RT,

Idaho has the right idea -- state is strictly non-retention for native steelhead and has been, I think, since sometime in the '80s.

And while your assumption is correct about the presence of more natives in the Clearwater this year -- relative, of course, to there being more fish period -- you may not be aware that there's a hatchery located by Kooskia, 30-some miles above Orofino. It's not nearly as massive as the Dworshak facility, but then what steelhead hatchery is?

Per my personal experience, the nates-to-brats ratio above Orofino is pretty close to 1:1, while below it's traditionally around 1:5 -- this year included.