Hello all. I am looking to build a fly rod to use for steelhead and smallmouths and initially thought to build a 7# weight but today at a shop the salesperson said that a 6# weight would better suit my needs.
I am new to fly fishing and rather confused. Any advice? I fish primarily in Eastern Ontario in the Nottawassauga river.
thanks,
Tom.

I feel an 8 1/2 or 9 ft 6 wt is excellent for smallies, one of my favorite targets. I, like Tom K., also use a 5 wt if I can get away with it, if the flies won't to be large, wind resistant, heavy or not much wind. I feel if I go larger than a 6wt, then yes, casting is easier in rough conditions but playing the fish is not as enjoyable. As far as the steelies go, can't really help you there.

Looks like a job for a Dan Craft FT 905-4 blank. I'd go 6 wt FT if the favorite fishery is steelhead. Dan Craft made and fishes a steelhead drift rod out of the 6 wt.

The type of rod is also dictated by the type of water you will be fishing ie. large rivers or small to medium sized streams. Just a thought.

Randy hit it right on the money. Some streams here in Michigan you might be able to fish with a 6wt. On the Big Manistee, because of the considerable hydraulics, we need to use 8wt rods. In order to land a Steelhead on a 5wt, I would think you'd have to "play" the fish until you tire it out in order to land it. If you're planning to keep them fine, but a Steelhead that's been played until it tires out might be stressed too much to survive if released - they don't like to give up. And since Steelhead are consideratly larger than Smallmouth, I wouldn't think you would use the same rod for both.

hey tim your in michigan were abouts im from muskegon and the guys are correct feel out the rivers your fishing first and decide i like an 8wt myself and smallies will still give the rod a good run for its wt......

Line weight and river size aside, do steelheaders prefer fast (tip action) or slower rod blanks? A friend complained that his current steelheading rod bent too deeply into the blank and he didn't have enough backbone to stop/fight the fish. When he said he wanted a fast action rod, I suggested that he try Dan Craft's FT blank. Then I ran into someone who claimed to be deep into steelheading and when I asked him about his favorite blank action he said he likes to stay away from fast action blanks because they are too tippy.

Comments on action preferences for steelhead would be helpful.

Thanks,
Jeff Shafer

myself i like a faster action rod in the bigger rivers and mod.fast in the smaller rivers its all in personal preferance what you like is what you like go with what works for you .......

Dan Craft! The FT 6 wt would be great as a smallie-steelie combo rod. I just built the 7 wt as an exclusive steelie rod...off the charts in lawn testing. WAY WAY good.

Or just get the 7 wt...better matched for steelies...and very suitable for the smallies.

Keith

you may want to build one for each. i would use a 8 or even 9 wt. for steelies.when you get tore up by a large hot steelie on a 7 wt.you will know why..

Tom,

Beating a dead horse aside, you never said what side of the coast you intend to fish. The tributaries of Lake Erie for example(my home waters) you could get away with a 9' 6wt. and fish from Ohio to NY with out any problem. Two exceptions to that would be the Niagara river and the Catt. For the Niagara a 9 wt or heavier would be able to handle fighting the fish in the strong current. and on the Catt which has some far reaching lies a longer rod of about 11' would suffice in either a six or eight weight. But for streams like the Big Man in Michigan say below Tippy I would say a longer rod (spey type) would allow you to reach far off lies and will give you more leverage in fighting a fish, Your best bet based on location would be to wrap two rods. One for Smallies and the other for chrome.

About rod action I usually fish with a float rod and pin and I prefer a rod with a soft tip and a powerful but section. The action the G. Loomis IMX is perfect. I've been looking into the raven IM9 in 15' and the Loomis Canada Frontier 15' rated for 8 - 14# line. Any thoughts on those rods?

Randy

Thanks for all the replies. I should have been more specific in regards to my location information, I am fishing Lake Ontario/ Georgian Bay tributaries and medium and small sized rivers and streams.
Tom.

Tom,

I've never seen the tribs of the GB area. I do know some pinners up there and most of them are using some pretty stout gear for streams like the Notty, and Maitland. From what I've heard thoe are two fairly large rivers. Maybe go with something heavier so you can fish a wider range of water. Hope some of the advise I've given you will put you on the right track.

Randy