our number one selling line class rod in
Montana is the 5-weight. It is a good allround rod size for trout fishing—and we
do a bit of trout fishing here in Montana. I
decided the 5wt would be my best choice
for a Nexus fly rod review. Before deciding
to offer these rods in our fly shops, we
wanted to make sure we liked them.
As you can see, the Nexus is black. This
will surprise some Winston fans, but rest
assured, the build is classic Winston. In other
words, the Nexus is beautifully crafted. It
looks very similar to the Sage One in color,
but the craftsmanship is arguably better.
The guide wraps, the cigar shaped handle,
and the reel seat are “premium” grade.
The Boron III X is Winston’s flagship rod. They
are beautiful, green, and have the addition
of Boron. The 5-weight B III X carries a price
tag of $795. The Nexus is a 100% graphite
build (as are most rods). Without the
substantial added expense of Boron, the
price tag for the Nexus 5-weight is $475.
Not inexpensive, but quite reasonable for a
rod of this quality.
You can usually get some sense of feel by
simply picking a rod up. Some rods just feel
good to hold. It is impossible not to give a
new rod a little wiggle test in the shop. This
can at least show you a little about the flex
and how quickly the rod will dampen after
the wiggle. You just don’t know quite how it
will perform on the cast until you line and
load it up. While the Winston Nexus looks
great and feels good, it really must be lined
up and cast to truly appreciate its merits.
Winston designed the Nexus to handle a
wide range of conditions. They claim the
Nexus is a smooth casting, fast action rod.
Does the rod do what Winston claims? I set
the Nexus up with two completely different
fly lines to see how it would handle.