For sale here is a San Francisco era R.L. Winston 8'6" 5wt 2/2 bamboo fly rod. Serial no. 8809 made by Doug Merrick. The rod is in excellent overall condition. The second tip is a later replacement made by Winston. The wraps are a bit more beige than gold as on the original and the bottom stripper is bright and not blued. All sections are full length and straight. Champagne-colored wraps over blonde cane. Burgundy tipping at winding check, signature wrap, ferrules, and tip-tops. This color scheme gives the rod an understated elegance. Brass, ring hook-keeper. Wells grip with some soiling. Down-locking reel seat over the characteristic Winston black bakelite spacer. Bright guides. Ferrule size 14/64 with a very nice fit. The rod is marked as weighing 4 1/2 oz. but weighs 4 1/4 on my scale. The rod has a rather nice medium-fast action. Well suited to almost all trout fishing, a great all around rod. Comes with original red bag with black Winston tag and original labeled tube.