You certainly don't need to spend a lot of money on a fly reel for steelhead. You don't even really need a disk drag. I've taken many steelhead over the years on click-drag reels like the Hardy St. Aidan and even on an old 1495 Pflueger. If you want a disk drag model you might take a look at Loomis' new Adventure series. They are made by Shimano and feature a drag based on that of the Shimano Quantum baitcasting reel. The Adventure 7 should do the job nicely and retails for $100. The only shortcoming I can see with this reel is that the drag is actuated by a roller clutch in the spool which will probably make spare spools a bit more expensive than with a more conventional system. But then, if you use a multi-tip line system you won't need spare spools.

[This message has been edited by Preston Singletary (edited 12-12-2000).]