S. salar,

I would care only if I believed there were a correlation. And at my age and as much as I would nymph, the loss would barely be noticeable.

Magicfly & Chuck S.,

Fly fishing is not the method of choice for people who NEED to catch a steelhead. If I needed to catch a steelhead, I would use a gillnet or blasting caps for their superior effectiveness. But I fish steelhead for sport, and fly fishing - not nymphing - yields the highest sport. Nymphing and bait fishing are crutches, better suited to anglers more in need of catching than rather than maximizing sport.

DR,

1. as small as a 6 mm bead to as large as a 6" MOAL;
2. yes, thank you.
3. ". . . So, I ask, how do we get better at fishing Nymphs for Steelies?
does this make me cheap? 8^)" No, it doesn't make you cheap. It makes you "nymph curious" (what I am) or more in need of catching a steelhead than in maximizing the sport in pursuing one. Calling steelhead "steelies" kinda' makes you cheap, IMHO tho, more derogatory than a term of endearment.
4. about that book: Blashphemy! Clearly more focused on the result than the pursuit, might as well employ a spinning rod and reel.

I reiterate, anyone who "needs" to catch a steelhead ought not fly fish for them. It simply doesn't make sense. Fly fishing for steelhead is simply about obtaining the maximum sport for the effort expended, and while catching steelhead is a priority, it's not as high a priority as catching one under one's own terms of limited effectiveness.

Sg