I personally dislike "cator" fishing and for steelhead i do not believe it is fly fishing.
I believe that fly fishing is defined by fly casting. In fly casting it is the weight of the line that propels the lure to the fish, with gear fishing it is the weight of the lure or added attatchments that propels itself to the target towing the line behind it.

All that said i have no problem if people wanna use indicators. However when they fish one run for hours at a time they are no longer just fishing they, by drifting time after time after time are harassing the fish. I believe that this shows a lack of ethic on the part of thoes who fish that way.. if a fish refuses your fly try another one or maybe 3 or 4 more.. them move on.. don't sit there hammering on the sam fish for an hour..

Now i really doubt anyone in here does that so i am preeching to the choir..

SalmoG. if something looks like a good idea to you go for it..

I personally don't like heavily weighted flies. after using them with much success I began to think that I was catching fish because of the lead and not because of my own knowledge and skills. Now my weighted flues consist of cone head string leeches which i use in the winter on a floating line and shank flies with lead eyes i fish on tips and I only ise the lead eyes there because they are required for the fly to swim properly..

You guys who dead drift a lot on small winter rivers owe it to yourselves to tie up a pattern called a silver and orange, and tie them on a Mustad 7970.. as Bill McMillian said. "nothing sinks faster than a bare hook..

Silver and Orange variation one

Tail: a few fibers or orange calf tail
Body: flat silver tinsle
Throat: Orange calf tail
Wing : White calf tail

Silver and orange Variation two

Body: flat silver tinsle
collar: orange hackle
Wing : white calf tail

Now this ones Da Bomb

Paint Bush ( pink)
body :silver tinsle palmered with hot pink saddle
Collar: white saddle

tie all these on the mustad 7970 size 2

Quarter it up stream give it a couple stack mends take up the slack and make ready to set the hook as the line curves back upstream...

Anyway i am way off topic here but there it is anyway:)