I think Curt and others have touched on this a lot but the closer one gets to the stream the less likely a salmon is to strike a lure or bait (staggers and flossers exempted).

The mindset, and legal basis, for salmon management is to take the full harvest right down to the escapement number. If one side does not take the fish, the other does. You are not allowed (and I tried) to pass "harvestable" fish into escapement.

Factor in that the State prefers the marine mixed stock fisheries for sports because the fish bite and lots of money is spent chasing them. That maximizes economic return to the state.

FleaFlicker2 hits a really good point, which bugs me a lot, is that WDFW emphasizes boat-based fisheries over land-based. Walleye, kokanee, bass, OD trout, Tiger Musky, salmon, even steelhead are now primarily the province of boat-based fisheries. Access is a problem, but it does seem-to me- to limit recruitment of new anglers.