Chris,

The guys above summed it up pretty well. I guess you'll just have to increase your catch numbers and draw your own conclusions. I feel that one must land a pretty fair number of fish to get any feel for any difference in the two. Each fish puts up it's own struggle and in different water temps and flows, so an accurate comparison is difficult to make. One fish might fight remarkably hard, but the reasons why aren't always clear. Rich said it well that hatchery fish run up and park at the hatchery holes, making you bring your own rock to stand on to fish for them. This is less true for summer-runs which tend to spread out and hold more.

My experiences have led me to believe that, in general, native fish fight harder and longer on average. That doesn't mean a hatchery fish can't or won't put a whippin' on you, but I sported a nice blister om my thumb from trying to stop a 5-6lb. summer run hen on the Hoh, and no hatchery fish of that size that I ever hooked was able to get a reel humming like that.

I guess you shouldn't look at it as a "which is superior" thing. Rather, just get out there and spank a few fish and you can make up your mind for yourself about it. Look at it this way; all hookups are good, each fish fights differently from the last one, and you'll never be pissed that you landed one versus the other.

Fish on............