I'm thinking about building a rod for Steelhead and/or salmon fishing. I'm thinking maybe a 7/8/9 weight rod. Does anyone have any ideas? (Todd Talsma)

The guys at Corbett Lake had good things to say about John Bokstrom's 9' 8 wt taper. These are experienced Steelheaders so there must be something to it. I'm in the process of finishing one for myself.

The taper has been posted before & is also included in Milward's book. Let me know if you need a copy. (Tom Bowden)

I have two that I like, Chris Obuchowski has distributed a taper for an 8' #8 that is similar to a light Para-17. It is a very light weight rod considering its ability to throw an eight weight line. It is rather light in the butt, I'm not sure how it would fight a large Steelhead or salmon, but Chris may use it for that. The fact the it balances somewhat toward the tip can be tiring, but then so can a heavy rod. The second that I like is a Dickerson 8015 Guide Special, a taper that I converted to quad. It is a real honey, but the #7 may not be as heavy as you want. No question that it has the strength in the butt to handle a large fish. (Bill Lamberson)

Look into the Gillum Light Salmon. 8' 6" 7/8/9 2 piece. (Mike Shay)

Harry Boyd had an 8' 8 wt at SRG last year that could cast a country mile. Might want to check that out. I seem to remember that it was hollow built but won't swear to it. (Gary Jones)

The rod Gary mentions is a hollow built version of the Dickerson 8015 Guide Special. Bill Lamberson mentions that he prefers a 7 weight line, but this one shines with a WF8F Orvis Wonderline. Be happy to send it up and let you try it out to see if you like it.

My casting is improving. Tonight our local FFF Club meeting had some casting competitions. I managed to throw an entire line with the rod mentioned above. (Harry Boyd)

Dickerson 9' Light Salmon. I'm starting one now, and will let you know if it's all I want. It'd still look like Bret with a Driggs in your mitts, though! (Brian Creek)

I have a 9', Gillum Light Salmon that is listed as a 7 wt but throws a 5, 6, or 7 equally well. I'll post the #'s if anyone wants them (Dennis Higham)

If that is the rod that Dennis had at SRG a couple of years ago I can tell you it will be a great rod for salmon and Steelhead as long as they aren't 60#+ fish. I cast the original and I was so impressed I got the #s from him and it is one of the next rods I am building. (Bret Reiter)

Try a Garrison 221. I had one at Grayrock you could have tried but it never left the truck. It works well with an 8 weight line but I fish it with a 9 weight SA Steelhead taper line. (Jerry Drake)

I also made that rod in 3 piece and I like it as did many others who have cast it at both Grayrock and SRG. (Bret Reiter)

The Gillum 8'6" from Howells book is great. (Tim Stoltz)

Check out the Wolverine Creek taper. It's in a Power Fibers back issue. It's the one I made up hollow built. Nice casting rod, and according to Maulucci, it fights fishies just fine. (Mark Wendt)

The Garrison 221 Salmon Rod is one of my favorites. 8' 9" and will throw heavy stuff and a mile of line. In any of these sizes it would be advantageous to hollow build they can get very heavy. I have caught bass up to 7 lbs and catfish up to 8. It is a Garrison and cast like one. (David Ray)

9016, no doubt. (Dewey Hildebrand)

I'm going to second the 8015. I had one at Grayrock a few years back if you cast it there. Some people call this a 6 wt rod, but they're nutty. With an eight wt it will cast as far as you can. I built mine to 16 on both sides of the ferrule, but it actually steps 16 to 15. It's a fine rod. (Mark Petrie)

I travel to Canada once a year and fish mostly for Musky. I am mainly throwing streamers in the 6” range and every now and then throw some large poppers for some top water action. Is there a taper in the 7 or 8 weight range that might be suitable for this? Fishing would be done from a boat, light wind, and I would like it to be 3 piece if all possible since we normally portage to smaller lakes to find eager Musky willing to demolish a fly. Also, I may try it as a hollow build for the first time so that is also an option if you know of a good taper for that as well. (Greg Reeves)

A number of years ago, I made a Dickerson 8015 for a friend. It casts a seven weight with authority and can handle bigger bugs if you need it to. Here's the taper I used. I didn't build it hollow, and it IS a two piece, but I still like the taper and I've had nothing but compliments from my friend. (Dennis Haftel)