New rod for for a virgin

[Erik]

I want to start chasing steelies with a fly rod. From what people tell me I should try the chuck and duck thing. And from what the guys at the fly shop tell me I dont need a real fancy rod to chuck and duck. So any way I've been looking, and I kind of like this St Croix Imperial. I was thinking something in the lines of about a 7 or 8 wt. Any suggestions? I can only afford to spend about 250$ and I was hoping to get a new reel also. I suppose I could buy a rod now and pick up a reel down the road if I had to. What do you guys think?

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Phish

[WEEZER]

Erik, you probably won't be able to get both with $250 unless you low ball on e or the other. If all you are going to do is c and d then I suggest putting most of your money into the reel. The reel is the most important thing about steelhead fishing, you better make sure that it has a good drag and will hold enough line. When you get hooked on it(Which you WILL) you will want to get extra spools for a floating line and/or sink tip, so make sure you can get the spare spools.
as for rod weight I prefer the 8 however I on smaller rivers the 7 or even a 6 will work well for ya. For brands, Id say look into a Loomis gl3 or a Diamondback before you decide on the St. Croix.(I have many friends that had bad luck with the rod tips and some of the guides falling apart.) Just my 2 cents

[Erik]

Thanks for the wise words weeze. I've looked at the g-loomis GL3 and the GLX. I like the GLX but the price is pretty steep. The GL3 feels too fat to me. Reels are kinda blowing me away too. Cabelas has a GL3 combo for $349.00. But it doesn't give any info about the GL3 reel that it comes with. Just that its matched to the rod.
Do you ever do any shopping at Franks there in linwood? I'm thinking about stopping by there while I'm up that way this next week. The only thing is once I start asking a bunch of questions those guys seem like they have better things to do then answer my stupid questions. Are there any other places you would recamend up there?

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Phish

[WEEZER]

I bought my Sage at Frank's but hey I new exactly what I wanted out of a rod. The guys that arm the Fly Department aren't much help unless you get the Attention of the owner or he happens to be in the area. When I bought my Sage they didn't even talk to me untill I pulled out the Check book and pointed.(I'll never buy a good rod there or anything really big from the Fly Department again! I'm going to Schmidts or Baldwin Bait, Bachelders, or BBT.
Not that the Guys at Frank's don't know their sport but they just don't seem to want to help.

[WEEZER]

Erik, I forgot to mention Gander Mountain in Saginaw! They don't carry a ton of fly rods but they do carry Harris/SA reels and Diamondback, St. Croix, Redington and Loomis rods. They Just ordered me a spare spool for my Harris on very short notice! If any of those guys are reading, THANKS ALOT! IT'S HARD TO FIND GOOD HELP!!!!!

[Erik]

I'm getting ready to go to the fly fishing expo by swartz creek right now. If I remember gander mountin is very close by. Maybe I'll stop in and look around. If I buy somethin I'll be sure to tell them you deserve a commision!
Thanks!!!!!

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Phish

[classicrod]

Hey guys, I've had great service at Franks Fly Dept. I've never bought a rod from them (I fish mostly bamboo) but I buy most of my fly tying supplies from them and have for years. Ive always found Mark (the manager of the fly dept.)to be very helpful and willing to spend time with me and answer questions even if I'm not spending alot of money.
Next time you go to Franks talk to Mark and I'm sure you will find him very helpful and a good guy to do business with.