Tiny Steelhead this year??? what is going on???

[Kodiak1]

Fished the Straits of Juan de Fuca this summer, and the chinook, coho, and pinks all came in very fat and packed with herring, anchovy, squid, shrimp, and/ or candlefish. The baitfish were so thick we were getting false bottom readings frequently. Our downrigger cables and line were vibrating like crazy going through bait balls. The surface would be frothy with one or more of the above more often than I have ever experienced. I was told that the ocean conditions were perfect for baitfish. So, either our steelhead were in a different part of the ocean than the salmon species, or something else is to blame.
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