I am interested in recommendations for blank and fly line for steelhead in the "steelhead alley" streams around Eerie PA.

Streams are narrow,
Almost all short roll casts (few overhead casts)
Usually only little fly line outside of the tip,
Light tippets (4 or 6lb test)
Longish leaders
Ocassionally fish small streamer flies but it's usually drag free drift fishing mostly with indicators.

I'm thinking of Batson's IF1085-4 (10'8" switch 5#) with a 7# line.

John Nagy, recognized PA steelhead author recommends a fly rod I think made out of the St Croix 10' 6" "noodle" blank 2S106ULS2. See [www.johnnagysteelheadguide.com]
(It's possible that there are a lot more blanks available now though than when he made this recommendation)

I've never seen the above 2 blanks but my guess is that the 2S106ULS2 is slower and lighter than the IF1085-4.

Any recommendations?

I have the 8wt version of the Batson blank (actually I have 2 of them). I use it mainly for fishing the Salmon River (out of Lake Ontario). I went with the 8wt because in the fall the majority of the fish are salmon and the 8wt allows me to land the cohos and a chance to land the occasional king in addition to the browns and steelhead. On the Salmon River the 5wt seems a little lite for steelhead. I have struggled to land some of the bigger ones with my 9' 9wt especially when the water runs high. I think your fish tend to be smaller on average and your streams seems much smaller as well. Given all of that the 5 or 6wt would make sense. I would probably choose the 6wt so that I would play around with swinging a fly with a heavier sink tip in addition to the more traditional Great Lakes rig. I fishing mine with an Airflo Speydicator line (6wt line on my 8wt rod) and traditional splitshot/nymph rig. I also swing flies with a sink tip line. Bottom line is I like the switch rod concept and while I have no other switch rod to compare it to, I really like the Batson blank. Can't beat it for the price. As for fly line, check out the Speydicator or the Royal Wolff Ambush lines. They don't overhead cast very well but they are great for roll and spey casts. I use a 4wt Ambush on my 4 and 5wt trout rods when nymph and streamer fishing and the combination is pretty awesome on tight streams. Opens up water I could not fish before since you can back right up to trees and bushes.
I think you will find this many other uses for the blank beside steelheading. I use it in the salt for blues and stripers and in lakes for bass. Overhand (single or two hand) or spey cast gives you lots of options especially when the surroundings are tight and you need to make a long cast.

Quinn

Dave
I live in Erie and I build a ton of rods on the RX 7 9' and 10' 7 WT Blanks.. I have a few guides using them and that seems to be all they ask for...

As far as the Blank Nagy recommended I have built 3 of them and while they are a good rod for Erie keep in mind not all fisherman will like them They are really whippy..... I even had one customer ask me to sell his after using it once...

The switch you mention I have myself and while it works well it is not at all necessary for Erie I hardly use it on the Erie streams anymore ....

Dave,
An 8' 8 weight would be a good choice.
The short length provides better rod and fish control when fishing close.
The 8 weight turns over indicators well and throws streamers easily.
The Sage blue gill is a dandy but is a little pricey and I haven't found blanks yet.
For a less expensive alternative the Cabela's 8' 5 weight traditional handles an 8 weight line easily.

Eugene Moore

I would say that an 8wt is way too heavy for the area. You will have a hard time protecting 4lb tippit and #16 hooks on an 8wt.

To each his own but I would use a 10" 6wt. I build and fish many switch rods and just do not see the need there. I would use a Batson 10 for 6 with a 6-7 wt nymph line or triangle taper. You will be fine for high stick nymphing, some swining and the like.

Best of luck,

Eric
"in steelhead alley"

Thanks gentlemen for your thoughtful responses.

David

I built a meiser 11' 4/5wt switch for Erie and love it. Not much more than the batson blank.

Bob