Salmo g - Your comparison to the Eastern Provinces of Canada are probably more correct than you realize. As you know, the life history, productivity, and habitat requirements of steelhead are remarkably similar to Atlantic salmon. With the notable exception of spring spawning vs fall spawning, the two fish species are very similar. And their life history and productivity are waaaaaay different than Pacific salmon.

Indeed under the right circumstances, Pacific salmon are one of the most productive fish on the planet. If in doubt, just look at those pics of spawning sockeye and pinks in Alaska. You NEVER see aggregations of spawning steelhead like that…..

So in my view, we ought to be regulating steelhead the way we regulate Atlantic salmon. For starters, future management of wild steelhead in the PNW should be completely different than Chinook, coho, or any other species of Pacific salmon. Future management should focus on the quality of the fishing experience, and the privilege of hooking and landing a wild fish.

I realize this notion may get very little support on this BB. But if we want truly wild steelhead to be available in the future for anglers, we should get used to a very different angling experience than we have now.