Robert -
Thanks for point out the brood stock correction.

Regarding hatch and wild steelhead interactions.

Let's first be clear we are talking the Skagit river hear. Further more the question is not whether the run timing of the two over-lap but rather whether they spawn together in signiifcant numbers (typcially that is placed at between 1 to 10% of the wild fish spawning with a hatchery partner).

In the last 4 years (2001 to 2004) the hatchery on the Skagit completed their egg takes between February 14 and 26). When the hatchery traps have been kept in operation (Skagit, Snohomish) through March they don't catch any hatchery steelhead. The wild steelhead on the Skagit are well known for their late spawning time with the first wild steelhead redds typically seen some time during the second of March. This is different than most other steelhead populations on the west coast where as you point out some may spawn as early as January. On the Skagit there are low levels of wild fish spawning until late April when activity picks up quickly with the peak spawning occurring in mid-May. In the typcial year by mid-April less than 5% of the wild spawning has been completed - to my eye at least that would appear to be temporal separation - you of course are free to argue that even one hatchery fish spawning with one wild fish is to much but that does not change the fact that the vast majority of the hatchery fish spawn well before the first of the Skagit wild winter steelhead.

Regarding your observation of a kelt(s)in May - unless that is in recent years on the Skagit it really does not mean any thing in terms of current hatchery/wild interactions on the Skagit. I have caught wild Skagit winter kelts as late as the 24th of October but that in no way means that I believe that they are spawning into October - in fact the latest observed wild spawning in the Skagit system has been the last week of July a full 3 months earlier).

While I'm ambivalent on the Sakgit steelhead hatchery program I would prefer that the debate be with river specific information.

Tight lines
Curt