7/8 Weight Steelhead Rod Recommendations

"KDawg" wrote in message
ups.com...
Looking for a new 7 or 8 weight for Great Lakes Steelheading. I grealy
enjoy my 9' 5 weight Orvis T3, and had originally considered a second
one, but would like to diversify a bit.

Has anyone had particularily good experience with Sage, Winston,
Burkheimer, or Thomas & Thomas? I'll probably spend $600 - $700, which
falls in line with upper-tier offerings from each of them. Winston
uses boron, which sounds like a throwback, but I've yet to speak to
anyone that's not motivated by a commission about the benefits of this
approach. Someone once told me that Thomas & Thomas was an excellent
choice, but then I met a guy that spent an entire summer trying to get
a broken rod replaced. From my perspective, at this price point, an
unlimited warranty is absolutely required.

Any opinions out there? Thanks in advance!

When you say "Great Lakes Steelheading", I assume you mean fishing in the
tributary streams. If this is so, then what you will be doing is picking up
a bug and chucking it out again time after time after time after
time........

In this case, any old girder will do.

Others may disagree.

Anybody?

Wolfgang

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

Others may disagree.


Has that ever happened?

"Wayne Knight" wrote in message
...

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

Others may disagree.


Has that ever happened?

Not yet........but I figure it's inevitable.

Wolfgang

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

"Wayne Knight" wrote in message
...

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

Others may disagree.


Has that ever happened?

Not yet........but I figure it's inevitable.

Wolfgang


O.K., fearing the wrath of such a fine scholar...I think the difference in
rods for Steelhead (for me) was flexibility. Again my experience is
limited, but that's what seemed to help me get some fish to net. Those
things (the Steelies) are incredible and test every inch of tackle from end
to end. Not just any rod did it for me, I had some thick stick thing that
I could hook'em with, but, couldn't beat em. One of those basic 9.5 St.
Croix steelhead rods made a heck of a difference. I think it's important
to note that for a fish like this, the reel does make an incredible
difference, especially the drag.

Mike

"Mike Makela" ten.tsacmoc@alekamm wrote in message
...

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

"Wayne Knight" wrote in message
...

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

Others may disagree.


Has that ever happened?

Not yet........but I figure it's inevitable.

Wolfgang


O.K., fearing the wrath of such a fine scholar...I think the difference in
rods for Steelhead (for me) was flexibility. Again my experience is
limited, but that's what seemed to help me get some fish to net. Those
things (the Steelies) are incredible and test every inch of tackle from
end to end. Not just any rod did it for me, I had some thick stick thing
that I could hook'em with, but, couldn't beat em. One of those basic 9.5
St. Croix steelhead rods made a heck of a difference. I think it's
important to note that for a fish like this, the reel does make an
incredible difference, especially the drag.

I tend to forget that once in while you actually manage to hook one of the
brutes and then have to do something with it.

In thirty or so outings over the course of fifteen years I've hooked maybe
twenty and landed roughly half a dozen. Most of the losses happened quickly
and I attribute them to being poorly hooked. The rest broke
off.....probably as a result of bad knots or frayed tippet. I can't think
of a single instance in which I felt that either the rod or the reel was the
critical factor, and this despite the fact that I've only acquired reels
with good drag mechanisms in the last three years......after my last
steelheading venture.

Landing a big fish is a war of attrition. In the absence of complicating
factors (leader eating deadfalls, a phalanx of brother anglers stretching
downstream as far as the eye can see, wrapping the line around one's neck,
etc.) it's simply a matter of outlasting them. Obviously, heavy tackle will
make a difference but, just as clearly, there are limits beyond which the
point of the whole exercise (assuming it's something other than just hauling
in meat) becomes moot. The OP, like everyone else, will eventually have to
determine empirically where those limits are .

In the meantime, any old girder will do the job.

Wolfgang

Wolfgang wrote:
"KDawg" wrote:
Looking for a new 7 or 8 weight for Great Lakes Steelheading. ...

snip
In this case, any old girder will do.

Others may disagree.

Anybody?

Not me. Great Lakes steelheading is "chuck and duck" fishing
and one can chuck split shot with practically anything that
resembles a stick.

Having said that, I use a 10' 7wt T&T and in my opinion the
most important part of that specification is 10'. I've never
broken it so wouldn't know about how quickly warranty work
is turned around.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Now thats an angle that I hadn't considered. Alot of great advice on
this thread. Ken, where should I spend all the money you're saving me?
On Orvis Mirage leaders? I'd thought so ... But seriously, let me
first apologize for not making my intentions clearer. The rod I am
about to purchase will facilitate Steelhead fishing in the Great Lakes
region, but will also be used to reach the occasional bass, salmon, and
maybe even bonefish on the annual pilgramage that we make to the
Florida Keys.

What I'm really looking for is a good all-around rod that can handle a
few monster Steelhead, but also help me to enjoy the last few minutes
of a setting sun while tossing a dozen casts to a stubborn smallmouth.

"Wolfgang" wrote in
:


"KDawg" wrote in message
ups.com...
Looking for a new 7 or 8 weight for Great Lakes Steelheading. I
grealy enjoy my 9' 5 weight Orvis T3, and had originally considered a
second one, but would like to diversify a bit.

Has anyone had particularily good experience with Sage, Winston,
Burkheimer, or Thomas & Thomas? I'll probably spend $600 - $700,
which falls in line with upper-tier offerings from each of them.
Winston uses boron, which sounds like a throwback, but I've yet to
speak to anyone that's not motivated by a commission about the
benefits of this approach. Someone once told me that Thomas & Thomas
was an excellent choice, but then I met a guy that spent an entire
summer trying to get a broken rod replaced. From my perspective, at
this price point, an unlimited warranty is absolutely required.

Any opinions out there? Thanks in advance!

When you say "Great Lakes Steelheading", I assume you mean fishing in
the tributary streams. If this is so, then what you will be doing is
picking up a bug and chucking it out again time after time after time
after time........

In this case, any old girder will do.

Others may disagree.

Anybody?

Wolfgang




Agree 100%. This isn't finesse casting. Unless you feel compelled to
spend alot of money, you don't really have to. I like my St. Croix Pro
8wt, at $100 with a lifetime warantee. I won't feel so bad if I crack it
with a size B split shot or 3.

Many are promoting 2 handed rods for Great Lakes Tribs, and I can
understand why, but I know nothing about those rods. Some dealers I've
spoken with like the new TFO models.

Scott

On Sun, 20 Mar 2005, Scott Seidman wrote:

Agree 100%. This isn't finesse casting. Unless you feel compelled to
spend alot of money, you don't really have to. I like my St. Croix Pro
8wt, at $100 with a lifetime warantee. I won't feel so bad if I crack it
with a size B split shot or 3.

I'll second that nomination. I've used the St. Croix Pro Graphite during
my time in Michigan and it certainly is a tough rod.

Mu

I had not even considered St. Croix, but can appreciate the workmanship
that must go into their blanks, as I've often drooled over their fine
spinning rods. I'll have to throw a few casts with the model you
mentioned...certainly no reason to spend more than is necessary, heck
maybe I'll be able to buy a 7 AND an 8 weight for less than what I'd
originally planned to spend on a single rod.