Steelhead rigs

What is the best way to fish the mouth of the creeks for steelhead. Never fished for them and looking for any help. Not sure how to even set up a rig with a Leader attached. Do u know if Poor Richards would set up my pole for steelhead fishing if I bought everything I need from them? I am a beginner fisher so any information would definitly be helpful. Basically, how should I set up my pole for fishing the mouth of walnut and in the streams once the steelies are here?

You may want to upgrade that rod to a 9' or so noodle.  Factory 6# can be alright, but I would invest in some fluorocarbon for leader material.
 
 

Hey Newbe -

Welcome to the boards.  I'm kinda new to steelhead fishing myself, this will be my 5th season, but I feel like I've learned enough over the past few years to be kind of successful and maybe help you out. 
 
Be warned though, the learning curve can be kind of steep.  Be prepared your first several trips - if you're not with an experienced steelhead fisherman - to not catch too much.  Last November, I finally got comfortable with what I was doing and did pretty well in Erie.  Before last fall, I'd be extremely excited to just hook up with one or two fish per trip. 

Anway, here's what I've found to be helpful:
1. Early season in the lower streches of Elk and Walnut at sunrise and maybe for an hour after, spoons can be effective.  I've used Little Cleos in blue/silver or green/silver.  After the sun is up for awhile, put the spoons away unless you're chucking out into the lake (which I've never done before).  2.  Get a noodle rod.  9 or 10 foot is good.  Poor Richards has 'em for about $30.  I use a Pflueger President reel spooled with 4 lb. mono and tie all my hooks or lures directly to the main line.  Some guys like to use a 6 or 8 lb. main line with a fluorocarbon leader (usually about 18" to 2 feet long). Some like to spool their whole reel with fluorocarbon.  It works for a lot of people, but I don't care much for it, but that's just me. 
3.  When you're using bait, especially early in the season and in clear water conditions, go small.  I use a size 18 hook year round in ALL water conditions year round.  A good friend who taught me most of what I know about steelhead fishing uses size 20 all the time.  Best baits, year round in all water conditions: my favorite is an emerald shiner simply because I've caught more fish on these than anything else.  A close second is a single egg.  Get a container of 'em from Poor Richards right by the cash register.  Third is a single wax worm threaded on the hook.  One important rule, make sure very little of the hook is exposed no matter what bait you use.  Other than those three baits, I don't really use anything else except for a black mini foo jig tipped with maggots when the weather turns cold.  I've tried egg sacks, skein & power bait but have never done well with them.  Others swear by them.  You'll find what works for you.
4.  Get the smallest split shot you can find.  I like blackbird shot in the 1/64 size (smallest there is).  In conditions right now, put one about 18" above your hook so it keeps your bait just off the bottom.  In faster conditions, two are sometimes necessary, though I've never had to use more. 
5.  Get the smallest floats you can find for drifting your bait.  If you're drifting a run that is 3 feet deep, put your float about 4 feet above your hook and keep adjusting up or down till you start getting strikes.  Sometimes fish are in the holding in the middle instead of on the bottom and you need to keep your bait off the bottom.  You'll learn this through trial and error. Sometimes no float is good too, especially in clear water.  I've found that unless I'm using shiners, steelhead don't strike real aggressively.  They'll just kind of take the bait in their mouths and hold it without moving much.  If you're using and indicator, look for just a slight stop or wiggle in your drift.  Sometimes it's just your bait bouncing on the bottom, sometimes it's a fish.  Never know if you don't set the hook. 
6. Polarized sunglasses are a huge benefit.  You'll see fish you never knew were there otherwise.
7.  Ask questions.  If you see somebody consistently catching steelhead near you, ask them what they're doing, what they're using, etc.  Some guys will be real jerks about it 'cause they don't want anybody to catch "their" steelhead.  Most guys will gladly help you out if you tell them you're new to steelheading.  Just make sure not to fish in their back pocket or ruin their drift after they help you out. 

Conditions are really tough right now on all the streams.  If you're looking for fish your best bet is Walnut or Elk until we get some significant rain.  I was at Walnut on Monday, near the access and there were some fish there.  Not a ton, but enough to keep things fun.  Landed 8 of 'em all day long - mostly on single eggs - but none between 10:30 AM and 4 PM.  The reports of no fish on the east side are accurate.  Walked one east side stream just to look around lunch time when the bite was slow, and did not see a single fish in it.  When the sun is high over the creek, they are very skittish and not in much of an eating mood.  
 
Best advice I can give you right now is to go small.  It's kind of counter intuitive when you're looking at fish that big, but especially in these conditions downsizing everything is a huge advantage.  

If you've got any other questions, shoot me a private message and I'll get back to you. 

Good advice... This is my 3rd steelhead season and still havent caught anything yet. So im still pretty new to it. Looks like I have to do alittle more adjusting to my tackle. I have a 10 foot noodle rod, 6lbs line, size 16 hooks. Im guessing my slipt shots, hooks, and floats are still alittle big. The baits I use are a single white egg, wax worms, green power bait, red worms, and thats about it. I may need to get different things... Hopefully I'll get the hang of things!!!

Tippy, if it's beachfront - I'm in !!!    Dave