You mention that currently you have only an intermediate line for your 8wt rod. If you stick with just this line, you will limit yourself to fishing streamers. I don't believe there are many situations where you will want to fish a full sinking line, so if you are going to add another line, I would recommend a floating line. Something designed for cold water and indicator rig fishing for efficient mending is preferable, unless you're more into Euro nymphing. If you stick with just the intermediate line and don't add another line, you might be able to fish a mono rig with eggs/nymphs by winding it onto your reel on top of the intermediate line, but check the regs on allowable leader length if you fish the Lower Fly Zone.
I usually fish a very basic indicator rig with various egg patterns, attractors such as San Juan worms, mops, and squirmys, and standard nymph patterns such as Pat's Rubber Legs, bead head Prince Nymphs, Hare's Ear, etc. The longer the fish are in the river, the more likely it is that they begin to focus on natural food sources like stonefly nymphs. In mid-November, there are probably still a supply of eggs washing around, so eggs and flashy patterns could work well. If you want to get fancy, you can fish a 90 degree indicator rig, especially if you are fishing a deeper pool.
I add split shot to my indicator rig, so there is no need for packaged tapered leaders. Once you add an indicator, shot, and perhaps a weighted fly to a leader, any advantage of using a tapered leader is all but lost. A section of Maxima Chameleon or Amnesia attached to a micro swivel with a length of high-quality fluorocarbon 2X-4X tippet, depending on the size of fly, is about all I use. I place the split shot above the micro swivel, and this prevents it from sliding down the leader. Make sure your knots are tied well. I'm not sure why more folks don't use float style indicators for trout fishing, but I find that these Ravel floats in smaller sizes work very well as inline "drift management devices" on the SR. I once fished with Jay Peck (NY fly fishing guide), and he had me using these floats in smaller sizes (less than 4g) as indicators.
Raven Balsa Floats
Remember, you are limited to fishing just one fly on the NY tribs.
In many places, you'll be standing tight to the bank, so you'll be doing a lot of roll casting. Places such as the Staircase are an exception, depending on how comfortable you are wading away from the bank. If you foresee yourself making this a regular hobby, a two-handed rod using simple Spey-style casts is probably best for swinging streamers. I find that a switch rod really helps with roll casting indicator rigs, too. I use an OPST Skagit head with a floating tip.
I'm sure tightline Euro nymphing would work at least as well if you're skilled at it.
Here is a link to a video by George Daniel in which he explains his leader formula for steelhead. I think he might fish more Erie steelhead where the fish aren't as large, and the water isn't as big as the SR, on average. So, I usually upsize some things slightly compared to what he recommends in the video.
Here is another video with Tom Rosenbauer and Jeff Blood, the point of which is that the rigging and fishing is relatively simple.
Orvis Steelhead Rig
You may find the Lower Fly Zone to be more crowded than other stretches of the river, but most people there are fairly respectful of each other. My guess is that in mid-November you will find fish still in transition zones and not yet concentrated in their wintering pools. So, all of the popular holes mentioned, along with fishy-looking transition water in between these spots, can all hold fish at that time of year.
Have fun!
