Winston Rod Company in Twin Bridges, Montana, announced this week that it has acquired Bauer Premium Reel Company of Ashland, Oregon.
“There are a lot of very good fly reels,” said Winston Chairman and Owner, David Ondaatje, “but there is something extraordinary about Bauer that made us want to be more involved over the long term….a beautiful product, good people and leading edge technology.”
Bauer Premium Fly Reels was founded in 1995 by Jon Bauer after designing one of the first large arbor fly reels made in the USA. Previously, Jon had driven race cars for Porsche and Ford, winning several major events including the 1980 Trans-Am Championship.
Founder and reel designer, Jon Bauer said, “I did a lot of design and development work when I was racing. You develop widgets all the time, because that’s how you win – you look for new ways to make your car better and faster. Starting in 1994, as an avid fly fisherman, I took the same approach in designing innovative fly reels. Since I came from a different sport, (racing not fly fishing), I approached fly reel design differently. By applying principles of basic physics to the design and incorporating precision manufacturing, I was able to produce a totally new concept for fly reel design. The company continues with this precision quality approach in all of its product development and design.”
