I have personally raised hundreds of thousands of steelhead for release in Cowlitz. They react the same way that trout do when they have been raised in pens and are hand fed food. I can tell you, first hand, that if you through a hand full of food, or sand into a net pen or race-way, the trout or steelhead (or salmon) smolts will boil the water looking for food! Some Steelhead do become resident trout. That's why some smolts never leave the water they were raised in, or wait for 3 or 4 years before they are ready. Not every fish is on the same clock, and for good reasons. Think about it!

Cowlitzfisherman,
_________________________________
Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook???