Dry Flies for steelhead?

I heard on occassion you can catch steelhead on dries. I heard a size 14 royal wulf or an attractor. I have never used a dry on steelies. Anyone have any input?

the only "dry fly action" in erie is if you don't have any shot on an egg pattern

I caught one on an elk hair caddis last year.. i saw the fish rising so i look through my box to find my only dry and just skated it by him and BAM! but thats the only time ive had it or seen it happen

SteelyShawn.
    Actually I have caught two steelhead on dry flies.  The first one was actually my first steelhead and I didn't see it. I was casting to a brown trout at the foot of a pool and I cast into the top of the pool to set up a good drift and ... POW!  I had never even fished for steelhead before.  I had a light rod and no net and I think That fish took me 100 yards downstream before some nice gentleman netted it for me.  He was laughing all the while because of my actions.  My previous biggest "trout" was about 22" and this fish was 29 and fat.  The second was two years ago when I was fishing above the powerline on ELK.  My friend was using a white strike indicator and there was a fish that kept smacking the indicator so I dug out the biggest white fly I had and I threw it out over the spot and on the third cast I had my fish, 22" female.  Time between steel on a dry, about 12 years.  I think the reason it isn't done more is because it is sooo difficult.  Also it is much easier to catch them on nymphs and spawn patterns that nobody tries to fish dries.  I'd personally like to try a big hopper on the tribs this year, but I probably won't; too scared to miss out.  But hey; go for it. My guess is something big and pale yellow or white.

Caught 2 last weekend on dry's right at sun rise in the lake off of elk.

Here is a link to an article, from the angler library on this site, about catching a steelhead on a dry fly.
http://www.fishusa.com/FishErie/Library_One.asp?Article_ID=20

While i'm def a dry fly addict... i'll do a little devils advocate
 
i have seen steelhead caught on cig-butts and even a bag of crack (yes rock cocaine, I live in the city and found in on the sidewalk, wouldn'y you know a fishman to pick up crack off an innner city sidewalk because he thinks it could imitate an egg pattern).  While there is the never ending argument if stealhead are actually "feeding" in erie tribs or hitting out of reaction or protecting "spawning beds", they will mouth anything...  I saw one mouthing a peice of a shopping cart
 
yes a rare fish (once every 12 yrs) will consistantly hit an indicator, does this mean i will fish dry dropper rigs? no  but will a put a few sz12 elk hair caddis in my "candy box"? maybe

I didn't know that crack has spread to even the steelhead population!LOL It is pretty funny though how sometimes fish, period will just hit the most odd things.

KJH
That's hillarious!

Katty,
     Oh my Gawd!  Now you've gone and done it!  It was bad enough that I told them Big and white, but now YOU have to tell them the patterns.  What next?  Hook sizes.  I can just see it all now:  35 people at the stop sign hole all false casting at the same time trying to dry out their flies.  Or, 22 - #6 adams floating through the Manchester Hole and if a fish takes one; 21 people will jerk their lines and become tangled.  This is obviously a plot of yours to entangle the lines of Muppers so you will have free room to sink a sucker spawn.  Interesting, very interesting!  Wish I would have thought of it.  The trees along Elk will now resemble christmas trees decorated with Adams.  LMAO

so now everyone knows my secret for the One Fly...

you doubt it??

I've killed flies with a swatter and dried them on the window sill. They hit that good.

I took 3 fish on a soft hackle emerger in the surfacefilm, size 14 on elk last year.  I caught 3 of them once I saw them sipping and ignoring my egg pattern, but never took one on a dry fly yet.  I would love to though.

Does twitching a dry across the surface with one hand while running a video camera with the other count?
 
yeah, it's been done more than a few times.
 
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v416/Stillhead/?action=view&current=steelheaddry.flv