A couple things here:

Salmo -
While I don't have baseline statistics in front of me I can reflect on psych 101 and Pavlov’s dogs. After a while an animal will become conditioned to environmental impacts. If getting hooked and the resultant struggle disturbing, even if the fish are released, I would suspect that eventually the fish will become behaviorally modified. Behavior in psychological terms meaning the resultant action or reaction to a given condition or set of circumstances. Maybe I'm giving the fish too much credit for reacting to being jerked around by the lips but I think I'd learn pretty fast. I believe it is possible that some of the fish would react to their set of circumstance and determine that it was safer to migrate back downstream to remove themselves from potential harm, spawning in the mid river. Consequently the fish that results from a downriver redd would then continue to return to that area. At least that was my understanding of the process, though I don't profess to be a certified professional in this field.

This would also explain the observation made by my friends over the past couple of months.

I completely agree as you are reading this that it is conjecture on my part but that's my somewhat educated opinion.

Additionally I have been told by seemingly knowledgeable people that the Steelhead in this river spawn pretty much all up and down the river. So I think all things taken into consideration that cycling the CnR to a different area of the river may have a positive effect of re populating the upper stretch of the river during March & April.

I would agree that the holding water on the Sauk Bar this year has changed dramatically and that very little on that stretch of river exists as it did 20 years ago. However I have made my observation over the past 15 years and I assert that before the last flood the Sauk Bar did have good holding water, just not many fish.

Nailknot -
As a side note: I'd like to see an advocate as well but I'm pretty sure this ruling may have had significant input from the tribes as this river now sports the "triangle" indicating that the river is NOW co-managed with input from the tribe.

I believe this is why Brian Cleduesby has been asked to attend the upcoming Wildcat Steelhead Club meeting.