First of all, learn how to cast first, then learn how to drift.
You can get the line right, shot pattern right and the bait right, but if you can't drift properly, nothing else will help. I've taken people out, set up all their rigs for them exactly like mine, but they don't have the feel for the right drift (speed, angle, depth)...and they can't hook up. I've had friend work through the entire pool for an hour and had nary a twitch on the float...when I walk up after they were done and hooked up on 3 consecutive casts...when they were fishing the same rigs and baits that I had set up for them.
The mistake that a lot of people make is to drift the same rig through the same pool. We know (I hope you do) that a pool has different composition to it - the head, the bowl and the tail. The head starts with faster current dumping into deeper slower current. There is one shot pattern and drift control for the head. The bowl usually has slower, more constant water. That's another shot pattern and drift control. The tail goes from deep slow water to fast shallow water. That's a third shot pattern and drift control.
If you rig up one depth (from float to bait) with one shot pattern, and drift through the entire pool, you will have the wrong presentation for at least a portion, or all of the pool. There is no compromising solution. There is only an optimizing solution. To optimize it, you need to break down the pool, work each section as a separate entity and set up your rig and your drift specifically for that section. This means instead of making 50-100ft "hero drift", you'll be making 15-20ft short drift. By breaking it down, you can also rotate through your bait quickly for each section, allowing you to sort through the questions of "Is it my bait, or is it my rig, or is it my drift?". When you make those long "hero drift" you can't answer the questions because there are simply too many variables to test, and you did not start from an optimized position to experiment. Always narrow down your variables.
With shorter drifts, there is less of a need to cast. You can often work through the pool with a preset amount of line out (enough for the drift). To start your drift, you can use your rod to swing and dip your rig and float into the water. At the end of the drift, you simply need to lift the rod to bring the line up and back toward you. With your free hand, you can "strip" in the line, or pull down as you lift the rod, effectively bringing your rig back to you. It's essentially similar to a roll cast in a sense. By reducing the casting distance, you gain control in your rig. You can swing and dip your rig and float more gently into the water, minimizing any spooking factor. By eliminating the need to pop your float at the end of every drift (pop the float to accelerate the rig so you can retrieve and start a new cast), you again minimize the spooking factor.
Even within a simple 3 section layout to the pool, there are still substructure to it. A log jam here, a boulder there, a rock ledge along the way. All these structures contribute to changes to current speed, and thus, how the bait will be presented in the water. Again, this will take more experimentation to find the right solution. If there is a log jam and a boulder in separate location of the pool, you should break that further down and concentrate first on one structure, then work on the other. The log jam may require to you use a shorter leader (so the current doesn't wash your bait too easily into the branches), while the boulder may require you to bunch more shots toward the bottom of your shot pattern so the current around the boulder doesn't cause your bait to rise out of the strike zone.
Lastly, as much as polarize sunglasses will help you locate fish, there are always fish that you will not see...especially fish deep in a log jam, fish tucked under a ledge, or simply fish that are in a deep green pool. You just have to have faith that there is the potential of a fish still in those areas, and work through your system.
Opener is really the best time for you to learn. The sheer number of fish allows you to make mistakes and try again. A pool packed with fish also tell you what type of habitat attracts fish...so when you are fishing during periods when fish are more spread out, the same pool may not hold 20 steelhead, but it is very likely to hold at least a couple of them. This is part of the confidence in your system, and your knowledge of the stream, that will help you catch fish.
