steelhead rod too short?

me again needing input.  i have an 8.5 med.-lt. fish eagle steelhead rod.  not sure why i bought it 10 years ago but i never used it.  it this rod too short for drifting spawn or a float and jig?  it weighs a lot less than my 11.5 kunnan noodle rod.  sometime as the season progresses, i will purchase a 10.5 noodle rod, but in the meantime, this rod feels real good.  just worried about the length for bait.

   I've taken a 4-1/2' rod up on those there cricks & had a blast. Depends on what you like I guess.
 
   Crappy

You can land steelies on pretty much any rod if you have a good reel with a good drag, quality line, room to play the fish and patience.  One thing to consider when fishing for steelies with short ultralight rods is that you may have to play the fish quite a bit longer than you would if you had a longer rod.  Also, the longer rods will usually protect your leader better and allow you to keep more pressure on the fish.  I have landed steelies on a wide variety of rods over the years, but have found I like a 9' light weight spinning rod.  You don't have to spend a ton of money to buy a reasonable rod.  Most of the local tackle shops sell them and usually have good deals.
 
Have fun with whatever you use.

That's plenty long enough.   If I was going to do allot of steelhead fishing I'd get a longer rod, but that's just the type of fishing I like to do, the longer rod is more versatile in different situations.  8' 6" is fine for most situations.   

You'll want to match the line weight to the rod though.  I'm not familiar with the rod you have, but I have a feeling it may be a faster action steelhead rod made for line in the 8 to 12lb test range. Which is fine, with the quality leader material made now there usually isn't any need to go lighter than 8lb test.  Anyway, my point is, if it's a stiffer action rod it may not protect lighter line like 6 or 4lb test that many guys like to use.

the rod is a quality rod built by cabelas in the usa until the turn of the century (man, that sounds old).  it is rated for 6-10 pound test.  it is either a med-light or a softer medium which will allow me to use the lightest line possible and a loose drag.  although not the ideal rod to drift bait, i will allow me to cast small spinners in the early season.  inds, you make me laugh, but your words are good.......we do need a caddy (golf bag?) to carry different rods.  prior to us moving, i gave away some more tackle.  upon finishing our move, i counted my rods.  i still have 28 combos, not including ice fishing gear.  guess i need 3 of everything.  this is my only remaining vice in life.....well, maybe turkey hunting too.....well, i have never trapped, so i am going to try to trap mink this year before i get much older.  life is good.

Noodles it so much more fun.  I buy the cheap  stuff 30 dollars last a good while and the fight is great.  I used to use a short rod but once i used the noodle im hooked..

Let me change the direction here a minute.  How will a 6wt. 8'6" moderate action fly rod do for me this fall. Is that long and strong enough for steelhead duty?  I spend 75% of my time on Walnut so I don't think length is really the issue for drifting. Any thoughts from the experts?

Thanks Inds. 
That looks like just enough of an opening to justify buying another fly rod.

Sounds good.  I'll start looking.  Any other thoughts would be great.
 
 

walnutter 1
      Pay close attention to what Bughawk tells you.  He is like the chief Jedi of gear.  I'm even afraid to touch some of his rods and reels.  But, the man can outfish me three to one on a bad day.  My attitude is: if it's cheap, I'll buy two, break one and then I'll know the capabilities of the gear.

Yep, bamboo.  Landed three steelies.  The third one was too much and crushed the mid-section.  Kinda ruined the day, but what the heck.  How many people do you know who have fished for steelies with an antique bamboo rod, let alone land three?  It was fun while it lasted.  I did get the rod repaired, but was told not to use it for steelies anymore....
 
As for being the gear jedi... that is not really all that true.  I have a few rods and reels.  There are others out there that have way more equipment than I have, and way better as well.
 
One approach for the wife is to speak her language.  How many pairs of shoes or dresses, or handbags does she have?  OF Course this may not work out well if you are not careful, but it may help her better understand the need for a new gun or rod. 
 
There is another approach.  A buddy of mine got "clipped" if you know what I mean a couple of years ago.  On the way home from the hospital, his wife was feeling sorry for him, so she let him stop off at the Dicks Sporting Store.  He was in too much pain and shock his wife actually encouraged him to go, he fumbled and ended up with only a new pair of hunting boots.  Later he reflected on the event and was sure he could have gotten a new shotgun out of the deal.... This only works once, but if you have a plan in place, you might make out big time....
 
Good luck...

I know a guy who got it done 3 times and 2 more kids later.  How's that.  But anyway, I cut my teeth last year with a noodle rod so my story will be that I need the fly rod so my 13 year old can start going with me with and use the noodle.  I hope it works.  Can't deny the kid, right?
 

Well, there is always the "it is good for the economy" excuse.  If people did not buy all the new guns, rods, reels, bows, etc... there would be a serious depression.  So if we want to be good Americans, we need to support the economy and that means buying more guns, rods, reels, bows, etc....
 
As for noodle rods, you can pick one up for about $30 to $50 at most of the local tackle shops.  I have a 9' Cortland rod I bought several years ago at Poor Richards that works fine for steelies and I don't recall it costing all that much. 
 

I have two 9' spinning rods I use for steelies.  The Cortland is a CTR 1000 - Lure weight 1/16 to 1/4 oz, line weight 2-10 lb.  I have had the rod for about 4 or 5 years and it has performed well.  It is not a high end rod, but it will get the job done.  The other rod is a Fenwick HMXS  90L-28.  It is bit lighter weight - lure weight 1/16 to 3/8 oz and line weight 2 to 8 lb.  It has a lot more cork above the reel seat and I have used it with both a spinning reel and centerpin reel.  I actually bought it for the centerpin where I would be fishing the smaller water.  I really like this rod, especially paired with my Okuma Stratus reel.  I may fish it this year with a Shimano Stradic.