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TIER

Who here recommends Steeldrifter's rods

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I have heard very good things about him. I am trying to say up enough money to buy one of his rods.I'll either buy a 2 wt for trout or an 8 wt for salmon.

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With three of his builds, I STRONGLY recommend him. Take a look through this forum, and you'll see the quality of his work.

 

Custom grips, custom colors, choice of guide types, etc.

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Oh, if you're saving up to buy a high end rod, remember that Steve builds his (nicer rods) for a noticeably lower price.

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8wt isn't just for salmon, it is for bigger flies, all I used the first many years for trout and bass were 8&9wts; I still use 8 wt as much as any other for trout, although the 7wt is used just about as much. After all these years of fly rod fishing I still am not a good enough caster to use a 3wt or 4wt comfortably. To me either would end up as a wall hanger or with a spinning reel on it.

 

I can't recommend Steve's rods from experience, because I've never fished one, but I can say that I would not hesitate to buy one if I was in the market. I can see his pictures and have read enough feedback from others to know that.

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Tell Steve what you want in terms of blank action and custom components and how you intend to use it; look at his myriad finished rods on his site; make your informed choice; and stand back for a helluva deal.

 

Rocco

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I do not own any of Steve's rods, but I do know that there are plenty here who do use his rods. Any custom builder who does the volume of work he does, can only be successful if they use good blanks, and components, do quality work, and create happy customers. I have never seen a bad review.

 

One thing I would do is recommend that you do NOT buy a 2 weight for trout. I am not a fan light rods. To me you don't have the control to bring any but the smallest fish to had quickly and release them in good shape. Others might disagree, but that is my position. The lightest rods I have are 4 weights (3 weights actually,) that behave like 4 weights. I don't want or need anything lighter.

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Agreed. A 2 wt is a niche rod that is next to pointless. If I didn't have two nickels to rub together I would not save for a 2 wt. If I did have two nickels to rub together I still would not even consider blowing it on a 2 wt. My lightest is a 3 wt and it's nothing but a wall hanger since it's rarely used. I wouldn't buy a 3 wt either but this one was given to me by someone who bought it and never used it. I prefer my 4, 5, and 6, for the handful of trout trips I take.

 

This is just my opinion based on my style of fishing.

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Bought a 5 wt glass rod from Steve a while back. It has spent hundreds of hours on the water, used it yesterday to catch a bunch of tilapia. I have othing but good things to say about the rod and more importantly the service that he provides. He is an honorable man, he did everything exactly as and when he said he would. How he offers rods at the prices he does is beyond me, I can barely buy components for what he charges for an expertly built rod.

 

Swamp

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It's not just the rods it's the guy himself that you deal with in the process and after. He's a top notch man, honest and fair and caring.

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Can I personally recommend them? Not yet.

 

But I will soon. :-)

 

I have two rods somewhere in the pipeline, being built right now.

 

So that should tell you about the confidence that I have in Steeldrifter and his rods.

 

As others have said, he builds a heckuva nice rod for prices that are hard to believe.

 

And I would second the sentiments about the choices that you are considering. A 2 weight is getting pretty far over into the specialized zone. If you are looking at trout, it's hard to beat the good old, do everything, 5 weight. If you want to favor the lighter side, if you've got smaller fish, maybe step down to a 4 weight, but no further. If this is your first custom rod, hedge your bets and get a very usable rod. Save the specialty stuff for later.

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Appreciate the kind words guys thanks. TIER I would have to agree with the above guys about a 2wt. A 2wt does have its place in some situations, but it's more of a specialty rod that guys will use for certain hatches such as tricos on certain small streams. It's not really an everyday type trout rod for most guys. You would get far more use out of a trout rod in the 5wt or above range than 2wt range, especially up there in Alaska.

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