Parker's posts about sums it up for me...and I haven't fished the OP in over a decade. I've had no desire to, as I want to remember it "as it used to be". Plus, his logic mimics what I've been harping on about for years "over here" on the Upper Columbia (and NO, Vancouver isn't "upriver" LOL), except these runs have been buggered-up with hatchery genetics for 70+ years. Once these fish were ESA listed in '97, it was assumed that this was going to be phukked to ever get the #'s adjusted for a "logical fishery", however that may be defined. Which to me is a total selective, CnR fishery. Once the bio's stated that the first 250,000 steelhead smolts from Wells hatchery were not being clipped to ensure that "they'd make it back to the hatchery" (which is at the dam), I just gave up the fight once the #'s were being manipulated IMO. Eventually, we did start having modified seasons again ('05-'15 I believe). Nothing in the last 5-6 years now, with a trend to continue...

I know I went off topic, as this thread is about the OP and the closure to fishing from boats. So after just a few minutes of goggling, here's a link to WDFW's "State Action Plans" for threatened critters. He11, I might be looking in the wrong spots, but nowhere do I see any mention of OP steelhead?! Not that I disagree that something should be done for all the increased activity on that particular resource. Moreso, where's the backup/data from the past that references how acute this issue is? Check out Chapter 3, and Appendix 4. As I mentioned, I could be all wet on this as I have no background in biology/science...just a layman.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/at-risk/swap


In closing, I was going to C/P my long-winded post on this very similiar subject of lost opportunities from earlier this year, in which the topic was opening up the N. of Falcon negotiations (and hating on WDFW) but I didn't want to go searching, plus ABU wouldn't read it anyhow (too long ). In short, I pined (sniveled) about the downfall of the WA steelhead from my experiences over the last 40 years of my life. Now, this rule is just "another brick in the wall"...