OK, guys...

I think you all know my recored when it comes to catch and release...I've caugt a rash load of $hit over the years for my super-support of it. And I do release hatchery fish...lots of them.

I'll clarify a little more so you know exactly what I'm getting at.

Take yourself out of the context of Nov. through February hatchery fish fishing. Put yourself in March and April on streams that have CnR seasons for wild fish, like the Skagit or Sauk.

If in March you catch a hatchery steelhead, you are required to release it. My question is...

Why should you not be allowed to keep a hatchery fish during those times, if you would like to? It would satisfy a few things...the desire to keep fish that most fishermen have, and the protection of wild fish by removing potential hatchery spawners from the wild.

I will never advocate the retention of wild fish, and I will never say that someone has to keep a hatchery fish if they choose not to. I just don't like releasing a hatchery fish that is 1)not likely to make it to a hatchery, and 2) is likely to spawn in the wild.

Fish on...

Todd.