Well hell. Someone tell the officer I talked to at a local boat launch today. He said no steelhead retention. Period. He said rainbow trout are steelhead. He’s not wrong. That’s what he is enforcing. Oh and by the way, you can’t stand up from a pontoon and fish, you have to beach it.

Just what I was told. They need to clarify the rules better. Maybe add sizes and specific species names we are familiar with. All it takes is “limit of hatchery steelhead still allowed” or something.

He was adamant about it too. Call region 6 and ask them. I’m going to tomorrow.

One of the spots (a lot of them actually) don’t have specific rules for steelhead. Just trout, then other rivers (particularly Columbia tribs) have “steelhead limit: 3 hatchery”. So if a system doesn’t have steelhead in its regs, can you keep steelhead? Yes. Because it’s your daily over 14” two fish limit (hatchery rainbow trout).

The officer said that all the systems with the new regulations that do not have specific “Hatchery steelhead” limits are catch and release all “rainbow trout” regardless of size now.

The rules as they are written don’t apply man. The Skookumchuck doesn’t have a specific steelhead limit. The original reads “Trout: (Except cutthroat and wild rainbow trout min 14”) daily limit 2.

According the WDFW officer I talked to, that means because the new regulations say, ALL rainbow trout (even hatchery steelhead over 14”) must be released.

Hopefully they come out with a correction. Otherwise there are going to be some really confused people out there.

Read the emergency regulation again. He’s just going by the letter of the law. His job I guess. He told me to call the office for clarification.