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I often use this technique for Sea Run Cutthroat and Summer Run Steelhead. I prefer a 9ft 6wt or 7wt rod line due to the size of the flies, and fish. However, any 9ft to 10ft rod between a 5wt and an 8wt that will cast a floating line well will work just fine.
With this technique, I don't always pick targets, rather, I focus on a section of the river that looks like good steelhead holding water. This includes a riffle at the head of the run, a gradual depth increase to about 6 feet or more, water that is moving at walking speed, and large rocks, at least 6 inches in diamter. However, I will also pick targets to cast to such as a log, an undercut bank, shadows, and edges of current seams.
I strip out a bunch of line and shake some out of the rod close to me. I start casting and stripping out more line while I'm casting. I also do my best to keep the fly off the water until it is within range of the target. On every cast, I aim a couple feet above the water so the line will come tight above the water. (If the line comes tight on the water, the line, leader, and fly will slap the water and scare the crap out of any nearby fish.) When I have almost completed the forward stroke on the last cast, I let go of the line and let the line in the air pull out any slack. The line should come tight in the air and drop to the water in a straight line. This is one of the few situations where you want the fly to drag. The fly should drag as soon as it hits the water and should continue to drag and sputter in the surface until it reaches the end of it's drift.
When your line reaches the end of the drift, take a couple steps downstream (about 4 feet), slowly lift your rod tip and recast the line to start another drift.
