Smalma,
Thanks for youe reply I was hoping to hear from you.

I took the spoon chucker breaking as a sign from the fish gods,It is fly fishing or bust this summer!

I suspect the same thing.These fish were caught on a river with restrictions.The fish I caught on the fly rod was a female and the poachers had a couple also.They were two sizes exactly like you described.Unfortunately the poachers took every thing that they caught. These guys were actually fishing in a flat between two canyons that are very dificult to get into.They are steep sided and narrow and fast.There really is not any spawning habitat within these cliffs so the fish,I suspect leave the canyons to spawn in these flats.The ones I saw this winter I believe came out to feed on steelhead and dolly spawn.I also nabbed fifteen dollys in the same spot last winter where I have only caught a couple in twenty years.I have noticed an increase in size for the last three years,so I think you hit the nail on the head.I have caught a few in the past but never have I seen this many.

Thanks for the info I was unsure of resident spring spawners.I was under the impresion that they were fall spawners.This cold spring may have had some thing to do with seeing more of them.

Email me if you are interested in the specifics as to where.