FishNDoc -
When discussing production one probably needs to be careful with that definition. If by production on means having more fish to catch there are many examples of mining wild fish to produce hatchery fish that produce many times more fish to be caught than if those fish were left to spawn. If by production one means natural production then you argue would have some merit though there are examples where wild populations have been "jump started" with hatchery releases - one that many may be familar with is the wild coho above Sunset Falls. That population exists above a historical anadromous barrier which was seeded with hatchery fish and now 50 years later produces 10,000s wild coho.

Fish5-
There is a 1/2 a century of fish culture history using steelhead fry releases from wild and/or hatchery parents that has shown that strategy produces very few fish. Attempts at steelhead hatchery production has been around for a century. There was little success until the late 1940s/early 1950s that the bios for the Game Department learned through trail and error (mostly error) that until the fish were reared to smolt size (6 to 8 inches) and released at the time of year that wild smolts migrate (spring) was there any measureable success (returns).

Fry releases can be successful with some other speceis - pinks, chums, sockeye and sometimes chinook. However their biology and behaviors are much different than steelhead.

Todd -
In regards in bonking those few fish that may be around in the late spring (the Skagit example). I guess I would flip the question around - If there are only few fish why potential increase the risk to the wild fish by having additional enforcement problems (heaven knows we need as efficient enforcement as we can get) or increase the potential handling of the wild fish.

You have railed quite eloquently against harvest impacts on wild steelhead from fisheries targeting other fish. Here you seem to be on the other side of the issue. The only reason might be if one thought that the risks from them spawning in the wild out weight the outer risks.

You concerns with "wild brood stock" programs using later time fish just touches on some of the potential harvest management problems that can arise from such programs.

Tight lines
Smalma