This is purely my opinion and nothing else. I have no background in this thing and have no scientific evidence to back up anything. It is my understanding that the bulk of the nates are in the river and sitting either on possible spawning grounds or are actively sitting on redds during the normal c&r season on the Sky. I also understand that at that same time most of the brats are in the hatchery or are attempting to spawn naturally. Based on that info one could presume/assume that during the mar/apr c&r season it will/is a targeted fishery directed at the nates. All you need to do to confirm this is look at STS, F&H News, the Everett Herald for all the stories about the BIG NATES that are just waiting to be caught! We can't have it both ways folks. I love to fish steelies(don't catch many) as much as the next person but if the numbers aren't there we must err on the side of safety. For the sake of the fish. This is not saying we are to just roll over and let WDFW put the bone to us. We need as a group with one voice to keep WDFW's nose to the grindstone for answers as to why they, knowing there were escapement issues, have allowed a kill fishery the last couple of years! I personally would support a year round wild steelie release. As far as the guides go. Nail the state for disaster relief just like they do for the commercials every year. I do think that c&r is a viable management option in some instances as long as there is proper angler education to minimize impact/mortality on these fish. But again if the numbers don't support the fishery we have to leave them alone.