Hehe, this one never really changes year to year does it? It will come down to strict regulations and closures even though more and more are seeing this snaggery for what it is. Mark my words on that.
But it is interesting to discuss it. I might go out on a limb to say that an increased level of respect is being shown on both sides. Two years ago, I dont think we could have made it to page 3 without a lot of ugly words and hurt feelings being traded.
One last(?) thought.
Why is snagging, as defined in the regulations, illegal? Ask yourself that.
This 'bottom bouncing' or 'flossing' is clearly a snagging act. The intention for snagging is there or efforts to increase the chance to 'hook/snag' a fish wouldnt be made (ie leaders growing in length on a yearly basis, when I did it, 6' was considered LONG)
So why is there surprise that something that was once illegal for good reason but is now 'legal' is causing all the problems and concerns that are being shared here? Just because someone has figured out a way to snag but not get in trouble for doing it, does it change the fact that you are STILL snagging? Not at all.
Kudo's to big steel for his efforts to clean the river. While no one can take that away from him, it makes no difference to the issue at hand here. If I used a big treble hook to snag steelhead, but took a bag of garbage out with me, would that make everything ok in the end?
Also, in my opinion, it makes no difference what goes on in the US or across the world in regards to 'fishing'. That's apples to oranges.