beginner at fly fishing

Hi I live in butler but plan on going to college in erie next year and I would like to get into fly fishing for steelhead.  I've been fishing for steelhead several times but never with a fly rod.  I recently purchased a Redington Red.Fly2 fly outfit  9' 6wt rod.  I was wondering what brand and size tippet would be best for steelhead and what flies you guys would recommend.  

Hey knochout, Im from meridian near the butler highschool, ive only been fly fishing for a couple years but Id be more than  happy to show you what i know

thanks Esox_Hunter for the advice.  It is greatly appreciated.
Okuma Slv Fan I actually for to knoch high school.  I wouldn't mind hooking up with you and hitting up some the local streams like buffalo and thorn this trout season.  I have relatives in erie and fish mostly lower elk when I go up.  do you think 6wt line is too heavy for the smaller trout around here?

knoch get yourself a spool gamma edge 6pound and take off about 8-9 feet tye direct to flyline with a surgeons knot this line is .010 dia this is what some of the better steel headers i know use the line isn't cheap like 20 bucks for a spool but it will last you a whole season. no tippet needed

no problem knoch check out this site www.flyanglersonline.com

Good choice for your outfit. I use almost 100 percent of the tiime Maxima
ultragreen 6 lb. tippet. I use a 9 ft. tapered leader, when the tippet gets used up I tie in 3 or 4 ft. section of this with surgeon's knot. I've tried
quite a few tippets, and like this best for abrasion resistance, cold weather fishing, and shock absorption.
 
I'd also suggest getting a copy of Nagy's Steelhead Guide. You can probably find a used one on Ebay or Amazon.

knoch go to walmart they sell a loop that looks like a chinese finger toy you know the things when
you put your index fingers in each end and tried to pull out it tightened. I think there is like three to a pac
it has instructions for attaching i have yet to have a steelie pull that free.

Hi Knochout57.  You can buy a spool of 2lb or 4lb test mono or flourocarbon for much less than you can buy spools of tippet.  I use that for tippet material.  You don't have to be too concerned with the proper taper when you're drifting glo-bugs and nymphs for steelhead.  If I were you, I'd use a nail knot to tie a piece of heavy mono (maybe 4") to the end of the fly line.  Make a loop in the heavy mono.  Make a loop in the butt section of your leader.  Connect the loop in your leader to the loop at the end of the heavy mono at the end of your fly line.  This is a really easy way to connect fly line to leader.  If this doesn't make sense, let me know...it's almost midnight...  :)

Get a small piece of 30lb amnesia or a hi-vis 30lb mono and attach it via nail knot to the end of your fly line.  If you choose you may tie a loop into to make leader-line connections easier.  The section of mono should be 6-10'' long. 
 
Regular monofilament line is not the same as tippet!!  Tippet material designed for fly-fishing is stronger, has less memory, and much stiffer than a regular monofilament of the same diameter. 
 
Unless you plan on fishing chuck-n-duck, with a running line, which I doubt you are, use a tapered leader.  It makes life a whole lot easier, it requires much less effort to get your flies to lay out properly.  Once you learn a few knots(surgeons, blood, ect) repairing the leader is quick and easy.  One store bought leader will last you a long time, provided, as I said before you learn a few basic line-line connections.
 
 
 
 

knoch i use frog hair florucarbon

ORIGINAL: fishenfool46

knoch go to walmart they sell a loop that looks like a chinese finger toy you know the things when
you put your index fingers in each end and tried to pull out it tightened. I think there is like three to a pac
it has instructions for attaching i have yet to have a steelie pull that free.

just wipe your bunghole with those things. Not only are they expensive but they dont transfer energy well at all. I used them in the beginning. Ever since i found the tie fast tool, never would use a plastic or one of those connections again!