I have always been interested in building a fly rod, but have never had the need for a new rod and therefore couldn't justify spending the dough to get all of the supplies. However, I am moving to Washington soon, and would like to have a rod burly enough for steelhead and salmon, so it seems to be the perfect opportunity to try it out. I was thinking I would go with an 8 wt rod, 9' or 9'6". I had read about Tiger eye blanks on here and checked them out on the Sevier website, but they do not come in a strictly 8 wt blank, only in 7/8 wt. I have looked at rainshadow blanks and IM6 blanks (which I have read are lower quality, but overall fine blanks) as well, and they come in 8wt. My question is, would I be better off going with a different blank that is built for an 8wt line, or would the 7/8 wt work well?

Thanks for helping me figure this out, as I am very new to the process (I have read the rod building guide on FAOL though).