I am glad to see that a little passion is being generated in this discussion. I think everybody is on the right track. WSR is already in effect for all Puget Sound rivers and should probably be extended to all Washington rivers. Barbless hook requirements for all waters containing anadromous fish would benefit smolts but would have little benefit to adult steelhead. Bait restrictions might help but would meet a lot of resistance.

CNR! - I think Aunty is correct, not that CNR fishermen are necessarily elitist, but that CNR has a much greater impact than mortality. I am reminded often by my fishing partner for the past 38 years, a fisheries scientist, that as a sports fishermen I don't have to let the facts get in the way of my opinions. A lot of research has been done in the past few years on the effects of CNR, very little on steelhead, but a considerable amount on Atlantic salmon and other threatened species. In every case there is a long lasting effect. Migration is impacted, in one study Atlantic salmon went down river for a period of time, then resumed their upriver migration, arriving two weeks later than normal in the spawning areas resulting in reduced spawning opportunity. There is a long term suppression of hormones after the stress of catch and release resulting in poor reproductive success. It doesn't take being chased down the street every day of the week as Aunty suggested. In New York city there was a rise in babies born with birth defects in the year after 9-11, which was attributed to the stress the mothers experienced following 9-11. Stress effects reproduction in all animals, it drives evolution. For fish that are experiencing the stress of poor habitat , climate change, and competition from other fish the added stress of CNR cannot help. Having access to this info we personally no longer fish for steelhead when hatchery fish aren't readily available. It is not going to save the wild steelhead, 35 years ago we didn't think about it, we released fish and we killed fish, and fishing was always good. Saving wild steelhead requires some attention to the facts and not just our opinions.