CtDrifter, Steelhead in water temps above mid fortys are pretty reliable on dry or waking flys and many anglers wouldn't think of using anything but a dry line until the dead of winter. The concept of taking a Pacific salmon on a dry fly is not as unheard of as alot of people think. Where good runs of the more agressive native stocks are still present you have a good chance of making it happen. This obviously won't take place if you don't make the attempt.
Lee at one time boasted that steelhead and pacific salmon were not worthy of pursuit but in later years he was fortunate enough to get some first hand exposure and changed his tune. Lee always one to try and reinvent the wheel when he found out how easy it was to catch a steelhead on a dry fly he had to push it a bit farther and contrived a fly tied on a size 24 and hooked and finally landed a hen of about 10 pounds. To each his own I don't have that motivation he did and I won't judge,the fly was about a size 8 and a wulff style skater with the little #24 hanging there to hook the fish.