There are times when toughness is more essential than perfect casting.  
Quite often,  you will find yourself in this situation when you are pursuing
steelhead at Erie N.Y. and especially Michigan.. I can tell you from experience that most of your casting is going to be roll casting.  I can also tell you that your rod is going to get "banged around". This is not a place for a fast rod with brittle graphite that can cast 90ft.  Did you ever try to cast an indicator and weight with a fast rod that casts tight loops?  You need to be able to cast open loops in this situation and you need a rod that you can drop on the bank and get tough with.  Not an heirloom that casts 90ft.
The TFR series rod from TFO was made for handling these fish and it also
excels at casting indicators and weight.