I read Herzog's book and read the story about Buel dropping the spoon in the lake. I did not start fishing for steelhead until my late 40's but really turned a corner after learning how to fish spoons. The one drawback of the homemade ones is that they are a little light and so in deep faster water, you can't get them down deep enough, but then, that's what the bobber rod is for. I've caught a fair number of fish, steelhead, trout, and some coho with the homemade spoons. Chinook still have been elusive although I did lose a big one on a spoon a couple of years ago. So, I go out with a lot of confidence in spoons.