Did he miss  out on giving  an Orvis endorsement?  There's more than a few things in that bloggish  lump that I disagree with, but the guy is a salesman, and adept at marketing. The majority of west coasters don't give the tiniest of fecal excretions about the GL fisheries, and they aren't going to change. Of course, if a published author and famous guide beats on their forum doors, well..., maybe. The opposite may hold true, though, and the philosophy of fishing without catching  taking hold in the Great Lakes would do his guide business a whale of good. Kind of like bluefin guys that'll blow 10,000 bucks  on trips to get one surface take.  I'm sure I've opened myself to the usual lecture about how I don't know squat, but, since I wasted my time reading it, I figured I'd add to the pile...

Fichy , he ( author ) totally lost me at the endorsement piece in the beginning so I didn't bother the continued reading from an expert opinion .
My response was from L-13 post . Kinda agree that my pre - sophomore experience and interaction from fellow lake fishers and views were very similar . I toss the promotional reports or posts on FB as 5% or less of real picture . Absolutely there are 10% of the group with 90 % knowledge , I just cut 5 % out .

So now I went back and really read after your post .
Things I learned :
1.Don't post self promotion on social media unless you are trying to promote high end self promotion .
2. If your not a fisheries science major or someone with a higher fisheries major , a self promotional degree in theory and what others should do to promote the fishery in which supports the said major will suffice in gaining respect in your field .
3 . The social media is bad for the fishery unless you are only promoting your views and promotion towards the fishery in which supports you , aka. I'll show pictures but only if you do as I say it's in the interest of the fishery otherwise , stop posting about how well your day was because its ruening the sport .

Sorry guys , I'm just stuck at a keyboard watching webcams of lakes starting to ice over waiting to load my gear .

Another Jan. 5 Article: http://www.syracuse.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2016/01/guides_problem_of_dying_struggling_steelhead_on_salmon_river_persists.html
 
(Jus my opinion, probably not yours. (yukyuk)
My comment to article:
Hi Dave,
Thanks for keeping us informed!
I would have written that the normal # of twirlers (not last year) seen on a daily basis, over the last 25 years, is 99.99% LESS this year. Ya-Hooo! (Guess I should have returned your call ;)
In the last 25 years or so Ive seen 3-4 twirlers, on a daily basis, all steelhead season.
This year Ive only seen 3-4 TOTAL steelhead twirlers for the ENTIRE (almost daily) last 3 month steelhead season.
Yes, it persists, BUT is normal, and is 99.99% better than the last 25 years. (excluding last year)
Sincerely, Randy Jones
A Salmon River Pulaski NY full-time Fishing Guide who is on the water almost daily over the entire Salmon River Fishing season.

I didn't fish them very often this year and only caught a couple but they were  thin and fought tired. 
Never saw a swirler up river this year but then Steel numbers seemed quite low  even compared to last season.
Yes-  there were deads here and there but  some are likely  to be poor releases or over stressed fish caught and not properly revived.
The very few I caught early in the Steel season didn't have an overabundance of gill lice.
Face it- it was a poor season all round and appeared well below  the norms of fish being somewhat cyclitic in numbers.
Whatever the Lake issues are, they persist-and natural breed stock is being decimated-Hope for a few mild winters - they cant hurt.
One may fear that even the majority of stocked fish from the past few years have been 'lost ' in the lake.
Down would be catastrophic-- the only place to go is UP.
Ma Nature seems to be on board this year with-- UP.