4.5" x 6.875" 　 Limited to 125 numbered hardcover copies. 196 Total Pages, 5 B&W Illustrations Edited and with an Introduction by Joe Beelart

We are very proud to offer for our annual Rodmaker's Holiday Gift Book the Lew Stoner Winston Letters. Lew Stoner is one of the legendary figures in the history of bamboo rod making. The co-founder and engine behind the famed Winston Rod Co. of San Francisco, Stoner's influence was tremendous and his legacy great. From Doug Merrick to Glenn Brackett and dozens in between, few West Coast rodmakers were not influenced in some significant way by Stoner's theories.

For the first time ever, noted bamboo rod historian Joe Beelart brings us a compilation of letters from Lew Stoner. Dating from 1940 to the mid-1950s, these letters give us tremendous insight into the mind of a rodmaking genius. They cover topics ranging from surf casting to fly fishing to rodmaking, with tangents into everything from tournament casting to steelhead fishing.

“Nothing is ever so good that it can’t be made better, and no one has a better chance to make it better than one who never ceases trying...” Lew Stoner wrote this while discussing the differences between "modern" (read 1950s) rodmakers and legends of the past like Leonard and Edwards. He was as forward a thinking rodmaker as anyone who has ever split a culm.

In addition to the letters, there are four appendices: the first containing letters to the editor Stoner wrote to the Oakland Tribune; the second reprinting A.J. McClane's take on Stoner and Winston rods; a third reproducing an early history of Winston by Fred Maly; and a final one containing the text of a detailed article on Marvin Hedge and Lew Stoner from the 1930s. The entire book is richly footnoted by Joe Beelart to help modern readers place the many names and places--ranging from Polly Rosborough to Jason Lucas to Ted Trueblood--into historical context.

For anyone interested in Winston history, this is a must read. To anyone who loves West Coast fishing and rod history, it is equally indispensable. And of course, if you love bamboo fly rods and their history and lore, you will not want to miss this book. Limited to just 125 hardcover copies, get your copy before they sell out.