Here's a question for all of you.. How many of you have actually seen a healthy dead steelhead in the river? I know I've put thousands and thousands of hours on the river and released more fish than most will hook in a lifetime and on very few occasions have I seen a dead steelhead in a river that's colder than 52 degrees. So if it's true that a gill hooked fish will die then where are they and how come you don't see them dead in the river system?

Here's a classic example. James and I were fishing the EF last year and he landed a 6 pound chrome bright native that was bleeding bad, literally a plume with every breath . So we worked with her and she was having a real tough time, and kept rolling over. While james was working her I noticed a small side pool that was blocked off from the river and told james to put her in there. Well he worked with her in there for about 3 more minutes and she slowly swam off into the blocked off pool. We proceeded to fish downriver about another 2 hours. When we got back, guess what, a fish that had bled more than a head cut on a human was fully active and ripping around the little pool. We proceeded to unblock the side pool and she swam back out into the river unharmed.. All the bleeding had stopped and she seemed to be in perfect condition.
Explain that one!!
Keith