i started plunking for steelhead on the chehalis when i was 13 i am now 58 back then the best fishing was december and January we usually stop fishing around the middle of February the last year before netting there was over 60 steelhead caught out of my plunking boat 4 years later there was 6 fish caught while the decline is not all the fault of netting it is a major cause there use to be a late run of big hook-nose silvers in february in the satsop there are now gone what i am getting at is if there is no steelhead in december i say they have been netted out.
the chehalis was the number two river system for steelhead year after year with the skagit number one. there should be state records from punchcards back then
with the netting this year it will become dead river system for steelhead which it looks like what the state wants