Hey Kevin:
Just an FYI. Our steelies don't have that great of a meat quality to begin with, whether they have tight or loose eggs. Mostly a candidate for the smoker or grill if you get a real chrome one.
We fish more single eggs in bags, than skein, as our fish generally take smaller offerings than yours. In low, cold, clear water, we often fish loose eggs tied in mesh, that are no bigger than the size of a dime. Water has a lot of eddy current, and skein just won't hold up. Been messing with cures for skein and singles for the better part of 25 years, and it's a tough gig to get skein that is tight enough to hold up to our type of water, in a small enough pieces.
Another thing to consider is how our fish behave before and during the time they enter the rivers. Most of the Midwest is not blessed with the proper flow, temp, and water conditions that make steelheads spend a great deal of time in the river. There are rivers in Michigan, New York, Ontario,Northern Wisconsin, where the fish come in, and behave just like your fish, but most of the fish stage in the lake while eggs loosen up, just waiting for the right flows and temps to come in and spawn. Many of our fish are only in the rivers for a week or two max.
As a sidebar, catch and release is very big out here, and most guys only keep a hen or two for eggs to use in the winter under floats. Not a very nasty deed, as alot of the rivers won't even support natural reproduction. In most cases, it's a put and take fishery.
Hope this helps you understand a little more about our fish. Peace
_________________________
The best way to be succesful in life is to keep the people who hate you away from the people who are undecided