Not to cut WDFW for their abundant management miscues, I think it's important to consider that even if all steelhead fishing in WA state, treaty and non-treaty alike, had been entirely closed since 1980, the runsizes we are witnessing at present wouldn't be any larger, with very few exceptions.

Consider, for example, the Nisqually River, which has been closed to steelhead fishing since 1993, has not recovered. It showed some improvement for a couple seasons 5 to 7 years ago, but overall the trend has been in the tank. And the Skagit system, which has been very conservatively managed with respect to harvest since 1977, barely has returns large enough to support a well monitored and regulated catch-and-release season.

My point is, even if WDFW were a steelhead czar, which we all know they are not, and kept all rivers closed all the time, most all of the runs would be exactly what we are seeing. That being the case, what could WDFW have done differently?