Hi everyone. Sorry for taking so long to respond. We have our first (trout & salmon) clients in 2 days, and its been crazy busy getting ready.
Painted - i don't believe one needs to fish bamboo and silk lines in order to have a purity of sorts when angling. Yes graphite and modern materials are not "purist".
I am not calling myself a purist - merely saying i apply some purist/classic (call them what you want - i call them classic, but many would not) beliefs to my fishing style and technique. I only fish barbless hooks, i will not fish a dropper fly (its illegal in BC) in areas where it is legal, i will not fish an egg fly, i will not fish a plastic bead, i will not fish with lots of flash, i will not use an indicator (a small tuft of yarn - yes) or a balloon, i will not fish large flies, i will not fish a bb shot or lead weight, i will not fish a propeller, i will not fish a jig, etc. I also practice only catch and release. If i was lost and starving, then i would fish to survive, but until that day, i only want to appreciate them and let them all go.
I do not care about landing fish, as i am more interested in the whole experience of seeing, casting, tying, wading, watching, hooking, learning... I will cut barbs off of the hooks, just to catch the fish for a second, and am happy when it gets off. This is very fun with dry flies for trout!
I do not believe in slowly tiring a fish out, rather i prefer to tire it quickly, as i believe it is much more respectful to the fish and it's health. So, no i have never used a #5 (double or single handed) purposely for Steelhead or any large fish. I use only the gear appropriate to the size of fish i am angling for. An accidental catch is just that - accidental. Usually they break off on light gear.
For any fish over 10 lbs, i use a #8 rod. I have a #7, but do not use it very often. Below 10 lbs, i use a #5 rod. For fish 20+ - 40 lbs, i use a #10. I don't really like catching the huge Chinook salmon anyway, as they take forever to land, and after 30 minutes, it becomes more like work than fun.
And, its not good for the fish.
To me, "classic" angling has more to do with the mind set behind angling, rather than the gear used. Is a person who fishes bamboo, silk and wooden reels, yet kills all/most fish he/she catches a purist? (not saying that all people who fish bamboo/silk do this) Just because they are fishing the "classic" way, does that make them more aware anglers? I don't believe so.
I do not want to have judgements on how people fish. For me, personally all i want to do is to be surrounded by nature, to watch these wonderful creatures live in their habitat, and just for one moment meet them. Simple as that.
"Something to think about: If you fish the wrong fly long and hard enough, it will sooner or later become the right fly." -- John Gierach