While I can not defend Hells canyon dam I would like to point out that It has nothing to do with the hundreds of miles of river that have been choked to death in Idaho by the lower snaker river dams . A quick before and after fish count is pretty black and white. As far as the huge sockeye runs??? We are predicting that we will get as many as 15 fish this year... which is a huge run for us. It used to be in the 100,000. We also got 33,000 Kings this year " nearly all hatchery fish" That is also a huge amount. I have my fingers crossed for a big push of steelhead. Keep in mind that this return is based on 4 good water years in a row. Meaning... lots of water to get the smolts down river. The dams on the lower snake are killers during low water years. The increased water temps are death to smolts. And fellas.. this is a low water year. I can see a lot of truth in what obsessed has posted here. Its a lot of things that add up. As far as hells canyon goes, its the Salmon river that has hundreds of miles of spawning habitat. Longest free flowing river in the lower 48. The clearwater is a good example of the combination of poor logging practices etc. I know that the lower snake dams are not going anywhere soon. But its my hope that the issue will result in the improvement of issues that can be dealt with. Nets, birds and the like. I am going fishing right now or I could ramble on this one