I posted a picture here of a hatchery steelhead, about 7 or 8 pounds, that I caught last New Year's Day on the Nooch. Nothing much special about the fish, but I hoped more people would notice the obvious net marks that this average-sized steelhead had in its dorsal region (the thickest part of the fish). That an average hatchery steelhead can slip through the mesh being used in the QIN "Winter steelhead fishery" leaves a bit of doubt in my mind that hatchery steelhead were the target species.

That particular gillnet fishery, running 5 full days a week from mid-November through the Spring closure, is the one QIN fishery that I loudly complain about. 5 days a week, leaving just 2 days a week for unmolested passage, is representative of neither 50% of the opportunity nor anything that can be called sustainable. I will never understand or condone it. Fortunately for the QIN, my approval is never sought.