Fall “chrome” has arrived on a Lake Erie tributary stream!
As of September 2nd, 2026 the Lake Erie water temperature (degrees F) off Toledo was 74 degrees, off Cleveland was 74 degrees, off Erie was 75 degrees and off Buffalo was 74 degrees.*
*Please go to the USGS real-time temperature data in the right menu bar for water temperatures for select Lake Erie tributaries.
As the days or “photo-periods” become shorter and the Lake Erie lake shore begins to nudge down to 68 degrees F, in early to mid September, steelhead (including some brown trout) will begin staging along the Lake Erie lake shore and tributary mouths as a “pre-spawn” movement.Early cool fall rains and tributary run-off (54 degrees F or less) will initiate the first steelhead “runs” of the season into the lower part of Lake Erie's tributary streams. The smaller size tributaries (which cool quicker in late summer/early fall versus larger tribs) will result in some of the earliest steelhead action in “steelhead alley” region of OH, PA and NY. Remnants of fall hurricanes can bring bonus run-off episodes on the tributaries during dry falls.
2025 Lake Erie Steelhead Stockings*
*2026 steelhead stocking data not available yet.
Lake Erie steelhead (smolt/yearling) stocking numbers for 2025 include: PA (497,648/39.8%), OH (464,538/31.1%), NY (191,150/15.3%), Michigan (49,785/3.8%) and ON (48,291/4%).
Pennsylvania total steelhead stocked in 2025 was substantially down from its annual stocking objective of 1 million steelhead yearlings. This reduced stocking (the 2026 stocking total of 394,000 steelhead was even lower) resulted from of changes in hatchery rearing and facilities available to the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PF&BC) for steelhead production (see below under PA).
NY's total steelhead stocking total in 2025 also included 50,250 domestic Randolph strain rainbow trout from the NY's Bath State Fish Hatchery (fall fingerlings/yearling size) and Caledonia State Fish Hatchery (spring yearlings), which in combination with steelhead stockings, was slightly below their annual stocking target of 191,500 steelhead. All tributaries in NY were stocked at target levels in 2025 except Cattaraugus Creek which was slightly lower at 58,400 steelhead (normal target is 60,000). Juvenile steelhead stocking in Ohio for 2025 was 3.2% above target objective of 450,000 yearling steelhead (including Shasta strain rainbow Trout).
The 2025 stocking strains of steelhead by the Lake Erie fishery agencies are 97% “naturalized” Great Lakes strains (with West Coast origin). They are as follows: PA (Lake Erie strain collected from Trout Run nursery waters and Shasta River Rainbow Trout), NY (Washington Strain collected from Lake Ontario's Salmon River in NY), OH (combination of L. Manistee River strain and Shasta River Rainbow Trout) and MI (L. Manistee River strain/Lake Michigan).
It is to be noted that Coho salmon and Chinook salmon have not been stocked into Lake Erie by any fishery agency since 2003 and 1997 respectively. Nevertheless, its possible steelheaders can catch an occasional stray salmon this fall due to a very small source of stray and naturally reproduced fish. Don't expect to catch any wild run pink salmon this fall though, the small number that do run, return in “odd” number years in Lake Erie with a few expected in 2027.
2025 Lake Erie Brown Trout Stockings*
*2026 brown trout stocking data not available yet.
This was a 75% decrease from 2024 (due to a shortfall at the Tionesta Hatchery) and below the long term (1990-2021) average annual stocking of 87,412 brown trout. In the future, the PF&BC plans on an annual stocking target of 300,000 brown trout to help make up for a recent steelhead stocking deficit.
These fish are in support of a put-grow-take brown trout program that was initiated in 2009. This program supports both an inland PF&BC brown trout fishery for tributary spring trout anglers and a Lake Erie lake-run brown trout fishery based in the Lake (with the potential of trophy lake-run brown trout “running” into the lake shore/tributaries on a fall spawning run).
In 2025, the NYDEC continued to stock fall fingerling (yearling size) domestic rainbow trout (45,000 from Bath State Fish Hatchery) as replacements for yearling brown trout stockings (eighth year in a row). Brown trout stockings by the NYDEC into Lake Erie were terminated in 2011 (after a 16-year run) when stockings efforts failed to produce a reliable lake, harbor or tributary fishery based on angler surveys.
Ohio
-Creel surveys by the Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODW) for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 fishing seasons showed steelhead anglers had a catch rate of .25 fish/hour of angling effort (versus .387 fish/hour in 2008-2009 and .354 fish per hour in 2009-2010).Curt Wagner, Fisheries Management Supervisor of the ODW says this slower bite is likely a reflection of stocking a domestic strain of rainbows beginning in 2021 in place of wild Little Manistee steelhead (which were not available from Michigan because of COVID). Great Lakes fishery studies have shown that domestics have a lower return rate to rivers stocked versus wild strain steelhead. The ODW began stocking Little Manistee strain steelhead again in the spring of 2024 into Ohio's Lake Erie tributary streams.
-The Cuyahoga River in Ohio was stocked with steelhead for the first time by the Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODW) in 2024 with 60,000 steelhead (with similar totals in 2025 and 2026). The ODW expects the first meaningful steelhead returns to begin in fall 2025 and spring 2026, with spring runs expected to be the most productive.
The Cuyahoga River for decades had a long history of industrial pollution and abuse (so polluted it famously caught on fire in the late 1960's). Conservation efforts in recent years cleaned this river up to allow steelhead stockings and opened up 32 miles of public access to steelhead fishing (access points include Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Summit Metro Parks and Cleveland Metro Parks).
A multi-agency dam removal plan (including sediment removal) has also begun on the Cuyahoga River. Two dams already have been removed (Brecksville and Pinery Feeder dams) and 4 more are planned in the future (including the Gorge Dam which is scheduled to be fully removed by 2030). Dam removals on the Cuyahoga will help facilitate fish migration up and down the river (including steelhead) and help steelhead reach spawning habitat in the mainstem of the river and its feeders.
-The ODW is also actively verifying and studying natural steelhead reproduction in the headwaters of the Cuyahoga River. If natural reproduction is confirmed it could reduce reliance on annual steelhead stockings, improve genetic diversity and result in a more resilient steelhead population in the Cuyahoga River.
-The Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders Association will be holding its 32nd annual Steelhead Expo, Saturday, September 26, 2026, at the Rocky River Nature Center in North Olmsted, OH.
-Chagrin River Outfitters (CRO) will be running a series of steelhead workshops in 2026 (Oct 30-Nov 1, Nov 6-Nov 8 and Dec 11-Dec 13) at their new steelhead lodge located on Conneaut Creek, OH. They will also be doing a number of Steelhead 101 classes in 2026 (Sept 19 and 26/Oct 10, 11 and 17) at the CRO fly shop. Visit CRO or call owner Dan Pribanic at (440) 247-7110 for more details and registration information.
Pennsylvania
-In 2024, 2025 and 2026, the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PF&BC) reduced its yearly steelhead stocking with the purpose of keeping all steelhead eggs obtained from returning Lake Erie fish in the same basin. (717,000 steelhead/2024 with 100,000 Shasta strain rainbow trout, 500,000 steelhead/2025, and 394,000 steelhead/2026).In the past, the PF&BC sent fertilized steelhead eggs to the Tionesta State Fish Hatchery, which is out of the Lake Erie watershed. The Tionesta Hatchery had been annually producing stocking size smolt steelhead (averaging 400,000 to 500,000 per year).
After the PF&BC tested a false positive for Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) at the Tionesta Hatchery, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommended to the PF&BC not to move any eggs out of the basin to prevent the spread of VHS. This forced the PF&BC to rear all steelhead at the Fairview State Fish Hatchery, which the PF&BC is now actively working to modify (including state of the art filtration, UV treatment and expanded raceways) to increase its steelhead rearing capacity and get back to its yearly steelhead stocking of 1 million yearlings. The PF&BC is also building a new Lake Erie research vessel to support its steelhead program and other fishery programs.
The PF&BC expects it to take 3-4 years to get back to its yearly target steelhead stocking total. Adult Pennsylvania steelhead runs will be down in coming years (steelheaders should see possible decline in 2027) but the PF&BC plans to make up for less steelhead with record lake run brown trout stockings (including Shasta strain rainbows/see below).
The PF&BC also hopes that Lake Erie steelhead straying from their home stocking tributary to nearby states will take the biggest hit on reduced steelhead adult return rates. The PF&BC believes most of these stray fish will be of Tionesta Hatchery origin which they believe imprint less to the tributary stocked in versus Fairview Hatchery steelhead which have spent their whole lives in the Lake Erie watershed.
-In July 2026, the PF&BC has approved the purchase of three easements on Walnut Creek. They included an easement to a new property recently acquired by the Asbury Woods Partnership adjacent to Asbury Woods Park ($14,000/730 feet/both sides of creek), an easement to the Judith M. Schroeck property ($5,750/312 feet/west side of creek/just north of the “tubes” area of Dutch Road).
The PF&BC also approved an easement for Mill Creek Township's Bridger Park (3,600 feet/both sides of creek) for developing parking and a footpath. A previous $97,000 Erie Access Improvement grant to Mill Creek Township in May 2013 will cover the cost of the easement. Since 2013 the Township has used the grant money for improving Walnut Creek public access at Bridger Park as well as stream channel modification, bank stabilization and installing fish habitat structures.
-A completed 2025-2026 Pennsylvania Steelhead Association online and paper version angler survey showed 254 anglers submitted trip information for 2,993 total hours of fishing. 1,454 steelhead were landed (128 fish kept) with a steelhead catch rate of .52 fish/hour of fishing (lower than recent previous surveys which ranged from 1.0 to .62). A total of 98 Shasta strain rainbows (which had an adipose fin clip) were also caught with 15 brown trout and a small number of Atlantic, coho, king and pink salmon. The PSA gave all survey data collected to PF&BC Biologist Mike Hosack for review.
The fin clipped Shasta rainbows (100,000 obtained from Ohio's ODNR Castalia Fish Hatchery) were stocked in 2024 by the PF&BC. The purpose of the stocking was to help make up for (to some degree) Pennsylvania's recent reduction in steelhead stockings and (if returns are good) potentially augment the Pennsylvania steelhead program in the future.
-Pennsylvania steelhead anglers can access an online/interactive map by the PF&BC of Lake Erie County fishing easements (acquired by funds generated by PF&BC Lake Erie Fishing Permits) by going to this link: PF&BC and click on Erie Fishing Easements/View Map. Map includes easement location, boundaries and public parking areas.
-The Pennsylvania Steelhead Association (PSA) is holding its annual Fall Run Picnic, Sat. Sept. 26th, 2026 at the Pleasant Ridge Pavilion (on Barker Rd) in Girard, PA. Ticket information for the event can be found on the PSA website at (PSA).
At the event the PSA will be honoring the anniversary years for 5 local fishing organizations that have contributed to the success of the Erie County steelhead fishery (including trout fishing) over the years. They include: PSA (30 yrs), Sons of Lake Erie (45 yrs), 3-C-U Trout Association (60 yrs) which began stocking steelhead (actually rainbows) in 1966, Northwest PA Chapter of Trout Unlimited (60 yrs) and the Wesleyville Conservation Club (80 yrs) which initially began in 1946 raising and stocking brown trout and then stocking steelhead (rainbows) starting in 1966.
For more information regarding the history of the steelhead fishery in Pennsylvania as well as the entire "steelhead alley" region please refer to John Nagy's Steelhead Guide Book.
New York
-The NY Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) has implemented a new 2026-2035 steelhead management strategy plan (which succeeds a 2016-2025 plan). The long term primary goal of the plan is maintaining an average steelhead catch rate of .33 fish/hour (which was the goal of the 2016-2025 plan and is still among the best nationwide).
-The new steelhead plan's objectives focus on maintaining high-quality steelhead fisheries, supporting sustainable angling opportunities and using stocking and habitat management to sustain populations. The plan also emphasizes long term population monitoring, habitat quality assessments and angler behavior and catch rate studies.
-The NYDEC will also be evaluating the impact of the Pennsylvania steelhead stocking reductions in 2024-2026 on the Western NY steelhead fishery. Since Pennsylvania and other Lake Erie fisheries jurisdictions contribute significantly to the NY steelhead fishery, the NYDEC feels it is critical to evaluate the impact of these stocking reductions (NYDEC feels they will begin to feel these reductions in 2027) and focus on improving the performance of NY's stocked steelhead.
-Results for a completed NYDEC 2024-2025 tributary angler survey showed 130,000 hours of steelhead fishing effort with a steelhead catch rate of .39 fish/hour (with Chautauqua and Walnut/Silver Creeks having the highest catch rates).
-A cooperative net pen project (19th straight year) between the NYDEC and the Bison City Rod and Gun Club in the lower Buffalo River (Dunkirk Harbor) continued in 2025. It produced 7,500 yearling size steelhead (which is part of the NYDEC 191,150 stocking total for steelhead and domestic rainbows in 2025). The cooperative is scheduled to continue in 2026.
-The Springville Dam Ecosystem Restoration Project on Cattaraugus Creek, NY is still being delayed (on hold since March 2020) primarily due to budget constraints (federal/USACE, state/NYDEC and local/Erie County) stemming from the COVI-19 pandemic. Other concerns contributing to the delay include real estate approval issues, potential downstream movement of contaminated sediment during project construction and reliability of lamprey trap designs in the lowered dam structure.
Despite the delays, Erie County, NY recently secured a $1 million Water Quality Improvement Project grant earmarked to help cover the costs of lowering the dam spillway, upgrading the lamprey barrier and constructing the fish passage.
The primary goal of this project is to restore ecological connectivity on Cattaraugus Creek by reconnecting the upper and lower watersheds while continuing to block invasive sea lamprey movement. In terms of the steelhead fishery, the project will allow steelhead migratory movement (above the dam) to 70 miles of high quality spawning and nursery water in the main stem and feeders (potentially boosting natural steelhead reproduction). It will also open up 34 miles of public fishing access (which is already in place) taking a lot of fishing pressure off the lower part of the river.
-The NYDEC is continuing its ongoing experiment (begun in 2021) at the NY State Salmon River Fish Hatchery to increase steelhead smolt (yearling) size prior to stocking by increasing the dissolved oxygen concentration in the hatchery water and decreasing the rearing density.
Of all the fishery agencies in the Lake Erie region, NY stocks the smallest average mean length of smolt steelhead into Lake Erie (4.5 to 5 inches versus 6.0 to 7.5 inches for OH, PA and MI). This is problematic because Great Lakes fishery studies have shown that the smaller the smolt stocking size, the lower the survivability and return rates into the tributaries they were stocked.
If the hatchery experiment is successful, it could mean better steelhead returns due to higher return rates and survivability of these larger steelhead smolts (even if less steelhead are stocked). Studies have also shown that stocking steelhead smolts lower in the tributaries increases smolt survivability and adult return rates (a strategy that the NYDEC has started implementing).
(Note: Steelheaders choosing to harvest steelhead (rainbow trout) on the Western NY Lake Erie tributaries should be aware that the minimum allowable size is 12 in. which helps protect undersize stocked steelhead smolts. Other Lake Erie tributary minimum sizes include: OH (12 in.), PA (15 in.), MI (10 in.) and ON (0 in.) where conservation efforts and catch-and-release practices encourage letting smaller fish go. Also, NY's Lake Ontario tributaries are managed differently, with the NYDEC enforcing a 25 in. minimum size limit for steelhead in order to protect spawning steelhead and prolong high-quality winter trophy fishing opportunities. Daily creel limits and seasons for steelhead (rainbow trout) can be found under regulations on the specific fishery agency website.)
-In June 2025, the Seneca Nations of Indians (SNI) amended their fishing regulations on Cattaraugus Creek to require any non-tribal members wishing to fish in restricted areas on Cattaraugus Creek must be accompanied by an enrolled SNI member (this requirement continues in 2026). A map of these restricted areas can be found at this link: SNI
Sea Lampreys, Asian Carp, Forage Fish
-Lake Erie is currently the only fishery in the Great Lakes basin meeting its target adult sea lamprey population index (fewer than 3,300 spawning adults lake wide) although recent juvenile wounding rates on large lake trout were above target. Several Lake Erie tributaries are planned to have TFM lampricide treatments applied by the US Fish & Wildlife Service in 2026. These include (US side/none on Canadian): Grand River, Raccoon Creek, Crooked Creek and Buffalo Creek.
Since Lake Erie is the shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes, sea lampreys mature much faster in this basin (which can be magnified during any lapse of treatment). During the pandemic, lamprey populations in Lake Erie spiked, due to temporary halted treatment programs in 2020-2021.
-The Trump administration recently issued a sudden stop-work order on the $1.15 billion Brandon Road Interbasin Project in Illinois (the primary defense line preventing Silver and Bighead Carp from entering Lake Michigan and potentially spreading into Lake Erie). After a phone call from the Governor Whitmer of Michigan (on Sept 2, 2026), the White House lifted the stop-work order restoring funding and allowing construction to be resumed.
-Recent NYDEC troll surveys (as well as other Lake Erie fishery agency monitoring) have shown that alewife populations in NY's eastern basin of Lake Erie are at the highest abundance in 25 years with emerald shiners down compared to historical highs. Rainbow smelt population have also trended below long-term averages. Spikes of gizzard shad populations have fluctuated in recent years (although steelhead rarely feed on them since they are found only in warm water) with round goby populations shown to be well established.
Steelhead in Lake Erie are technically "pelagic" feeders (using the middle and upper levels of the water column to feed), although this feeding is highly dependent on water temperature and forage fish location (which are also mostly pelagic). Despite fluctuations in Lake Erie forage fish populations, open lake feeding conditions (where steelhead roam the lake primarily based on water temperatures and "thermoclines") have sustained healthy steelhead sizes in Lake Erie.
Being opportunistic feeders, Lake Erie steelhead will also feed on bottom dwelling round gobies when summer lake temperatures force steelhead deeper and also during shallow lakeshore/tributary mouth migrations in late summer/early fall.
Note: Species specific alewife, emerald shiner and rainbow smelt baitfish patterns (like John Nagy's Lake Erie Rainbow Smelt) are highly effective for steelhead along the Erie lakeshore/tributary mouths and in the tributaries themselves. Since brown trout are primarily bottom feeders in Lake Erie, round goby, sculpin and crayfish patterns are killer for brown trout as well as steelhead.
