Kenny said it right.
Most anglers care about discontent towards other anglers than the health of the fish!
Perfect example is the Thompson...
Island has been crashing for years, low insect life and clear cutting of the watersheds is out of hand.
The Gold probably didn't even get enough brood last winter not too mention dozens of other flows!
When your "living" depends on maintaining the status quo people will say anything to maintain the status quo.
It must be the rain, the insects, fish farms, global warming, those damn fly fishers, bankies, logging, seals, etc etc etc.
Guiding and the pressure it puts on vastly reduced stocks certainly can't be any part of the problem, can it?
Could the lack of nutrients and flies are due to the lack of salmon carcasses being carried up into the watershed by the bears. Might be just that simple.It is from acidic rain damaging heterotrophic bacteria in our soils which leads to lack of nutrient and ammonia issues.
This topic has been covered a few times now on a few different threads. The mortality and morbidity from capture events on a fish depend upon a number of factors including: stream/water temperature, time played (related to breaking strength of line, and angler intent and actions) and subsequent loss of energy and build up of stress by-products in the fish, where caught (mouth, gut, etc), and what gear used (barbless and size of hook, etc), whether the angler takes the fish out of the water for a selfie and for how long, and whether there is consecutive, cumulative capture events. The occasional person also doesn't recognize a release-only steelhead and bonks it. I think education is key in reducing these stressors....This is why the notion, from a biologist, that any catch and release fishery can be considered pressuring on a steelhead population makes me puke! ...
wrt changes in inverts - it isn't just nutrients that determine species quantities/biomass, associations, and response. Hydrologic changes, bioturbidation, forestry and riparian effects, stability and size of substrate - all have large effects too.