I got one heck of a deal on a 9' 10wt rod blank so I thought it is going to be my steelhead rod (maybe salmon, northern, and muskie also). I need a reel for it that can handle the cold. I have heard horror stories about drags icing up and free spooling on some reels. I also don't want to break the bank on this either as I may only use this rod 15 - 20 times a year. Would like to keep the price for the reel, backing, and line less than $300.
Any suggestions for reel and line are greatly appreciated.