Salmo G,

Thanks for you professional input here. Very good and worthy information. Maybe there is some way of gathering data and statisics on a single case river regarding the difference between poaching mortality and strict C&R regs?.... Just with an isolated or single sample the WDFW might want to patrol heavily for a few years on a closed stream particular body of water that has already proven itself to be a "poachers dream". Then, they could cross-reference and compare these findings with known or estimated mortality rates from other rivers/streams that have C&R. In fact, they may even be able to gather this data from the same body of water if it's one of the streams that the WDFW manages in some years as a C&R wild steelhead and others as "closed waters"? -Just an idea....They probably wouldn't have the funding or time to do a sample test like this.....It may be better performed on a smaller good steelhead stream that poachers have frequented or be known to have fished in the past. -A ton easier to patrol I'm sure....
Good Fishing, Darin