I've been fly fishing for about 8 years now. Last year I went to the contributaries of Lake Erie, steelhead and salmon fishing. I used a spinning outfit but fished with flies. I have a 4wt St. Croix pro graphit for fishing around my home. Was wondering what length and weight I would need to go with to go after the steelhead and not be to overboard to go after small mouth and trout about 20 inches.
I think your steelies don't run too large, with 4 to 5 lb. fish average. (At least, that's my experience with steelies from Lake Erie.) I use a couple of rods, a 6-wt. and a 7-wt., and both rods work well. A good 6-wt. with backbone may be of advantage, because besides handling the steelhead chores and bass fishing, you can use it for smaller stream trout without it being "overkill".
The 7-wt. would also be a good choice, however. It really depends on how much of each type of fishing you do.
As Dana suggested, the 7 weight will probably serve you well. The 7 is a good all around rod. The most popular length is 9 ft, although I prefer the 9'6" or 10 footers.
I do suggest that you go to your local fly shops and test cast several.. Find the one YOU like best. The rod I like may not be the rod that suits you. IE I prefer the fast action rods, you may hate them.
Fisrt decide the price range you are going to look at. Then try the rods in that price range.
You can't go wrong with either rod you mentioned. I prefer the 6 wt over anything else. I run a long rod(11'3") for my steelhead fishing on erie tribs. I think you'll be fine with either though. Good luck and have fun
Jeff
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