I have been fishing my A S S off. Nine days in and the fishing has been absolutely phenomenal. The area I am fishing has had a record Steelhead run this year with return numbers that are off the charts, and there is a mandatory retention rule of hatchery Steelhead, with a limit of 4 per day. If you are caught releasing a hatchery fish you have caught, you can be fined. They are trying to weed out the hatchery stock to increase the native run. If you are not going to eat the hatchery fish you are forced retain, there is a food bank that will take them and serve them to the poor and elderly in the area. I have loaded up a friend's freezer, eaten a metric shit-ton of fresh Steelhead, and donated many to the food bank as well. Most days, it is pretty easy to hit your limit - sometimes sooner than you wish! Once you hit your limit, you can continue to fish, but only with a #14 hook or smaller - so you are essentially gunning for Whitefish at that point .
Them's the rules, and enforcement on the river is fierce. They even have wardens fishing undercover, and posing as nosy fishermen asking questions to fellow anglers - tough gig, huh? Three times I have been asked for my lic. and had my gear and car checked, as you are only allowed barbless hooks. They also check your creel, and search your car for hidden coolers and illegal fish. Yo must also keep a catch card with all of your fish listed on the card as you catch them. Crazy!
Almost every fish is right at 30", as most are hatchery returns that travel together. My largest is a 37" native, with my smallest being right at 22" - not sure where he came from. Also finding lots of Dolly Varden in the mix, all in the 18"-24" range, some Cutts in the 12" to 16" range, and some Whitefish in the 15" to 24" range. You are allowed to keep the Whitefish (up to 15 per day) and they make some good eating. I have taken 2 of them to smoke at my friend's place, neither of which would have survived after swallowing a large nymph and bleeding badly. I have yet to hook into a Salmon - still trying, but once they are up as high as I am fishing, they are pretty much done.
Find the riffles, locate the pools below them, dead-drift a #8 Prince Nymph or swing a #8 Black Leech thru the pool, and you will hook up. Three to six drifts thru the pool and if you don't get a strike, move on to the next one. The Dollies hug the bottom, and the Steelies move between the bottom and the shallower drops on the slopes into the fronts of the pools. Cutts take the backs of the pools where the waters shallows out, and the Whitefish stay under the Cutts or just in front of them.
Two more days of fishing, and then it is back to reality.
Cheers,