Flickabobber, I am not in favor of bonking anything wild! I don't see the difference in Bonking a Wild Steelhead and Bonking a Wild Chinook. I love wild steelhead and feel that it should have been C & R on Wild Steelhead 10 years ago, but if you wish to continue fishing you better be as or more concerned about Wild Chinook than Steelhead. steelhead are actually native to very few streams in the PNW an therefore have a far less value than Chinook. The goverment places a much higher value on chinook than they do Steelhead, this must be recognized by the saltwater fisherman. But saltwater fisherman have a much different , mindset than do freshwater fisherman, one could say that "saltwaterfisherman are behind the times". The main difference being that some "meaning more than the average saltwater fisherman"" freshwater fisherman can appreciate the declining runs of wild steelhead, while the "average" Saltwater fisherman is there with the sole purpose of killing fish, whether hathery or wild, it makes no differnce to them. They are just there to bring something home for the BBQ. It seem that the sport of angling means little to the "average" saltwater fisherman.