Thomas: To answer your first question, yes, you can fish floats with an eight or nine foot rod--they're just not as effective as the longer rods. When I first got into float fishing, I just used my standard 8.5-foot drift rod. I learned the basics and caught a few fish--and realized I liked float fishing enough to invest in a longer rod. With a longer rod, you're able to keep more line off the water, which helps in achieving a drag-free drift. The longer rod also helps on the hookset, because it's able to pick up more slack line.

To answer your second question, I'd be glad to meet up with you on the river sometime and show you what I know (my skills are adequate, but nothing like some of the experts on this forum, I'm sure). I live on the eastside too, so we're in the same neighborhood. I'm currenly nursing a sore back, so I'm out of commission right now, but I plan on being healed up and ready to fish by the beginning of December--just in time for winter steelhead. If you want to try to meet up this winter, just drop me an e-mail.