GP: With only a few exceptions, too minor to mention, all B.C. rivers are C&R for wild steelhead. The Gold made a remarkable rebound after implementation of C&R in the 80's. For years it was a truly awesome fishery. Nick Amato and I hooked 22 steelhead in one run about seven years ago. We considered a ten fish day to be only average. Now, for reason that I don't think any of us understand, the majority of the rivers on the island are in big trouble.

It’s easy to blame logging - no doubt it has hurt, and in the case of the Gold the big pulp mill at the mouth of the river probably didn't help. But there are so many rivers on the Island that are suffering and there does not seem to me to be a common thread. They do not have a big native gill net problem. And most commercial nets are not working when thewinter steelhead return in Nov-May, so it’s really hard to pinpoint the cause or causes. I guess we will need to wait to see what the biologists tell us.