Favorite Steelhead rod

[Gunnar]

With the weather and the fishing being less than hot right now:eek: I'm finding myself thinking about my favorite steelhead fly rod and trying to compare it with some others. There are certainly a lot of great sticks out there from different manufacturers, but each of us has there own favorite for various reasons. So I was wondering what everyone else uses as there "go to " steelhead stick. Not really duty rods (salmon and steel), just mainly steel. For me, I absolutely love my Sage 10ft 7wt XP. It performs flawlessly each time I go out, except of course when operator error occurs;) It has plenty of strength, sensitivity, and tippet protection to do the job very well. Plus it doesn't hurt that my sweetie gave it to me for our anniversary!
So what's your favorite steelhead rod?

[Silver Flicker]

Sage XPs are nice and you can find them at good close out pricing right now. My XP is a bit light for steelies; its a 10-5-4pc. Its been incredible for trout and bass. Sorry about that side bar, my go to rod for steelies (hot fish/higher water) is my Scott S3 9-6-8-4pc. You gotta love Scott rods!!! Its perfect length perfect action perfect finish perfect results

I think Michigan overall is more of a Sage state it seems everyone fishes Sage. But I like Scott rods myself much better. Dont get me wrong I do own my share of Sage rods too, but the Scott details like the dots to line up sections faster and service:eek: is tough to beat if there is a problem.

[Gunnar]

I'm right there with you on the Scott S3. I couldn't decide on the S3 or XP when my better half asked what I would rather have (so she decided for me:D ). They are extremely sweet, and the fit n finish is rockin!!

[Steeldrifter]

Being a custom rod builder I of course build my own. So my two favorite steelhead only sticks I have are a 9'6" CTS Affinity Plus 8wt for the heavy rivers, and a 9' 7wt FLO with removable fighting butt for the smaller rivers like the PM. I made both to fit my exact tatse look/feel wise, and they cast better than any big name rod I have ever owned yet cost me less than half what the big names cost to build:cool: Gotta love that.


Steve

[ReidFamilyFive]

Sage RPL+ 9.6' 7 Weight. Have fished almost every production rod out there and in my opinion, they don't get any better than this. I know a lot of people who say they wish they had never let theirs go. Just my two cents. Dave

[flyrod4steelhead]

I like my Scott SAS 9' 7wt. Works great on just about every river that I fish. Love it for steelhead, my one and only "true" steelhead rod. It only comes out when targeting steelhead.

[julius]

i prefer a green stick about 8 feet long, i just tie on some yarn or somethin on and getta fishin. :rolleyes:

[TheSteelheadBum]

Gonna have to give all my props to Scott on this one. I would like to know where you get the feeling this is a Sage state Silver Flicker? Besides the people who have something to gain by using there products I hardly ever see anyone on the water with a Sage stick. On the other hand I see a ton of Scott's, St. Croix's, and Temple Fork rods. I don't pay that much attention though so I very well could be completely wrong.

Single Hand: Scott A2 1007/4

Two Hander: Scott LS2 1408/4

[Gunnar]

Gonna have to give all my props to Scott on this one. I would like to know where you get the feeling this is a Sage state Silver Flicker? Besides the people who have something to gain by using there products I hardly ever see anyone on the water with a Sage stick. On the other hand I see a ton of Scott's, St. Croix's, and Temple Fork rods. I don't pay that much attention though so I very well could be completely wrong.

Single Hand: Scott A2 1007/4

Two Hander: Scott LS2 1408/4

Hey Steelheadbum,
I thought I saw a previous post of yours where you referred to your 11' 7wt Winston BIIX. If so, I'm curious why you prefer the Scott A2 over the Winston? I'm thinking of picking one of those up in the near future.

[TheSteelheadBum]

The Winston 11-7 was ok but I prefer the Scott. The handle on that 11-7 makes for single hand casting to feel uncomfortable along with the extra length. I just did not like the action of the rod either. Since the only thing I do with my single hand Steelhead rods is Indicator fish I like a moderate fast action rod to keep my loops a little more open and because I am only using it on smaller rivers about the size of the PM the moderate fast action of the Scott allows for easier loading without having to over line the rod. The Winston would be an ok rod for small river swinging except Scott's Concept series two hand assist rod suits me more. It mainly comes down to personal preference. I liked the Winston more than the XP the more I fished the XP I had, but the A2's action just fits my style better is the best explanation I can give. I also like the A2 for it's ability to single hand spey cast very well. A lot of people are crazy about that 11-7 so give it a test cast you may love it. Also one thing I never did with that 11-7 was try a few different lines. The only two I used was the Rio Nymph and the Rio Steelhead/Salmon taper. Maybe it would of fit me more with different lines. All in all I just prefer moderate to moderate fast action rods unless I am trying to rip off a 90' cast into 20 mph winds like you may have to do fishing saltwater then I would prefer a fast action.

[alexsalmon]

PM Steeldrifter, he makes amazing custom fly and spinning rods.

He made me a spinning rod for a great price, as far as I am concerned I wont go back to a mass produced rod. I highly recommend giving a custom a try, you will never be the same!!!

[TheSteelheadBum]

Gonna have to give all my props to Scott on this one. I would like to know where you get the feeling this is a Sage state Silver Flicker? Besides the people who have something to gain by using there products I hardly ever see anyone on the water with a Sage stick. On the other hand I see a ton of Scott's, St. Croix's, and Temple Fork rods. I don't pay that much attention though so I very well could be completely wrong.

Single Hand: Scott A2 1007/4

Two Hander: Scott LS2 1408/4

Thought I would bring this thread back to life as since I posted this my opinion has changed dramatically with the addition of some new rods to my stash. I would have to say without a doubt the sweetest steelhead stick I have ever used is the Sage Z-Axis 11' 7 weight. I lined it with a S.A. Steelhead Taper 8 weight line. Definitely my new favorite indicator rod. Now just have to land a fish on it and it will be officially broken in:D ...

[scotty1834]

I second Alex. Drifter made me a 9' 7wt CTS and it is amazing. So affordable too. It felt good to not spend a fortune and get a great stick too.

Keeps the wife in a good mood.

I will have to add St.croix avids are really nice rods fro the money.

[Gunnar]

Hey Bum,
Do you have a mini rear grip on that 11-7 ZA.
I haven't seen the 11-7, but I'm assuming it has the same grips as the 11-8, which I really like, but can't justify spending that kind of dough on a production rod or even the blank for that matter.
It is a very sweet stick though!

I now have my eye on a Beulah 10' 6" 8/9 to build as a "all purpose" Salmon & Steel switch rod.:cool:
After I've built it, and given it a thorough test drive, I'll post a report on it

[TheSteelheadBum]

Hey Bum,
Do you have a mini rear grip on that 11-7 ZA.
I haven't seen the 11-7, but I'm assuming it has the same grips as the 11-8, which I really like, but can't justify spending that kind of dough on a production rod or even the blank for that matter.
It is a very sweet stick though!

I now have my eye on a Beulah 10' 6" 8/9 to build as a "all purpose" Salmon & Steel switch rod.:cool:
After I've built it, and given it a thorough test drive, I'll post a report on it

That particular CTS "Beulah" blank is pretty sweet. Designed by Mr. Meiser himself so you can imagine. Yeah my 11' 7 weight has the same grip as the 8 weight. The Sage was expensive and I didn't even pay retail, but as long as no tree's fall on me:D . It will be well worth it... I bought a Galvan Torque size 8 for it and it compliments it perfectly. Shoot me a PM as we will have to do some fishing this summer.

[Gunnar]

Shoot me a PM as we will have to do some fishing this summer.
Definetly!

Hey, did you see Jeff's mug on the Hyde "pic of the week?"

I helped him bust his cherry on the Mo that day. It was a great day, and a great catch on his Sage ZA spey

[TheSteelheadBum]

Definetly!

Hey, did you see Jeff's mug on the Hyde "pic of the week?"

I helped him bust his cherry on the Mo that day. It was a great day, and a great catch on his Sage ZA spey

No I didn't, is it still up? I heard all about that fish though. I was BS'ing with Jeff today as a matter of fact. Probably going to do some fishing tomorrow evening with him, but I went and checked that river tonight. Can you say low and clear! I seen no signs of fish, but I am sure there is a few in there. Shoot me a PM if you can meet us. Probably start around 5:30...

[Dooger]

Zebco Rhino 33 on a 5'6" trigger casting rod. Brought in two fish last year!