Winston introduced its latest rod series at this year's IFTD show in Orlando, Florida. The new Boron III Plus series is a mostly-but-not-entirely saltwater geared rod aimed squarely at anglers chasing big fish. According to Winston, "The 'Plus' stands for incredible line speed, extra power and design qualities needed to handle monster flies, the wind, sinking and oversized head lines and of course, big, big, fish."

Winston has broken the new Plus series down into three model series: Saltwater, Jungle and Freshwater. The Saltwater rods are all 9' long and range in weights from 6 to 12. The three rods in the Jungle series range from 8 to 9 weight in varying lengths. Winston describes the Jungle rods, which it designed specifically with species like peacock bass and dorado in mind, as "reinforced" in the mid and butt section for increased fish fighting and lifting power — which should pay dividends for play big species in relatively close quarters. The Freshwater series, presumably aimed at anglers that like to swing big streamers and such for large trout or possibly carp anglers as well, offers up two rods in weights 5 and 6.

Early word from those who have had the new Boron III Plus rods in the field is that they offer up impressive power while offering a lively action and smooth casting — which is in contrast to Winston's Boron III SX series which many anglers (including this one) have criticized as overly stiff and not particularly enjoyable to cast.

Winston is also touting its new "shooting guides", which are a new, wider, open-loop guide design unique to Winston that it says has a smoother finish, resists knots hanging up on guides and shoots lines farther resulting in bigger and better casts.

The new Winston Boron III Plus rods are set to retail between $855 and $895. No word yet on availability.