Fishy -
Not sure that I buy that the increased in interest in fisheries like the Stevens Kokanee has much to do with reduced opportunities in other fisheries.

I agree that the spring kokanee fishing (usually in May though earlier this year) fills the gap between the late winter blackmouth and steelhead seasons and the summer season so it is understandable that folks are fishing then. However that gap has been there for years why the increase in just the last few years? The last 3 years or so has seen increased blackmouth and summer Chinook fishing opportunities in the local area; following your logic I would have expected to see decreasing interest rather than increased interest

I think it is more a matter of in this era of the "World Wide Web" and instant information that we collectively seek out the best fishing opportunities, exploit them until they are driven to a common mediocre. We see that in a wide range of fisheries. I agree that sometimes that increased interest is due to reduced opportunities in other areas - a prime example would spring steelhead fishing on the coast following the early closures on Puget Sound rivers. However at other times it seems to be more a matter of folks just taking advantage ofopportunities such as we have seen in fisheries like the Lake Steven's kokanee.

BTW -
One of the things I have noticed with the Steven's kokanee fishery is that with the increasing spring interest we are seeing a drop off in catch rates during the mid-summer (and a dropping of interest). We are fishing on a finite population of fish with the managers dancing that fine line of balancing available numbers with size.

Tight lines
Curt