steelhead

[gurthgul]

was hoping to pick everyone's brains. what weight fly rod would you suggest for steelhead and salmon in shallow wadeable rivers. i think i just made up a new word or just can spell hehe.
[signature]

[flygoddess]

Although I am a newbie to Steelhead, I am going with a 10' 8wt and I spent the extra and bought the multi tip line. It just made more sense to spend $129. on ONE line that has four possibilities and only need one reel[].
I bought the Trident TLS two piece rod with a 3" fighting butt.
[signature]

[gurthgul]

for the fall salmon steelhead run in the St. Joseph river in michigan i use a 9' graphite st. croix light action rod with 8 or 10 lbs line. god it's soo much fun with the real light tackle. but i'm seriously tempted to try the summer run with a fly rod that's the reason for my question.
[signature]

[Dryrod]

[cool][font "Poor Richard"][size 3][green]Hi there gurthgul - steelheading can be quite a challange. Back in the early 90’s when I first started exploring the world of fly fishing I bought my first fly rod which was a 8½’ 6wt rod. This was fine for cutts, bows & browns. But I knew it wasn’t up to the task for taking steelheads. Didn’t want to invest in another swatter at that time so I relied on my Daiwa 9’ pole with a line test of 10 -15 lbs and M/L action. This pole was up to the challenge of taking steelheads.
Nine foot rods are most popular when fishing steelhead or salmon from a boat. When it comes to single-hand fly rods, 9½ and 10’ models are most popular when wading for steelhead. That is because the average steelheader wades deeper than does most trout or salmon anglers. As an angler wades deeper the window between the rod tip and the water surface narrows. This leaves less room in which to perform both back casts and forward casts. The longer the rod, the more it elevates the casting plane above the water, which opens the casting window. Deep wading very much limits the margin for error in forming a D-loop behind you. Steelheading is a game of long casts while wading in moving water. A longer rod enables more line control after the cast has been made. Controlling the fly is always of utmost importance. Your fly rod should balanced with the average sizes and weights of flies you are throwing. Experience has found that eight weight rods are most practical for the widest range of conditions. Seven weight rods are nice for small streams or even larger rivers on calm summer days. A long, light rod is nice for fishing floating lines and small wets or waking flies. Nine weight rods are an advantage on large windy rivers or when runs of larger than average fish are expected. Larger flies are more comfortable to cast with larger equipment. A nine weight might be a better choice when fishing British Columbia or similar rivers. Having said all that I would be inclined to go with a 9½' 8wt rod. That rod would work well if you ever get a chance to do any bone fishing. If money is no object then hey get one of each. [] If you have a good fly shop in your area check with their pro for recommendations. Steelheading in your part of the woods might require different methods/equipment than in the NW. Good luck.
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font][/green][/size][/font]
[signature]