Oldskool,
I think two factors are influencing the results you observe. First, there has been an increase in the number of wild steelhead returning above Bonneville the past few years. Second, wild steelhead are "troutier" than their hatchery counterparts. That is, wild steelhead are more likely to hit a fly than are hatchery steelhead. There is some documentation of this from the Deschutes River, where the ratio of hatchery fish to wild fish is high, yet wild fish are caught in numbers disproportionately high relative to their abundance in the total steelhead population.
Oh, maybe more than two factors. Wild fish typically return over a wider time period than do hatchery fish, so they also might be more abundant both early and late in the run, relative to their hatchery counterparts.
Sg
I think two factors are influencing the results you observe. First, there has been an increase in the number of wild steelhead returning above Bonneville the past few years. Second, wild steelhead are "troutier" than their hatchery counterparts. That is, wild steelhead are more likely to hit a fly than are hatchery steelhead. There is some documentation of this from the Deschutes River, where the ratio of hatchery fish to wild fish is high, yet wild fish are caught in numbers disproportionately high relative to their abundance in the total steelhead population.
Oh, maybe more than two factors. Wild fish typically return over a wider time period than do hatchery fish, so they also might be more abundant both early and late in the run, relative to their hatchery counterparts.
Sg
