What size line for steelhead

[geta4x4]

I would like to know what size fly line I should use to fish for steelhead in the chagrin river? I am inexperienced (1st yr. for fly fishing) and have only fished for tout at the clear fork of mohican river so far.

[OHBOW76]

I am not a steelhead fisherman but have fly fished since I was 12 yrs old. I would say a #7 wt on the light side and probably an #8, or#9 wt standard but I could be wrong.

[Lance]

Welcome to the site! :)

7 or 8wt are ideal for Ohio steel, all my steel rigs are 8 wt. 9 is a little too heavy for what we have here. If your looking to get line depending on what your looking to spend I'd go with a simple floating 8 weight forward line. If your going to look at a premium line you may want to consider the Scientific anglers Nymph taper line. It's a little heavier at the front end for rolling over heavier flies. A little pricey at the $56 mark but I've used it once and I'm going to be picking that up next time I re-line.

You'll find a number of people that say all you need is a 6wt for erie fish but you really have to baby the bigger ones then and wear them down alot to land them.

[geta4x4]

I was given a fly kit for a birthday gift it is a 5/6 fly rod I have a floating wf6 line on it will this work with a size 7x or 8x leader? So far I've only used 6x leader and it seamed to work ok but I have little experience to know how large of a leader I can use with this rod? Thanks for all your help.

[Lance]

No reason you can't fish steel with that setup. As far as leader though you'll need to toughen it up a bit. 90% of the time 4-5x will be more than adequate. The only time you may ever need 6x for steel his in the lowest most clear conditions. I work up by the Chagrin and most of my fishing comes after work. If your interested in meeting up afternoon let me know and I'll show you around!

[jdchaff]

i have a 9 ft 8 wt that i use for steelhead, but i m going to get a 10ft 7wt soon. longer rod will make nymphing easier. i fish the vermilion alot, and i have not landed any steelhead probably over 6lbs guessing. i use 3x leaders but ill try going down to 4x or 5x

[geta4x4]

Thanks for all the help. I am anticipating going steehead fishing soon. I Went to the clear fork this weekend for the trout but the water was too high for me to fish.

[jdchaff]

try this for the clear fork. I dont go there til the graph is around 1.60, then it is clear enough to fish easily.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/oh/nwis/uv?03133500