Very thought provoking Juro. I'm sure that some have tried baitfish patterns in the rivers and I bet some fish have been brought to hand on same. My guess is they are more effective in the salt for the same reason the spoon works well in the river: action. Most of our steelheading is done with a downstream swing. This method is hard pressed to match the action of a spoon or a baitfish pattern retrieved with an eratic strip.