In this episode, John interviews his father Bill McMillan for a second time. In addition to being a famous steelhead angler, Bill is also a preeminent historian on salmon, steelhead and trout on the West Coast.
The history of salmon and steelhead, from their remarkable peak in abundance to their rapid depletion, is about as hardcore as it gets for any animal on this planet. This episode John and Bill take on many questions, such as: How many salmon and steelhead the Columbia River once produced? Are those estimates realistic? How quickly were the fish were depleted? How about the impact that settlers and pitchforks had? Tune into this episode for all this and more, plus a close-out with a few examples of success that illustrates how quickly salmon and steelhead can rebound if given a chance.
