Goose is certainly correct in that over fishing was the most common cause of decline of the resident part of the steelhead/rainbow population; for most of our rivers that occurred decades ago. My point in the other thread was that hooking mortality potentially plays a major role in the inability of the resident population to recover; even in systems that have larger (say 14 inches) minimum size limits. If we wish to recover these populations then the selective taking of these fish (whether from direct harvest or hooking mortaltiy) must be greatly reduced. Where it has been we see more resident trout.

Where resident trout are found it is not uncommon to see them spawning with their anadromous brethren. This is true with steelhead/rainbow, sea-run and resident cutthroat, and migratory and resident Dolly Varden/bull trout. It appears that resident fish (rainbows) produce some anadromous smolts and anadromous fish (steelhead) produce some resident trout.

It is also true that given the high flushing rates and poor water chemistry of many of our coastal streams the would not be expected to be as rich as interior streams. However there are seasonal bonanzas of feed in anadromous systems due to salmon; eggs in the fall and fry in the spring. The nutrients from the carcasses also increase the over all productivity of the systems. This benefit is see mostly in those systems with sockeye, pink and/or chum salmon. In years with high salmon escapements there is noted increases in growth rates in resident salmonids as well as the freshwater phases of the anadromous salmonids.

As fishing pressure increases more restrictive regulations (higher size limits, lower bag limits and gear restrictions) are needed if we wish to retain or recover the historical diversity of our salmonid populations. This is especially true of those more fragile populations or those under stress from habitat degradation.

Tight lines
Smalma