Missed the fun last year with this thread. Here is my take of steelheading:
Steelheading is the ultimate sport fishing, the hunt, the walking, stalking, reading water, the constant need for analysis and adjustment to river condition, the rain, cold, snow, wind, the solitude, the toughness, the diehard steelheader's blood of persistence & patience, the endless casts, the anticipation & the magic moment of the disappearing float, the hookset, wham!
The strong runs & acrobatic jumps of the silver bullet, the hard battle won or lost (doesn't matter), and the consumate feeling that you had been graced by one of the great sport fish of the world - that is the kind of experience that drives a hard-nosed steelheader to brave the elements in the depth of winter while most mortals are contented to keep warm indoor.