Since we're so far off track from Spark's apparent intent, let me see if I can help here.

For the record, the American Fisheries Society reclassified Salmo gardneri (hey, that's me!) and Salmo clarkii to the genus Oncorynchus in 1989. They also changed the rainbow/steelhead's species name to mykiss at the same time. What we have is a name change. It's not terribly uncommon. The species did not change, or evolve, into salmon.

Trout are still trout, and salmon are still salmon. And a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. Therefore, the hooking mortalities on trout are very applicable to rainbow trout and juvenile steelhead (which are still the same species, and as was previously indicated, some resident rainbow produce offspring that become anadromous steelhead, and some anadromous steelhead produce offspring that become resident rainbow trout. This characteristic is even more common among cutthroat trout, just in case I haven't confused you enough already.)

Please resume bashing one another about the merits of bait v. artificial, barbed v. barbed. The rejection of science in this thread reminds me of the Administration's rejection of any science which is not absolute (which is most) as an excuse to continue with the same actions that have degraded the environment in the first place. If you actually care about fish, that's a pretty compromising association.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.