There is an article in STS discussing trout spawning with steelhead.
The article was about Hood River in Oregon. Since the river had a dam on it, they were able to get DNA from all fish passed over the dam.
This took place over a 15 year period.
The results of the findings were that on the Hood, 40% of all steelhead genes come from wild trout each generation. Pretty facinating stuff if you asked me.
I know in the past, Smalma has posted some good info regarding this as well.
I 'm sure the interaction between trout and steelies varies based on the river system.
I've read and heard about the interaction for awhile know. I'm no biologist, but I've had a question about this for awhile now that I'm hoping others with more knowledge can answer for me.

Currently, many of the rivers are open to a two trout limit over 14" in the summer. I've caught both non-clipped and clipped bows of that size. I assume that the unclipped fish are wild rainbows and the clipped fish are steelhead plants that have residualized to the river.
So, if wild trout may hold part of the key to helping wild steelhead survive and recover, should we be harvesting these trout?
Thanks for any input you can provide.
SF