2Bob and I spent three days up there.  My take on the upper river was it was crowded, Ellis was at near capacity all the time and while less crowded than a couple of weeks ago, there were still a lot of folks down river in P-town as well.  I had five fish over three days, 4 definite steelhead, and one that could have been a coho it was somewhat darker, but it ran at me and I could never get a tight line to make sure the hook was set, and it wasn't.  I landed one of the steelhead , they all look like 5-8 lbers, likely the first stockers to come back since the "winterkill" and die-off.  They sure are bright and jumpy this time of year!!  We fished down around 81, as it was our sense that there would be more chrome lower, and less guys, but you still had to basically find a slot or seam that was not occupied and occupy it, there were too many guys to allow for walking and trying lots of spots.  Zen steelhead fishing, stand in one place, swing fly over and over, wait for steelhead to arrive, Bang, Nirvana.  
 
I'm optimistic, and maybe it isn't as good as some other time but it is a darn sight better than last year!!