Ya, it may have something to do with where the fish are released from. I fish mainly in areas 9 and 10 on the Kitsap Peninsula side. This is where I catch most all of them. By marked I mean adipose clipped, just like steelhead.

I am not a biologist, but I will give you what I do know about blackmouth. Basically they are imature Chinook that never migrate all the way out to the ocean. Therefore, they don't have the abundance of food and don't grow as big. Also, with the 22 inch minimum a lot of fish are released just below that size and then caught the next year in the 6-9 lb. class and between 22-30 inches. I believe this is why you see so many in that range. We are always catching fish that are just at 22 inches or below, so we release them to catch next year/season.