If being a part of a “special interest” group that’s determined to preserve the legacy of wild steelhead by blending opportunity with conservation, I will gladly be labeled as such. It’s funny that those who are quick to shout special interest are really only interested in their own opinions and generally do not have any data to back up their statements. Granted the 4 “H”s have a large impact, but the only way to challenge those impacts is through a “special interest” organization and getting involved. But has an individual angler do you ever stop to think what are some the small practices you can change in your angling approach to benefit the fish and help preserve your opportunity for the future?

A scientific study in Canada concluded the following about barbless hooks:

"Data from BC indicate that wild steelhead release fisheries on winter steelhead stocks exert a minimal influence on the ability of the fish to spawn and refute claims that caught and released steelhead were effectively lost from the population. The following conclusions from the study were drawn:
Hooking mortality of steelhead ranged between 0 and 6 percent in 11 Canadian river basins over a 7 year period with a Province-wide average of 3.6 percent.
Hooking mortality of winter-run steelhead averages between 2 and 3 percent using barbless hooks, regardless of whether bait is used.
Barbed hooks appear to be the largest contributor to hooking mortality”

Remember this is referring to wild winter steelhead only, not summer steelhead, in the late spring and summer when kelts, wild smolts are present.