Salmon and steelhead are fighters; they won’t go down (or, in this case, up, in your boat) without a fight. If you catch a salmon or a steelhead on a shorter line, there’s a high chance that it’ll break from the pulling pressure of these fish.
Salmon steelhead fishing rods are between 8 to 10 feet long, but some are even longer. This is because longer rods are more flexible than shorter rods, which helps reduce the strain on the line.