Celebrating Bauer Premium Fly Reels joining Winston (from left to right): Bauer founders, Jon Bauer and Barbara Mackenzie Bauer; Annette McLean, Winston VP of Operations and Rod Design; Bauer reel craftsman Kai Victor; and Winston Chairman and Owner, David Ondaatje.
From Winston:
Winston Rod Company in Twin Bridges, Montana is pleased to announce today that it has acquired Bauer Premium Reel Company in Ashland, Oregon. Winston, the world’s leading fly rod company using Boron/Graphite composites, broadens it’s high end product offering with Bauer, one of the world’s top fly reel manufacturers.
“There are a lot of very good fly reels,” says 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 says, “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.”
Both Jon and Barbara expressed their excitement on sharing the news, “We are proud to join the Winston family with our history of quality built USA products.” Jon in particular is excited for the opportunity to expand development of new innovative products with Winston. Jon states, ”The two companies will be able to achieve more exciting products together for the benefit of the angler”.
Celebrating Bauer Premium Fly Reels joining Winston (from left to right): Bauer founders, Jon Bauer and Barbara Mackenzie Bauer; Annette McLean, Winston VP of Operations and Rod Design; Bauer reel craftsman Kai Victor; and Winston Chairman and Owner, David Ondaatje.
According to Annette Mclean, Winston VP of Operations and Rod Design, “We are excited that Bauer Reels will now be part of the Winston family. While Bauer will continue to be run as a separate company, we plan to do a lot together. For now, the reels will continue to be made in Ashland, Oregon, but we are going to look at how best to help the business grow over the coming months and years.”
In the context of Winston’s long history of making fishing rods for over 85 years and the potential fit with Bauer, Ondaatje, said “There are a lot of similarities between Bauer Reels now and Winston when I first became involved over 20 years ago: a fantastic company led by industry visionaries and passionate anglers who make products they love to use. That continues to be Winston’s philosophy, and Bauer shares the same culture of passion, excellence and innovation. Jon Bauer is one of the most accomplished, creative innovators in the flyfishing industry. We are very happy that he, Barbara and Kai will be working with us.
McLean, giving her view on the unique features of Bauer reels, says, “I have long admired Bauer. The heart of these high-performance reels is in the innovative design of the systems themselves. The thin, light-weight drag system gives a smooth, uninterrupted transition, is virtually zero maintenance and has industry-leading internal non-wear carbon fiber parts for better performance.”
