To me the rod is more of a 6wt. Imo, it is a faster glass rod, maybe medium fast with a 6wt. It's the perfect bass rod. I bought the first 8 1/2ft 5/6wt Mark made, maybe I talked him into doing it. Unfortunately, I sold mine [2pc] but have always thought of getting another in a 3 pc version. It's a very good rod!

I have the 4 piece version of this rod. It's probably the rod I use more than any other. I usually fish it with a TT5 but a 6 WF works well too. I classify it as a true medium action glass rod, faster than McFarland not as quick as a Scott or Quiet Loop. Definitely not slow with lots of backbone. A great all around rod.

Hi Jay,
I would consider my Steffen 8'6" 5/6 a medium action glass rod. It has real nice backbone, but also really flexes well especially in the upper 1/2 to 2/3 of the rod under load and with a fish on. It will toss some line, but also has a lot of finesse as well.

I've only fished mine a few times so far, and have used a WF6 full sinking line (both type III and type II), and also a DT6 floating line. The flies I've used have been small, though (10 - 14). I think it fishes a 6wt just fine, but would also handle a 5wt real well.

I used to fish the Spokane River in Washington a lot years ago at night with a sink tip line on graphite rods (medium to moderate fast action) for big trout, using big wooley buggers and sculpin imitations in sizes 2 and 4. The flies were usually weighted and very full and bushy. After fishing these for several years on a 7wt rod and line I decided to scale down and use a 6wt setup for a season. I have to say that the 7wt handled the big flies and big water much much better than the 6wt. With that in mind, considering the fishing you plan to do, I would have to recommend a 7wt setup. The Steffen 5/6 is a great rod, but you might want to consider a McFarland 7wt in something around 8'3". That would be a better rod for heavy #4 streamers I would think. I love my Steffen 5/6 and it is one of my favorite rods for sure, but I'm not sure that it would be my all around choice for flies larger than #6, especially heavy streamers.

I guess that didn't clear things up at all, now did it?

Tom

I also have a 8.5' 5/6 Steffen 3 pc. and agree that it is a med. action and best as a 6 weight. I love it - you would have no problems with streamers and poppers. Sure a Fenwick is a great rod, but I would strongly recommend the Steffen. There are thousands of Fenwicks out there and you should be able to pick one up quickly for years to come - but the Steffen? I would strike while you can. Cheers, Alec

Steffen 8.5' 5/6 wt.

Flytackle ... I still like that Steffen build of yours so much. That mylar really sets it off. Now you've got me thinking what a great blank that would be for trips out West on big water.