Cheap yet reliable Steelhead outfit

[trowpa]

I'm going to try Steelheading for the first time this fall. I'm looking for a cheap yet reliable combo. I'm willing to build, buy used, or new - whichever turns out to be the best deal.

Any recommendations on a direction to go? How cheap can I go and not regret it after losing a fish due to a POS reel with a POS drag or having it fall apart, etc?

I'm thinking a 9 or 10 ft 7wt?

 

[jayL]

I know we talked about this, but it was like 6am.

Where were you planning on using it? I feel that the salmon river requires a rod weight higher than a place like erie. Bigger fish, bigger water.

The reel is key. The rod, not so much. I know you're not wild about the idea of the salmon run, but you might consider something like a 10 ft 8wt to cover both bases, should you decide to give it a shot.

I recommend going cheap (even very cheap) on the rod. I spent under $100 on it. The reel should be quality.

 

[trowpa]

JayL - lol - yeah I vaguely remember a 6am conversation on that.

Definitely I want a quality 7/8 reel with a solid drag.
The rod - i'll go cheap.

I am open to going anywhere once (NY or Erie) but doubtful I'll do salmon as I hate crowds..and salmon is worse than steelhead from what i hear.

I also thought a 7wt would be useful "back home" as a bass and pickerel rod. Long term plan being accumulate a 7 wt and later a 9wt which would become my saltwater(and could be salmon) rod.

 

[ryguyfi]

Here's your rod... look no further.


http://www.albrightflyfish.com/closeouts/gp-fly-rods/gp-96782.html

 

[jayL]

I would not recommend the albright, simply because you're going to break it eventually. I'd go with a cheap st croix or orvis, since the warranties are money.

 

[ryguyfi]

If you know you're going to continue to fish for steelhead then it may not be the right rod, but for a straight up beginner it could be right. For $45 you can't really go wrong. You could buy 3 of them for the price of those other rods.
For Erie steelhead, you should not break that rod on a fish. Now closing it in a car door, clearing ice off it, or any of the other stupid reasons for breaking a rod are always possible.


Plus when you claim on a warranty, you have to pay shipping or a small fee to get it fixed. My TFO was $25. But as I have mentioned several times, I'm about as cheap as they come.

 

[jayL]

I am just traumatized.

 

[FarmerDave]

You can get by with a fairly cheap reel for a little while. At least until you figure out if you want to get heavier into it. The reel in the picture is an old antique Shakespeare automatic. no room for backing on that thing either, at least not with the modern line.

What can I say, it matched and balanced that broom stick pretty well.

The rod in that picture I believe was a Shalespeare Spring Brook Bass Weight, which tossed a 8 weight bass taper pretty well.

 

[jdaddy]

Seems Allen reel would fit the bill.

 

[jayL]

A friend of mine is going to test an allen alpha on salmon. I'll report back.

If it works for that, it'll work anywhere.

 

[Acristickid]

Poor Richards in Erie had combo outfits for less than $100- last time I was there last winter. Probably dont want to wait to get one there- I would understand. Just thought I would throw it out there- since if you did break it- you might be able to deal with them quickly- just a thought.

Now for something completely different:

I got a Orvis Power Matrix 9ft 8wt along with an Orivs Large Arbor V reel. (I know it is out of the cheap range) I would call it a middle of the road setup. But it has turned out to be a versitile rig-I can use it for steel, salmon and saltwater. So you might get some mileage out of your rod.

One of things it has is dots where the sections come together- makes it easy to eye them up. I dont like that it doesnt have a hookholder. Just things to me.

Also- through not fault of Orvis I f'ed up my cork and had some what I would call honest use on the rod (others call them scratches) and I sent it back to Orvis to look at the cork and they sent my a brand new rod since. $25 shweet!

If I had to pick one rod and it was just for steel I would get a 10ft 7wt.

Good luck.

 

[gfen]

Flyshopcloseouts.com had TFO Teeny rods with a TFO mk2 reel for $200.

I don't remember which models they had besides the 9' 8wt, but I can vouch that they're great rods.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

Although Gander Mtn. has a pretty limited selection of fly gear I picked up a 9' 7 weight 4 peice Guide Series fly rod for 42 bucks on close out the other year.

I paired it up with an Okuma Integrity reel with a decent drag on it and it casts pretty well, and looks good. However I haven't caught anything really large with it yet.

Cabela's had some rods on close out, or If you really want a cheap setup I think Wally - Mart has an 8 weight cheapy bass rod made by Scientific Anglers ( I think ).

 

[wsender]

How about $114.99 for Rod, Reel, Backing, FWF Line, and Rod Bag?

I have this same setup in a 6wt and it's my main trout rod. I just bought the outfit this Spring and have landed hundreds of fish on it. The rod isn't the best, but it's a solid 7.5 or 8 out of 10. If you like the rod do what I did, get a new reel and line after awhile. If you don't like it, sell it. You could easily sell the whole package for 60 bucks and not be out of a ton of money.

White River Fly Shop Hobbs Creek Fly Outfits

They have 8wt 9ft in both 2 and 4 pieces.

Now you could do what I'm going to do. I know I'm going to love Salmon already so I'm just gonna buy a TFO Axiom Series 8wt 9ft!

 

[troutslammer]

scientific angler is a good choice for cheaper rod , keep in mind the more expensive high end rods use a higher graphite count which gets brittle in cold weather so a cheaper rod might hold up ok for ya

 

[jayL]

I would think that outside air temps won't get cold enough to make a rod brittle. If it's cold enough to do that, you've got bigger problems... like the fact that you're going to die.

Am I off base? The same materials are often used in aerospace and other intense conditions.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

trowpa wrote:
I'm going to try Steelheading for the first time this fall. I'm looking for a cheap yet reliable combo. I'm willing to build, buy used, or new - whichever turns out to be the best deal.

You're not gonna beat the deal I told you about. Period. There is no way you'll find a combo that includes rod, reel, line, backing, leader, and rod case - plus a lifetime warranty - for even close to that price. It's more than capable of handling any steelhead you'll run into.

You're more than welcome to try my combo out to see if you like it (and no, mine is NOT for sale), but time is fleeting...... ;-)

 

[SBecker]

How much Ed?

 

[Heritage-Angler]

LRSABecker wrote:
How much Ed?

I can be bribed.......with pie. :lol:

 

[boychick]

My first fly rod was a hobbs creek combo from bass pro. I had the 9' 8wt. I used it mainly for steelhead in Ohio and bass too. It was a great combo for the money. I would still use it if I hadn't slipped on the ice last winter and slammed the tip into the ground. When I got back to my feet and started fishing again, I thought my leader was tangled up on a twig until I realized it was the top 3" of my rod I bought another rod and still use the same reel. It has taken a nice beating too. It's a great entry level steelhead rod.