He said a 9ft 8 wt would be a better choice if I intended to use it for steelhead primarily and saltwater secondarily. So I put the question of choice to you all - if you had to pick one, which would it be?
Jake;
I have (okay, my son got the better rod but I use it) a stiff Loomis which does fine and a Signature (my son's, sob). Both are 9' 8 wts and they have held up well and caught a lot of fish up to 15lbs. My buddy has the same size Winston and the split shot (#6 micro) hit the tip and broke it. I agree with the advice you got but I'd add that you might consider a rod with slow to medium action and not too expensive. I'd rather have a longer rod for salt with a faster tip. Just my 2 cents.
Murf
