2 wt floting line for steelhead

[mcwillja]

I recently read a winter steelhead (fishing pressured fish) article where the author recommends a 2 or 3wt floating line on his reel for steelhead fishing. He was using a 7 wt. rod. Does anybody on here do this and can tell me the advantages for doing so. I actually use an 8 wt. line on my reel and after reading the article think it may be a bit heavy.

Thoughts?

 

[Fishidiot]

Not a steel guy here but I fish a good bit for pressured fish in clear water and have never heard of this. It might be possible to use a short section of 2WT at the end of a 7WT shooting head but constructing such a set-up sounds to me like a pain in the butt.

Why not just go with a longer leader?

 

[Lonewolve]

McWill,
When i first started fishing on the Salmon River i used a 5 weight double taper cut in half on a Gloomis GL4 9' 9wt 2 pc rod. I did the running line thing two years later then went an got a Wulff Triangle Taper. IMHO the Wulff Triangle Taper doesit all from single handed Speycasts to roll casts Mending is a breeze for swinging too.Handles splitshot ,And Salmon River Rigs also.

If you have a old line give it a try.

 

[ryguyfi]

Make sure you're deciphering between steelhead out west and great lakes steelhead. I haven't fished out west for steel, but maybe with some of the pressure they see out there they need some different tactics. If you're throwing a whole 2wt line on a 7 or 8wt rod then that won't make things easy. Out here in the great lakes you're not doing much casting and simply making a longer leader would probably fix some of the issues they might be talking about in the article. I wouldn't worry though, go lighter on the tippet and use a rod with a little be more action to help protect it and you'll be ok.

 

[afishinado]

I would guess the 2wt line is used to "chuck & duck" cast, which btw, is not allowed on the Salmon River in NY.

 

[mcwillja]

the article was for fishing on the salmon river, but it didn't mention anything about "chuck and duck" type fishing. Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

[Lonewolve]

McWill,
You could use that line and be fine.The flyfishing zones require that the line you use be tapered now. The rest of the river you can use a running line with no problem. If you want to become really good up there though IMHO use a regular flyline.You learn so much more about mending and line management.Also getting a good drift. This will definitely help you with your regular Trout and Smallmouth fishing.
IMHO a 2 weight might work. But IMHO you are spending some coin for a license, a place to stay,the Black River and a trip that if you get into fish will keep you day dreaming for years to come...possibly turn you into a Great Lakes Addict. Buy , beg or borrow a line that will allow you to highstick, mend, and swing. That way you can cover your bases without being limited.
As for the comment on Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes styles, Typically now a days most guys use Spey rods out west, they aren't fishing little creeks or bigger creeks for these ocean run fish {anadromous species} they are fishing big brawling rivers some with the only access is to hike in through the woods.Totally different than the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Salmonids are Lake Run {Pota anandromous}.
Aside from truly great large rivers like the Niagara , Gennesee also the Black Rivers.You will be fishing water not much larger than the Broadheads Creek in width and size to places as small as the Little Lehigh creek. Most guys now use switch rods that are from 10'6" to 12'6" in length. They are usually great for Steelhead and Lake Run Browns in line weights of 8 down to 6.

 

[mcwillja]

Thanks lonewolve,

I will probably just stick to my WF8 line. I live near syracuse NY so I'm not traveling far to fish the salmon river anyway.

 

[geebee]

why not just use a clear intermediate line like an airflo ?

 

[Chaz]

Much of the salmon river doesn't require anything but chuck and duck, so you really don't do much real casting and I don't think using a 2 wt line is a burden.
I also think guys use too heavy a rod to fish for steelies, I've always used an IMX 6 wt. During the winter we're using 6X tippet so you don't want the rod so heavy it's breaking off all the fish. It's different if you use a noddle rod though.

 

[mcwillja]

Chaz,

I thought I read you use 6X tippet for steelhead on the salmon river. Was that a typo?