Although some of you find them careless and offensive, my remarks in this thread are NOT inconsistent with any of my past remarks about wild fish conservation.

It really boils down to this: What is the "highest and best use" of an OOB hatchery fish?

There's no doubt they were created to satisfy the demands of the tag-buying public for harvestable food. But what happens when the product is no longer fit for the table? Do you feed it to your cat, your garden, or your trash can? Might there be a "higher and better use" for that unpalatable protein?

You bet!

Give it back to the river to feed and sustain the next generation of wild fish!

Catch it legally... bonk it legally... tag it legally... now it's yours to do with whatever you so desire. The state doesn't tell you you have to eat it.

If you wanted to mount the fish for a trophy and failed to salvage the meat, is that wanton waste? If you fed it to your cat, is that wanton waste? If you grew a state record zucchini with it as fertilizer, is that wanton waste? I would concede that if you took it home only to end up trashing it, that would constitute wanton waste.

If instead you decided to feed the next generation of salmon/steelhead with it, is that REALLY wanton waste?

Things that make ya go HMMMMM.....