There is one small bit about ocean conditions being outside WDFW control that disagree with. The Keogh River study showed that increasing stream productivity through either the addition of fertilizers or big salmon escapements reduced the age of steelhead smolts. Also, the younger smolts were more abundant than older smolts. That is, a stream can produce more age-1 smolts than age-2 because the younger smolts are smaller going into winter. The more abundant smolt outmigration returned at high enough rates (in poor ocean conditions) to replace the brood. In the White River (WA), at least through about 2010, the R/S for steelhead was higher when the smolts were younger. I believe that WDFW managed for salmon escapements of at least 1kg per square metre of summer low flow that we would see increases in steelhead returns.

In the last few years I have bought licenses and fished in AK, Wyoming, Iceland, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Australia and it was all well worth the expense. And it was generally better than here.