I would release wild steelhead years ago even when it was legal to kill them. I had enough fish to eat. Like Tug, i remember catching big wild steelhead, taking a quick photo (with out removing them from the water) and releasing them. I felt very good and what a thrill. Brought me back to the same fishing spots every year. Lots of great memories. I have a replica mount of the biggest steelhead I ever landed. I caught it in the same river and area where my dad took me as a young kid. After I released the fish I looked up at the sky and asked my dad (who had passed away 20 years earlier) if he saw that fish and I said "dad that fish is for you". I was way up in the woods all by myself . I will never forget that moment. Special.