Rich,

Yes, but only slightly. The summer runs still carry their negative hatchery baggage, but they spawn very close to the normal time for summer run spawning, unlike the Chambers Creek brats that are totally out of synch. For that reason, if no other, the Skamania fish could be expected to have slightly better reproductive success in the natural environment. Where it gets interesting is in the subsequent generations. The second or third generation of Skamania fish spawning in the wild could be expected to have reproductive success very nearly matching that of native fish in the same environment. I don't know of any data that support this, but it can be inferred from the development of wild summer runs - that physically resemble the Skamania fish - where there were previously few or none.

And summer runs stray notoriously. Tagging at various locations in the Columbia River basin has indicated that summer fish will stray, or dip in, to other than home rivers, only to eventually return to the river they came from as the time approaches for them to spawn. Without straying, there could be no colonization. I think the summer run is the pioneer among steelhead, always seeking to expand the range of habitat where they might reproduce successfully.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.