Great advice and a timely question since some of the more popular terminals have been closed due to poor hatchery returns.

My observations:

My home river is the Skykomish. Pick a river that consistently holds a lot of fish and learn several holes on that river rather than fish many different streams. Although this cuts down on variety, knowing a single productive stream very well will pay off more than knowing several streams not so well.

At the terminals, grow roots and don't be afraid to pound it all day. This is where the fish congregate. Because of the pressure at these areas, the fish tend to be less aggressive; using smaller, less bright presentations tend to perform better.

Fishing non-terminals, I guess I'm in with the 2 hour folks as opposed to the half hour folks. This may be because I tend to fish larger streams and it takes more time to cover the water. If any fish at all have been taken, consider spending more time in the drift. Steelhead rarely travel alone.

For hatchery brats make sure you fish the soft seams. The brats are smaller(especially this year) so don't want the heavy currents that the nates may be found in. Its often more efficient to fish these areas with a float. Unless I'm doing a lot of hiking, I usually carry 2 rods, one rigged for drifting, and the other with a float.

For nates, I can fish a productive hole for 3-4 hours. Nates hold a lot more and spawn throughout healthy streams. My favorite nate hole is one that many will fish for 45 minutes and move on, while I've hit 2 or 3 over a 4 hour period. With nates I often will make a pass with drift gear in the main drift, make another pass with floats on the inside seam, than make another pass with hardware.

tight lines