Flyfisher 1066,
I couldn't say for sure, the reports over the last few years have been better than I would have expected. The clayslide at Steelhead Haven as well as Deer Creek itself have kept the lower part of the river too dirty to fish until well into the summer for the last couple of years. I walked in to the Mermaid last year near the end of July when it would normally be clear enough to count fish in the hole, and found the visibility to be only a foot or so. A few years ago ('98?), the year they had the emergency closure in the stretch just below the mouth of Deer Creek to protect the fish that were stacked up there, the WDFW estimated at least 1000 and possibly twice that many returnees. To me, that sounds a little too good to be true.