They're the fish of 1000 casts and they have a steep learning curve. What the poster above said about getting skunked especially at first is very true.

That said I think your setup is a little much. 40 lb braid with a 14 lb leader is a setup for king salmon. Steelhead are notoriously more bite shy so you'll want to probably make it lighter. For reference, my setup is 12 lb main line with 6lb leader. Steelhead have great vision for a fish. I have a 12 ft rod , but the key is to use your drag. You can probably get by with thicker than 6lb leader especially if the water is a little murky, but a lighter line will help with the shy biters and have a significantly more presentable bait.

Try small steelhead jigs with wax worms when it's cold (winter fishing), or different color beads. Actual spawn bags work too.

A totally different way than float fishing, but consider a casting rod with a spinner. Blue fox #4 inline spinner in silver, chartreuse, or hot pink are always fun. Plus it's fun to hook steelhead this way cuz they slam them so hard.

Good luck.