Dawn, you're ALWAYS right. We discussed this "overfishing" thing last year. I have a new point which I'll share with you...ahem...
I'm bothered by one thing, but then again, from what I've learned maybe I shouldn't be bothered by it.
I don't care a whit about preserving the genetic pool of hatchery fish, although I hate killing steelhead, any steelhead. Just a personal thing. They're so beautiful...
Any fish that is caught can die from the experience. I believe that a fish caught with bait has more of a chance of dying than one caught on a fly.
With the crowds more fish are being caught. It's probable that more wild fish are caught, therefore that more wild fish are dying from that experience. (I'd love to see bait outlawed on the T.)
I've gone to heavier tippets this year (10# Maxima...these fish are NOT leader shy!) and I've upped my rod weight from a 6 wt. to a 7 wt. I'm now able to horse those puppies in faster than last year, which I believe is better for the fish.
There IS however, one fly in the ointment. Last year, the voyeur in me watched T steelies spawning at close range. Some in the group had adipose fins, some did not. I mentioned this to a fisheries biologist I met on the T, and he said that he believed that the "wild" fish we're seeing in the upper T are probably no more than first or second generation, that mom and dad or grandma and grandpa were hatchery fish.
To degenerate into the absurd, I have an answer to the crowding problem on the T. Only Arizonana who pay $100 for their licenses and SH cards should be able to fish that river from 10/15-12/1. I'm certain that when our campfire folks consider this, they'll all agree with me and wonder why they hadn't come up with this solution before.
Oh yeah, and Arizonans should not be allowed to fish the T between 12/1 and the end of the year. Hey, fair is fair.
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