OncyT-
Well I dug into my old files and dusted off my Copy of the Crawford, 1979 report. The history of steelhead culture in Washington begins on page 9 and with the Chambers Creek winter steelhead discussion starting on the bottom of page 10.

As you mention in 1921 the newly created Division of game and game fish with 73 winter steelhead spawned. By 1922 in addition to Chambers Creek steelhead being spawned at the Green River hatchery, Pateros-Methow hatchery, Pilchuck, Tilton, at Maschell trap, Union trap, and Brinnion eyeing station with 1,706 steelhead spawned taking 6,265,500 eggs. At that time the eggs were hatchery at the egg taking stations as well a number of salmon hatcheries with the fish being released as fry.

By 1936 studies found that steelhead returns improved if the fish were released as larger fingerlings. A whole series of studies in the 1940s to early 1950s established the best release time and size at release for better returns. it was determined that releasing the fish in the spring at least 5 inches long produced the better results. The challenge was to get the fish to that size in a year. The holding the captured adults in the warm water accelerated the maturation of the fish allowing an early egg take that coupled with the accelerated growth rates in that warm water and improving fish foods the late 1948s allowed steelhead program to produce true smolts. Besides Chamber's creek among the first hatcheries to obtain and release Chambers Creek steelhead were the Green river hatchery at the headwaters, Tokul Creek on the Snoqualmie, and Puyallup hatchery.

The report also mentions that smolts from Samish, Soos Creek, and Nemah were introduced into the Chambers Creek.

A couple other tidbits from the history section. The then Washington Department of Fisheries and Game EDFG) built its first 2 hatcheries in 1895. By 1903 4,298,740 winter steelhead fry were being produced from the Dungeness, White River, Snohomish, Nisqually, Willapa, and Chehalis hatcheries. In 1905 the Dungeness was considered the "best steelhead hatchery".

"Early steelhead runs in the Sauk river were spawned at the Sauk River hatchery from the first week of February until the 15th of June (WDFG 1907)."

By 1920 winter steelhead were being spawned at 11 Puget Sound site and 4 coastal sites with summer steelhead being taken at 2 sites on the Columbia.

Curt