Yeah, I see what you're getting at and it is kinda hypocritical to be advocating WSR for steelhead and bonking unclipped salmon.

I think part of it stems from the uncertainty with salmon in a couple respects that you don't see with steelhead, as some have mentioned earlier. Also from the sheer difference in numbers that others brought up.

But really, you're right, and one should be consistent. Wild fish are wild fish and if you don't trust the WDFW to be effective managing them, releasing all the unclipped ones is really the only way for a WSR proponent to stand on solid footing.

An exception I'd be in favor of is one RK mentioned. First two legal fish in the salt. Saltwater, bait-caught mortality rates are so high that releasing 10 wild fish to get a clipped one is just taking two steps back for every step forward.
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