Sure have run into a lot of Steelheaders who are way too serious. This is a magnificent passion and should be pursued with joy and wonder. Something that has always helped us in this department was experimenting with ridiculous flies. We’d agree to tie a crazy fly and fish it for a day, a week , a month and compare results. It’s really fun and challenging and you’ll learn a lot, too.
Out of this exercise came some great discoveries. One of my all-time favorites is the MINIMALIST. A silver hook, sparse black bucktail (in the round) and red thread head. Try it!

The Genessee River, Rochester NY.This is where all Great Lakes Steelhead started over 120 years ago.