A steelhead, by definition, spends a good part of its life in the ocean. The ability of a steelhead to reproduce has everything to do with the ability to have its progeny successfully go to the ocean and then return. The journey to the ocean is a lot more complicated and dangerous for a smolt than a journey to a Great Lake.

Those same Skamania fish were planted in the upper Clackamas for 30 years and did produce many smolt (too many for the wild smolt to compete with). However, the H-H smolt rarely returned as adults..............
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If every fisherman would pick up one piece of trash, we'd have cleaner rivers and more access.