me and a buddy of mine slugged them this past winter on spinners, in every condition from gin clear to chocolate milk. i think i've caught more winter runs on spinners than summers. hell, i've caught more steelhead in the last winter on spinners than i've ever caught on spoons combined(that said, i didn't fish spoons a whole lot until recently..)

my way of fishing them in drift fishing water is, well, just about the same as drift fishing. unless the water is really moving(not ideal for hardware IMHO), i do a slightly downstream cast, make sure it's thumping(give a good jerk) and let it swing, then slowly retrieve. if you don't hook a fish in 10 casts, MOVE! every time i hook a fish on spinners(winter runs included), it's within a half dozen casts through a hole, and it's usually on the swing.

my favorites last winter in all conditions were both #3s. silver blade, 1/5oz brass body, and brass blade w/green tape, brass 1/5 body. i was rigging them with 1/0 siwash hooks, though this year i will be setting some up with good quality trebles(where legal), as i had extreme problems with smolt/cutthroat mortality(they were taking the siwash through the head, or gills). i feel that the trebles wound most fish less, though a full size steelhead has a higher chance of throwing the hook.

keep in mind that i'm mainly a small stream steelheader...if i was fishing big rivers i'd more likely be fishing a spoon or drift gear.