UG, eggs naturally bounce and roll  along the bottom, so a good dead drift, very low in the column is the best presentation. I highsticked without an indicator most of the time, but that resulted in some extremely  unwanted foul hooks. Indicators will help eliminate that. The more straight up and down presentation helps in eliminating bad hook-ups.  I usually get very few fouls, but did this trip for various reasons. The good hooks I had were on small egg patterns, or something that had one incorporated in.  A blood dot or clown egg seems to work better than a plain one. A fellow that absolutely put on a clinic last week was using a blood dot. They worked for others and myself to. HT came up with a pattern that incorporated a small bead in a unique way  that rocked. I used a nymph with a reddish orange glass bead head until I ran out of them!!!!!
HT ran out of his too, but they did some major  damage while they lasted.  Hope this helps a little.  It's hard to find aggressive fish around the crowds.

thanks fichy i will tye some blood dots i didnt have any with me but will next week. I will definetly give your advise a try and try to find some water of my own or close to it. I had a nice spot in the lfz Saturday morning and there was a guy across fromme on the south side casting his fly like a spinnig rod big cerrrrplluuunnnnnkkkkk most of not or read the change in regs but everytime I got my drift good he managed to end it with the cerrrppllluuunnkkk. So I moved away. But where I headed to for the afternoon alot of the fish were coming to the surface thats why I was curious about location of others hits

Here is my take.
It was a combo of presentation / change offering often.
The deal with fishing amoungst a crowded section that held plenty of fish you really had to keep on top of the game .
If one was hanging up often with little control of the drift it became a hail mary attempt at hooking fish.
If one kept control of their fly amoungst all the other fishermen it became a match what they would take. Not as many hooked but the take was felt.

Things happened in this fall steelhead game we played.
Older more resident fish were always there. That's when a constant change of fly was required to find what they will take assuming your presentation is correct.
Every so often a new pod of fresh fish ( transition) mostly chrome would come through . That's when anything you threw in their sight would work.

Soon it will become a winter fishery and repetitive presentation with control not just dredging , along with finding what will trigger a take will happen . Dredging without control of the line will only result in hook ups not takes.

Thanks for the last couple of replys and info posted here--
   - Startin to think one of my 'issues'  with the Switch this time of year may be too much line out and not enough direct feel with the offering.
    Yea I 'tend' but may be gettin way too much rope in the currents to feel the take. That and  the realization of rarely using enough weight to be bouncing as much as required.
  Last week in LFZ for a quickie stop was gettin down with one BB size lead and about a #12 egg but hadda tend the carp outa the line to do so and therefore was rarely  in a position to feel a take unless it was a slam.
  Startin to consider the Noodle for a while till that Winter mode sets in. Or learn to 'high stick' a heck of a lot better-- dont know why the other side of the river is always so darned much better looking -
 Its a process--lol

Rt.
This time of year you really don't need to bounce. Close but not dredge.
You should feel free to let the rope out if you can.
Maybe you mis understood what I ment.
If you intend to fish a high concentration area of fish and people then yes, you should keep a tight line and in control of your drift.

If you are fishing an area where fish are less pressured then this is when it's time to stretch it out in the mid column .
The water temp is only going down and so are the fish.
My point was to keep in contact with your fly not lift the rod only to find a fish hooked 25' upstream. That only ends up wondering , where is the hook

Taking what HT and RG into the vault.  I think that is the next step in my learning process. Fly/line control.    Like RG I sometimes get too much line out  and do not feel the subtle takes, just the slams.  RG/ others,  by tending do you mean bringing line back into hand  to take up slack.  I feel my mending has improved greatly and I try to high stick for shorter closer runs keeping everything out of the water except for the leader if possible.   

uglyfish

Looks like a big egg diet. I threw alot of colors like those with no luck this past weekend. I wasn't bottom bouncing but was probably 3/4 of the way down are you guys having luck at the top or bouncing? Please share in a pm or on a the board your choice and advise will be greatly appreciated thanks

UG.. its all about finding what they want... ive sporadically been an egg **** for the past few years... in the past few weeks ive had fish hit almost instantly after casting...mid drift while deep and completely vertical, and tail out of drift while feathering my float so my bait is swung up in the upper/mid water column...its not always the same.... with flies, definitely try to avoid dragging/dredging... strike indies can help but ive also seen folks abuse them as well and line the crap out pdf em... its all a game... find what works today.... then find what works tomorrow... presentation and technique is probably equally /sometimes more important than patterns or baits of choice... tight lines brother

HT is eright on about column and control and season.  There is an article inthe recent FlyFisherman steelheads issue on differnet lies, travelling lies and Resting or holding lies.  Randy Jones speaks a lot tot his as well.  This was written for rivers that are way longer then a the SR, but it is my sense that fall fish are mainly resting in travelling lies (the bubbles, faster water,) and a short line slightly up or across and down with a hard mend right after the cast will keep yopu in contact with the fly.  This guy says visualizw here a canoe woudl have to be paddled upstream through the flow, that's where the steel will go as well. As it gets colder and the fish settle into  wait for spring, the deeper and slower water comes into its own, and the dead drift nymph techniques come into their own.
 
L13

  Thanks again guys-
     That shorter and straighter  line is where I feel I must go. All too often even after a mend or two I have an S in my line. Feel am gettin tooo far out in moving water to have proper control. Find myself watching the line closest to the offering for any movement as opposed to 'feeling' it.
  Spending way too much time gettn the offering to where I want it and acting the way I want it but not enough attention to being able to tell if it gets hit.  Am 'self taught' and the info here is what I try and take to the waters and am not really sure all the time my interpretations are spot on.
      Get the slammers out there but may very well be missing lots of more subtle pickups. My system works well real early and again in the Spring but apparently has its 'issues' in the Fall transition. Also got no issues in slower Winter holds.
    Am still happy cause I dont need to catch all the fish in the River lol- but   few more takes would be appreciated on slower days.
    Thats why the mention of going back to the Noodle for a bit this time of year- a much straighter line to the offering  ( generally a blue sac) and much faster 'feel'.
 Guess just gotta put the time into gettin it right with the fly rod.

Multiple mends can help as well but always remember to try your best to not disturb your line pattern that has already been mended while secondary mends are thrown...any disturbances to your original mend pattern will defeat the whole purpose and point to mending as your fly will be pulled up and the fish will see/feel the abruptness of your line