Geoduck, thanks for the expanded explanation. I'm still not understanding the mismanagement issue regarding lowland lake trout. My understanding is that the Dept. switched from planting fingerling releases with some opening day legals to all legal and larger sized trout due to intense cormorant predation on fingerling plants.

You're dead on accurate with the rest of them based on what I know. However, the reason for closing game fish seasons on Lk WA, the Stilly, and others has nothing to do with gamefish species management and everything to do with treaty tribal demands on the Dept. If WDFW doesn't cave to those demands, they don't get to piggyback the tribal permit for PS fisheries.

And the Willapa Bay debacle is wholly owned by WDFW. As an outsider looking in, it appears that the goal was to screw over every possible interest. In which case it's been a smashing success.