Backtrollin -
Not speaking for Salmo g. it is my understanding that the Skagit/Sauk CnR seasons beginning in the early 1980s ran through April. The north Sound rivers (Skagit and Nooksack) have some of the latest spawning winter steelhead in the State. When the season was first established only about 15% of the winter steelhead spawning had occurred by the end of April. There was nearly as many wild winters spawning after the first of June as spawning before the first of May. Peak spawning typically was in the middle part of May.

Of the nearly 300 miles of steelhead spawning habitat in the Skagit basin less than 20% (45 miles) would be open during the spring CnR season. In other words the season structure on the Skagit/Sauk is much more conservative in terms of interacting with wild spawning steelhead than say on the coast and certainly on SW Washington where on some rivers have year-round seasons with anglers fishing over ESA listed steelhead.

While it is possible that an angler might encounter a "running ripe" female that odds are pretty low. I have fished the spring CnR fishery from its first year and to the best of my recollection I have caught a single wild kelt (a spawned out wild summer steelhead) and a single "running ripe" female out of fairly large sample of wild winters caught.

Finally with the intense in-season monitoring WDFW should be more than able to hold any "impacts" below the allowed levels with the ability to close the fishery via emergency regulations quickly.

Curt