I let go a king about 18 pounds at Sekiu in July that had a partial clip, and this one did appear to have regenerated a bit. It looked like a mini-adipose with a healed scar in front. I didn't want to take the chance. At Cathlamet in April I also caught a springer with a partial clip, with no sign of regeneration, and this one I kept. Both were clearly hatchery fish, with frayed dorsals. Later I asked a friend who is a state biologist about it and he said its a gray area in the regs. Most fish cops would not cite you for keeping a partial clip, he said, but there had been cases of at least one agent who did cite people down at Bonneville in spring for keeping partial clips. He said it's up to the discretion of the agent, but that of course you could always take it to court and fight it and probably win. I'd like to see the issue addressed by the commission and somehow specified in the regs.