When should a fish be left alone ???

[Belasko]

Steelhead actually will and do feed after leaving the ocean and heading upstream. Consider the number that start their journey in say August but don't get to their destination until spring time. Do you really think they go without food that entire time? Plus as mentioned earlier steelhead are capable of traveling back to the ocean to spawn again, however it is extremely rare for them to do that from Idaho. Salmon on the other hand don't feed. From my understanding there is an anatomical change (like the development of the kype) that makes it so they can not swallow. So their strikes are out of aggression, not hunger. They also make a beeline for spawning grounds, they don't linger along the way.
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