I am all for harvesting steelhead.. thats why the state spends millions each and every year to produce millions of fish secifically for that reason... There is excellent opportunity to harvest hatchery salmon and steelhead throughout the state nearly year around.. If all thoes millions of hatchery steelhad are not enough for you then well you are selfish.

If my position seems radical to some of you i am sorry but i am not gonna sit around and watch the last great steelhead fisheries in the state of Washington be destroyed by an bunch on "people" who'd idea of a landfill is dumping their refuse off a bridge on the Calawah. or use the Olympic national park as their personal garbage dump without raising a stink about it.

Wild steelhead release statewide forever would be a great thing Even if every river recovered to full capacity. I am all in favor of any no kill regs on wild salmonids no matter how healthy the run or how the regulation came to be. I don't care if the reg is legal or constitutional I want it.. I would support a constitutional ammendment saying no harvest on wild steelhead forever.

Of you guys had grown up on rivers rivers like the Washougal where the wild run was destroyed by sport harvest you'd feel exactly the same way...


The absence of harvest opportunity is not the same as lost fishing opportunity!!!!

As far as fishing for wild steelhead it should always be done by single barbless baitless hooks. I like drifting eggs as much as anyone but it's just not wise over wild fish..