my fly equipment

hey everyone. last fall i got my first fly rod for steelhead and didnt really use it much. i didnt know what i was doing and didnt have much time to practice. i was wondering if my fly rod is considered a noodle rod (which i dont want). it is a pinnacle vertex LM7. it is 8' long. line is 4-8 lbs. wt is 1/16-3/8. my main concern is if the rod im using is a good rod to start out with and if this rod may stress fish more than others. im a huge fan of catch and release and i would love to have a fly rod that does the least amount of damage. also what type of fly line and tippet would be a good start. the fly line i have on is old and i have no idea what type it is. i also lost my spool of tippet from last year.

mattsha:  I think your best bet is once the fish start to run try and set up a fishing trip with someone from this site.  You can probably learn more from a trip than you can from 100 questions on this site.

I use either a noodle rod/spinning reel, fly outfit or a centerpin rig depending on where I'm fishing and water conditions.  Loomis is dead on with his flyrod recomendation.  I use a weight forward fly line but imagine any kind would work on the erie tribs.  My leader butt has been on for at least 5 years.  It's only about 4 foot long and ends with a micro swivel.  To that a tie on fluro leader in different weights depending on water clarity.

From your rod description I think it's a spinning rod not a fly rod unless it was a custom built fly rod on a noodle rod blank.

One cost cutting measure I have found for using Floro tippet or leaders.
Tapered leaders are not a must on the tribs, it's mostly roll casting and ussually have no problems turning over the fly.

I have been buying the 250 yd spools of 100% floro line for spinning reels.
They run from $12-$20 a spool. That's alot of 10' leaders for the money.
Pull of about 10' or whatever length of leader you want, tie a perfection loop and attach it to your flyline.

I have spools of 4-6-8lb, depending on water conditions.