Rod Weight

[BCobb]

Could I use a rod Wieght 5/6 for steelhead Because I wanted to try fly fishing for them. the ather type of fishing is not working to well for me.

[Abalone]

The arguement here is this:

Rod Weight is determined by what presentation you are trying to make. Generally speaking a Steelhead fly is going to be a larger fly with a heavier drag unless you are using an egg pattern or smaller type of pattern. So the heavier drag is going to limit your casting. A 5/6 rod is actually a 5 wt rod with a 6 wt butt section for extra stiffness.

A 5 wt. Rod will land a Steelhead but it will take longer and put more stress on the fish. Generally speaking I wouldn't use a 5 wt. Rod for Steelhead but it has been done.

[sothereiwas]

I use a 6wt for small river summer steelhead, a 7wt for the majority of my summer fishing, and an 8wt for winter fishing.

Brad

[BCobb]

Thanks for the info you guys.

[TheCamel]

1) Can you? Sure
2) Should you? Probably not
3) If other types of steelhead fishing are not working out for you from a catching perspective, you are going from the frying pan into the fire with fly fishing for these fish.
4) Fly fishing can be a very gratifying experience if you are not just into it for landing fish. The saying "fishing is not just about catching fish" applies.

[Abalone]

The camel is making a good point about switching to Fly fishing to improve
your technique for catching fish. On the other hand I can think of a fly fisherman that is very successful at Flyfishing for Steelhead and everything else and has never used conventional gear.

Jim Teeny. There are others like AndyK that won't use conventional gear.

Either technique will work, but you need to pay your dues. Find someone that is a good fisherman and have them show you the ropes. Lots of guys on this board are willing to share.

[BCobb]

So I should use A 7 wieght to put less stress on the fish

[BCobb]

What about small steam steelhead they like tenmile creek by winchester those fish usually not as big

[Abalone]

So I should use A 7 wieght to put less stress on the fish



Yes ! and to be able to work the kinds of fly patterns you need to fish for Winters. If wind is not a factor a 7 wt. will work fine even on the Big D.

I don't know what your budget is but I am sure there are people on this forum that have old rods sitting around they have no use for anymore because they have upgraded or what ever. If your budget is an issue make a inquiry to see if anyone can help you out with a decent fly combo.

[BCobb]

Thanks Abalone

[NCL]

I would agree with everyone else that a 5/6 weight rod is probably to small for steelhead. I usually use an 8 weight for steelhead. I broke my 8 weight and while it was getting fixed I was forced to use my 6 weight. I found I couldn't control the fish I hooked as easiely on my 6 weight and was not able to land the two fish that I did hook. Maybe it was just more confidence that I could land fish on the 8 weight than on my 6 weight.

[Siwash]

I generally stick w/ a 7... I prefer to keep things on the lighter side if practical, as I don't fly fish often enough to keep my arm/grip in shape for casting all day and thus fatigue tends to limit my effectiveness on a long day which only gets worse w/ heavier gear. Going lighter than 7 starts to make life harder again, though... it's less about power fighting a fish as it is line control casting fairly large flies and/or dealing w/ the typical afternoon canyon breeze. However, I seldom fish anything other than a floating line and usually only target summer fish when it comes to fly gear, so that's a big part of the equation. If you were to dredge sink tips for winters, 8-wt seems to be the most common choice, but by that point I usually give up and switch to other gear.

[Pelhament]

The camel is making a good point about switching to Fly fishing to improve
your technique for catching fish. On the other hand I can think of a fly fisherman that is very successful at Flyfishing for Steelhead and everything else and has never used conventional gear.

I think I tried for summer steelhead for about 2 months with conventional gear and ended up flossing one fish by accident.

Started flyfishing and caught two my first time out and never looked back.

[Steelbum]

Bcobb,

If you are fishing hatchery rivers, go and flog away to your hearts content with you 5/6 weight. The fish are all going to be killed anyway. It can even be fun... However, i not familiar with ten mile so i cant give any recomendations on that river.

Generally speaking, try to get your hands on a 7 or 8 wt. The more backbone in a rod has many different advantages... which i really don't want to take the time to discuss. Hope that helps you out.

[BCobb]

Thanks

[Seansquatch]

I talked to a guy who said he landed a 6lb summer on a 4wt while cut fishing in the wilson might have been a fish story but i could see it being done. He said it took him about 30 mins to land it and it almost spooled him twise.

[Slow and Low]

I caught a 21" steelhead on a 386 ll sage. Was my first deschutes steelhead. I won't tell you how many I have lost on bigger rods since. Last winter I landed a 35" fish on a 7 weight one hander and it was a big time joke. The same day I also landed a 30" hot rod, again a joke.

I fish a 7 weight spey rod and an 8 weight single hander for summers and a heavy 8 spey for winters. My two handed 8124 launches 650 grain skagits with 4" bugs and 12' of t14. That's a pig stick. I am still waiting to catch something big enough to test the 8124. Maybe this weekend???

[Nicechromer]

7 weight is great. A lot use 8 weight.
comments said above are right on!

[FishGeek]

I use 7wt for summers and 8wt for winters.

I have caught steelhead in the Deschutes accidentally with a 5wt... while it sounds fun, its really not good for the fish. Took about 15 min to land it.

If you could only have one steelhead rod, in my mind it would be a strong 7.


Brian

[gustav]

I know I'm a bit late on this but I just picked up a 8wt 9ft Steelhead rod for my buddy who I'm trying to get hooked. It is a SA rod that looks and feels okay. They have them marked at $13 to get rid of them. They are at Wallmart.

This is what I did a couple years ago to see if I could really hook a Steelhead with a fly. I was supprised how easy it was. I started out using the indicator eggfly set up. I have since moved up to better gear, but I still use the cheap stuff. I found my stuff on clearance on several different websites. The total set up cost me less than $100.

Now for the better stuff I recommend getting it from a fly shop that knows what they are talking about; you do get what you pay for.