Some ramblings from a simple minded, unrefined, blue-collar steelheader...
As some may know, I've been on a kick with long rods and lines for the past several years, probably as a way to compensate for incompetence.
I had been regaling over accomplishing a minor milestone of not purchasing any more equipment for the past several months. I was settled into being fully content with all the gear I have amassed.
The trouble began when I accidentally stumbled upon a listing on Speypages classieds where a 18' BW Powerlite, 4 1/4 Speyco plate wind reel, and CND GPS line was being sold as a package for a ridiculously good price. I scrolled past the listing as I reminded myself of how content I was with all the accoutrements I have accumulated in our trade.
I just happened to see the same listing the following day and to my disbelief, the rod, reel, and line package was still available for sale. My impulse control and common sense flew out the door and before I knew it, Mark Stosiak was paid and the unexpected new acquisition was on its way to Oregon via UPS.
The package arrived at my door a few days later and the combo was instantaneously assembled. Field testing and fishing on the Willamette and beyond ensued immediately there after.
I found the rod, reel, and line to balance perfectly. One thing I realized about the 18' Powerlite is that I like the "leverage point" to be just above the cork on the upper handle. I found myself grabbing onto the blank above the handle for the balance I like for casting and swinging. As a result I created a cheap, ghetto way of extending the handle by wrapping the blank above the cork with stretchy gauze. This is not a pretty solution but it gives me the balance I like and also serves to cover up the hook keeper that kept getting caught on my fingers. When I had tried holding the cork at it's upper most section, there was just too much leverage to work against and made for strenuous casting.
Ghetto handle extension
I had also found that the locking rings on the reel seat were showing some wear and they would pop loose whether I was using a reel with a short or long foot. Another cheap fix was in order so I tried using a small strip of electrical tape on the threads of the reel seat to take up slack as I wound the locking rings over it to secure the hood tightly, works good!
The 4 1/4 Speyco plate wind reel with the 85' 11/12 CND GPS casts beautifully on this rod and I have also used my 4 1/2 prewar Perfect with 10/11 Vector XL (75' @ 870gr) which has also been a good balance on the Powerlite.
Over this last weekend, my wife Wendi and I had our typical plans. Wendi would play bingo at the casino and I would go steelheading while Wendi enjoys her favorite pastime.
As we were about to leave our house, I got a message from Mike Papais (Gr8lakesflyer) and Mike was asking if I had tried casting my CND DT 9/10/11 on my 16'6" BW Walker 9/10 and the 18' Powerlite. I guess great minds think alike because I had the exact same idea to try that line on both rods. I had my post war 4 1/2 Perfect loaded with the CND DT packed and ready to go.
On Saturday 12/6/25, I did indeed try the CND DT on both rods and it balanced both rods nicely with smooth casts and great turn over. As expected, there were no interruptions from any aquatic critters as my timing is late for summer runs and early for winter runs. I sent Mike my impressions of using the CND DT on both rods and he may be thinking of adding a 18' BW to his quiver to keep his other BWs company.
On Sunday, 12/7/25, I returned to the same runs I fished the day before. These locales were picked not for fishing potential but for their suitability to have some long line fun. As I got a casual start on the first run on this top secret river (hint: starts with N and ends with pqua), I was thinking stuff like "what would make this day any different than all the other days where I am left with nothing more than the contentment of geeking over long setups" or "fishing dry flies for winter steelhead is a total waste of time- that's the whole point!" or "there's maybe 6 winter steelhead in the entire river-this is nuts!"...
I was back out with the 18' Powerlite along with the 4 1/4 Speyco and GPS line. As I lengthened line with each cast, I got into the rhythm of easy snake rolls which produced nice broadside swings through the chop below. When I got to the point where the color change at the rear of the GPS head was just out of the reel, I knew I had 85' of fly line out from the reel to the line tip + 18' of leader, so my #4 bumblebee Bivisibomber was just over 100' out in the great unknown.
As I watched my black winged surface fly coming through the main flow and towards the inside seam, a quick, sudden explosion came to my fly,instantly drawing the line tight. I felt some headshakes then some easing of tension as the unknown opponent may have turned towards me leading to confusion of the identity the unseen creature. As I caught up to the fish, some strong runs and powerful maneuvers soon revealed that I was tight to a steelhead as bright sides and a hint of pink could be seen as the hen thrashed near the surface.
As I got the steehead closer to me, I began strategizing how to land the scrappy fighter with the gigantic rod. I thought of trying the Bob Clay technique of putting my hat down and laying the reel on it, then working down the rod to hand line the steelhead in. However I didn't see any area along the bank that would allow for the Bob Clay trick and near shore structure also presented challenges.
I was fortunate that the hook was securely lodged in the steelhead's mouth and I was able to use the rod up and over the head and grab the leader trick. I was able to draw the gal into shallow water where I was able to get some photos as evidence of my crimes. I looked down and beheld the beautiful answer to my question of what would make this day different from all my other days of dim-witted fun with a long rod...
Wishing you all a blessed Merry Christmas and Happy New year in 26!
Todd
As some may know, I've been on a kick with long rods and lines for the past several years, probably as a way to compensate for incompetence.
I had been regaling over accomplishing a minor milestone of not purchasing any more equipment for the past several months. I was settled into being fully content with all the gear I have amassed.
The trouble began when I accidentally stumbled upon a listing on Speypages classieds where a 18' BW Powerlite, 4 1/4 Speyco plate wind reel, and CND GPS line was being sold as a package for a ridiculously good price. I scrolled past the listing as I reminded myself of how content I was with all the accoutrements I have accumulated in our trade.
I just happened to see the same listing the following day and to my disbelief, the rod, reel, and line package was still available for sale. My impulse control and common sense flew out the door and before I knew it, Mark Stosiak was paid and the unexpected new acquisition was on its way to Oregon via UPS.
The package arrived at my door a few days later and the combo was instantaneously assembled. Field testing and fishing on the Willamette and beyond ensued immediately there after.
I found the rod, reel, and line to balance perfectly. One thing I realized about the 18' Powerlite is that I like the "leverage point" to be just above the cork on the upper handle. I found myself grabbing onto the blank above the handle for the balance I like for casting and swinging. As a result I created a cheap, ghetto way of extending the handle by wrapping the blank above the cork with stretchy gauze. This is not a pretty solution but it gives me the balance I like and also serves to cover up the hook keeper that kept getting caught on my fingers. When I had tried holding the cork at it's upper most section, there was just too much leverage to work against and made for strenuous casting.
Ghetto handle extension
I had also found that the locking rings on the reel seat were showing some wear and they would pop loose whether I was using a reel with a short or long foot. Another cheap fix was in order so I tried using a small strip of electrical tape on the threads of the reel seat to take up slack as I wound the locking rings over it to secure the hood tightly, works good!
The 4 1/4 Speyco plate wind reel with the 85' 11/12 CND GPS casts beautifully on this rod and I have also used my 4 1/2 prewar Perfect with 10/11 Vector XL (75' @ 870gr) which has also been a good balance on the Powerlite.
Over this last weekend, my wife Wendi and I had our typical plans. Wendi would play bingo at the casino and I would go steelheading while Wendi enjoys her favorite pastime.
As we were about to leave our house, I got a message from Mike Papais (Gr8lakesflyer) and Mike was asking if I had tried casting my CND DT 9/10/11 on my 16'6" BW Walker 9/10 and the 18' Powerlite. I guess great minds think alike because I had the exact same idea to try that line on both rods. I had my post war 4 1/2 Perfect loaded with the CND DT packed and ready to go.
On Saturday 12/6/25, I did indeed try the CND DT on both rods and it balanced both rods nicely with smooth casts and great turn over. As expected, there were no interruptions from any aquatic critters as my timing is late for summer runs and early for winter runs. I sent Mike my impressions of using the CND DT on both rods and he may be thinking of adding a 18' BW to his quiver to keep his other BWs company.
On Sunday, 12/7/25, I returned to the same runs I fished the day before. These locales were picked not for fishing potential but for their suitability to have some long line fun. As I got a casual start on the first run on this top secret river (hint: starts with N and ends with pqua), I was thinking stuff like "what would make this day any different than all the other days where I am left with nothing more than the contentment of geeking over long setups" or "fishing dry flies for winter steelhead is a total waste of time- that's the whole point!" or "there's maybe 6 winter steelhead in the entire river-this is nuts!"...
I was back out with the 18' Powerlite along with the 4 1/4 Speyco and GPS line. As I lengthened line with each cast, I got into the rhythm of easy snake rolls which produced nice broadside swings through the chop below. When I got to the point where the color change at the rear of the GPS head was just out of the reel, I knew I had 85' of fly line out from the reel to the line tip + 18' of leader, so my #4 bumblebee Bivisibomber was just over 100' out in the great unknown.
As I watched my black winged surface fly coming through the main flow and towards the inside seam, a quick, sudden explosion came to my fly,instantly drawing the line tight. I felt some headshakes then some easing of tension as the unknown opponent may have turned towards me leading to confusion of the identity the unseen creature. As I caught up to the fish, some strong runs and powerful maneuvers soon revealed that I was tight to a steelhead as bright sides and a hint of pink could be seen as the hen thrashed near the surface.
As I got the steehead closer to me, I began strategizing how to land the scrappy fighter with the gigantic rod. I thought of trying the Bob Clay technique of putting my hat down and laying the reel on it, then working down the rod to hand line the steelhead in. However I didn't see any area along the bank that would allow for the Bob Clay trick and near shore structure also presented challenges.
I was fortunate that the hook was securely lodged in the steelhead's mouth and I was able to use the rod up and over the head and grab the leader trick. I was able to draw the gal into shallow water where I was able to get some photos as evidence of my crimes. I looked down and beheld the beautiful answer to my question of what would make this day different from all my other days of dim-witted fun with a long rod...
Wishing you all a blessed Merry Christmas and Happy New year in 26!
Todd
