I took three weeks of work for a fishing trip and to do some builds. Ordered a winston BIIMX 9ft #4 blank and a large amount of cork about 6 weeks ago.........Guess what the cork got lost in the mail ..... very frustrating....... The trip was cancelled due to the large amount of water in Austria, even more frustrating....



As you can see, my Portugese supplier (now best friend) send me a small amount so i can get cracking, just waiting for the glue to dry and then off to the lathe..



Jerry

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When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Hey Jerry,

Nice looking build.
I'd be interested to hear your take on this rod, I know of someone who has just taken delivery of it too.
Casting, feel, fishability, fishing situations.

Cheers,
Steve

PS Hey you know what I miss about the old Winston builds (pre 96)? The thread wraps/epoxy over the female sections were long like yours. They gave it a really luxurious look. Now they're really short, maybe a cm or so. I emailed Joe about it years ago, he just said that tastes change..

Stevel,

I have the MX in a five and a six as well the six is the best (casting) six weight i have ever held in my hands and i'm not saying that because i own it if its **** i would say it. The vife is not as special but a really versatile rod.

I casted this four weight this morning i fitted a temporary handle and off i went. Let me tell you this is not your ordinary four weight, i think its faster (not stiffer) then the five.
I've made this one for some extreme casting situations. Mainly for big browns in Norway where i have to do a lot of arial mends over a long distance and still have tippet protection because the fish are spooked easily.

I know what you mean when they brought out the BIIx they had a very thin handle and the short female wraps.. In my opinion it has nothing to do with taste it's all weight saving..

Still have to find a good line for it though, i tested it with: Wulff regular, Mastery GPX, Selective trout, Gold and a SA Ultra DT#4 the wulff and Sa Ultra where best..

Jerry

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When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Jerry,

The short wraps are across the board, the later versions of WT, LT5s all have them. Maybe its weight, maybe even just time and material saving.

It's hard for me to imagine what use this 4 is for, unless you are fishing ultralight in salt. The old XTR that it replaced (although only went down to a 5) was for extreme conditions, and the 5 was described as the rod for "Belizian Bones", though I'm sure there were some who used it to chuck junk. The weight of this old model was significant, probably 4 odd oz, and the MX has reduced this to 3 and some, and although no heavyweight, it's still much heavier than the equivalent T or X. Why would you build such a beefy 4 and not just use an appropriate weight such a 5 or a 6?
Is this rod a creation ostensibly to pander to the egos of fishermen?

Cheers

PS I wonder what the "Common Cents" rating for this rod is

[QUOTE=stevel;791676]Hey Jerry,

Nice looking build.
I'd be interested to hear your take on this rod, I know of someone who has just taken delivery of it too.
Casting, feel, fishability, fishing situations.

Cheers,
Steve

I think we both know him Steve.
S.

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"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.

Right enough Guys, i think Lighthouse has one

I didn't know that the wraps changed that soon i've had a couple of DL4's and WT's, but started building the winstons when they changed the warrenty for blanks as well.

Have you casted any of the lighter MX's they are not like the XTR they don't even come close.. The XTR's where massive, stiff and heavy, in my opinion not very good rods.
I think this MX is softer then it's sage counterpart TCX, it still has a softer tip so it doesn't feel as fast as it is... And most important it still has feel..Now i'm just looking for excuses for my tackle tartness , i will find a use for it, i'm sure.. But you are right it is a bit of an odd four weight and a bit redundant, because a five will do the trick for what i'm planning for this rod..

Jerry






Jerry

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When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

I have had one for a few days.
First a play in the garden and that confirmed its rocket launcher status.
Next was a trip to running water to muck about with different lines and today i actually fished with it.
Its not for fishing short thats for sure
I love my 4#s and have all the other recognised speed freaks the TCR,TCX and Max,etc all in a 4#.
I am not sure i have ever cast anything like it, maybe it the boron kicking in but it wont bl00dy stop going. Its so so so stable at distance.
Early days but it just seems to powerful, like 6# powerful with a 4# line on it.
Initially i thought it was heavy but today i never noticed.
I landed fish today and it only really bends at the tip but when casting it it does have feel, its sweet spot is about 60 or 70 ft, ideal when you dont want your Gucci shoes spoiled by river goop
I really have to tame it at short fishing distances, this weekends project......

What line where you using Buzz?? I had the same problem with my aftta 5 MX, then i loaded the reel with my old SA XXD and that really slowed it down quite nicely.. But that line is spend now, so i thought just stick on my SA MED, but that one is too heavy.. AARRGGHHH I know what you mean with trying to tame it, it's not that it is that stiff, it's just like a kick down in a super fast car..


The five does bend a little bit further down, and this was on a grayling..


or not

Jerry

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When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Yip, the last picture is about right.
So far the Rio Gold (too short a head) and the Barrio outcast (just brutal on this rod).
I might have to dig out a MED but thinking about what you said i have a XPS DT 4# somewhere i might give a go.
Thanks for posting pictures of both the rod (i have the metalic reel seat) and the fishing snaps