To get back to the problem of helping the steelhead population. When I first moved here from the midwest, I encountered a lot ot terms I was not familiar with. One of them was "boot" refering to fish. Then one day it came to me, when I seen a fisherman land a beautiful downriver hen steelhead. He drug it up on the bank, took the hook out, and proceeded to kick it back into the water. It took him several kicks to get the fish back in, and the fish floated, belly up, for as far as I could see it.

My point is, I think we need to educate the begining fisherperson on how to handle fish properly when returning them to the water. I believe the mishandleing also contributes to the mortality of steelhead. I think it's a damn shame anyone would do this to such a great fish.

That was only one example of many I have seen . Seems that if the fish cannot be kept, it should be "booted", instead of treating it with the respect it deserves.

Great thread Sparkey,
Catarafter