Hmmmm,... interesting question. I've never deliberately targeted downstreamers but have caught some.... I really don't have any opinion about this but see the question as similar to whether to fish for Steelhead on the redds; potentialy controversial....
Downstreamers are tired, hungry and in a hurry to get back to their huntin' grounds. They're more vulnerable to bait/lures/flies/"flures". Soooo, they're readily caught. Not much of a fight tho.
In their post spawn condition, their reserves are depleted and maybe interfering with them lowers survival rates after release (....speculating here).
They're certainly not worth keeping/eating at that time (no speculation here). So killing a downstreamer makes little sense. Maybe if you've had little success over the course of a season, catching some spent fish will salve the stink (skunk).
At any rate, if I accept all of this, maybe we shouldn't fish for spent fish...
Bookmarks