RE PS
That PS is a pretty strong statement, lets hear the evidence. Last year Bonneville Dam, the lowest on the Columbia, had 364,251 steelhead and 920,251 salmon pass upstream. There are several major rivers below that dam, so the total numbers are higher than this and this is just one river.
I would like to fish your area in the future to compare. You may have higher concentrations of fish than we do and need slightly different tactics to be most effective.
In any case good luck with the catching.