I've fished both the Hoh and the Nisqually. Growing up in Tacoma, I fish the Nasty a ton. Same with the Puyallup. Both are in the dumps now. Having been closed since 93, the Nisqually still hasn't recovered. The last numbers I remember seeing was between 600 to 1,000 fish returning. Those numbers are far from its past glory. Perhaps Salmo G or Todd may know a more current number. As I mentioned, comparing a PS river to a coastal river isn't really a fair comparison. Again, my point was that closing something doesn't neccesarily guarantee the fish will return. There are lots of variable involved, especially with PS rivers.

I'd rather see the Hoh remain open under total wild steelhead release and some cooperation with the tribe to reduce their impact.