They dont want to discourage anyone and it's no secret they would be very happy if less people fished Winni. But most of the other lakes in fact are in allot worse shape than Winni as far as Salmon go and have been for a few years now. The full netting results are public record and quite an extensive report, too much to put in the "long" press release they put out, probably bore most folks, I don't think there was any intent to decieve anyone.
Winni Salmon size and hook wounding are still a problem and they did show that. No Derby last spring looks like it made a huge improvement in Winni size, soon to be undone with this spring Derby and hook wounding is still on the rise. The other bigger Lakes (Squam, Sunapee and Winnisquam) all have problems of their own resulting in declining Salmon populations. Good news for Winnisquam, the smelt population is coming back.
Last years yearlings will make a huge difference in all the lakes if they took well, but it dont look good from last years creel results ???? This years batch is undersize from last report I got, so much for the new guy giving you "whatever size you want", raisin Salmon is allot more difficult than any other Trout I've found out.
Sorry for the doom amd gloom, but as with everything else, things can change, for the better we hope.