Troutchaser...If you read my previous post and knew anything about me, you would know I am not in favour of bonking little smolts.

The adult coho and steelhead programs are meant to enhance the area tourism which stretches into the millions of $$ annually for the area. These fish are carefully raised in a hatchery environment and released when they are larger to give them a better chance of survival. When they return, they make everyone happy!....Wild steelhead ALL need to be released in the river and that is a big plus!
The main point here IMHO is how many hatchery raised smolts are released and stay in the system, and how many actually return to the ocean? I don't think there is any reliable data to answer the question.
Certainly, there are quite a few in the system every July as many are caught, especially with bait.
Are these fish just lazy and hang around for a free lunch from the salmon that are entering the system, or do they eventually head for the ocean when the water starts to warm?
There are far fewer caught in August when the warm weather is upon us that makes me think they head out eventually. Hatchery programs provide for a great deal of the sport we enjoy, and without them our rivers would be in serious trouble, but with that said, I don't see the point in making the Chilli/Vedder C& R only as this would defeat the purpose of the existing programs and agreements..............Ortho 8)