AKKings,
Your correct about it not having much current to fight, but there is lots of slow water in any river whether it's the shoreline or tailouts... And another thing, moving water has more oxygen than slack or dead water, and if anything more oxygen will help these fish revive themselves.

Where you have the real problem with mortality rate is in warmer water, water that is 58-60+ degrees. That's when I beleive these "bleeders and extremely worn out fish" die, and even then I've still seen very, very few on the river dead...

Or how about this, how many fish have you caught with serious sea lion bite marks. I've banked fish that you could literally see there guts hanging out through a 2-3" cut across their belly, one's that had about a 1/4 or there tail left after it being bit off by a sea lion. Or have you ever been up to a falls that steelhead are trying to jump and watch them go airborne about 5-6 ft right into a rock wall head first. Give's you a little more respect for these fish, they're tougher than you think...
Keith

[ 12-27-2001: Message edited by: stlhdr1 ]