Steelhead being fished for at the mouths of the rivers the bait of choice is spawn, but wigglers are real effective. I catch suckers while steelhead fishing at the mouth of the Jordan River and the Boyne River, and if you want to take a kid fishing, you can't go wrong taking them sucker fishing. If the fish are in, the action is steady, so the kids don't set bored. That is the whole trick to getting a young person interested in fishing. They get bored real quick if they are not catching anything, and that will turn them off on the sport right off the bat.

  Fishing for trout at the mouths of the rivers I like to use 11 1/2 foot "wet noodles" spooled up with 4# test line using spawn or wigglers. The long and limber rods take some getting used to, but you can take some really big fish on them, and with the light line, you get a lot more hits because the fish can't see your line as well. I will even go down to 2# test leader, but I wouldn't recommend it in the river! 

 If you like to cast artificial baits you can't go wrong with Little Cleos, Krocodiles and Stinger spoons. Keep a variety of colors and sizes in your tackle box to use, you never know what will turn the fish on so it's best to be prepared.

 Spinners and plug type lures are also very effective in catching steelhead and browns. In the spring when the smelt run you can hook into some truly awesome fish at the mouths of the streams the smelt are running into. The trout like to eat smelt as much as we do and will follow the schools in and really go to town. I have netted a number of trout by accident while dipping smelt when the runs were on and that tells you how many trout are in then.
 Try casting a Rapela in silver and black after you get as many smelt as you want to clean and tie into some of those big lake brown trout, rainbows and steelhead, you will be glad you did!

 When fishing the river, always fish your way up stream if you can. You will be less likely to spook the fish that way because they tend to become real people shy after an encounter or two with an angler. Many of the better rivers for steelhead runs are know and fished by many people so keep low to the water and wear natural colored, dark clothing to blend in to the surroundings. This will increase your chances of hooking into a big trout greatly.