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While Erie offers outstanding steelhead fishing, many readers also enjoy fishing in neighboring Ohio and New York. For those anglers who relish their time on "Steelhead Alley," a recent study suggests why you may not be seeing as many fish as you might expect.
Each autumn, thousands of steelhead surge out of Lake Erie and into local tributaries, including those in northeast Ohio known as "Steelhead Alley." Like many fisheries, this fishery depends on artificial propagation, and Ohio DNR stocks roughly 465,000 smolts each spring to support it. While the economic payoff and recreational benefits are undeniable, a new study suggests the migratory return may be lower than believed.
The study, conducted by Bowling Green State University, used otolith microchemistry, a technique that analyzes trace element signatures in the fish's calcium carbonate ear stones, to trace adult steelhead to their original hatchery. The results revealed that stray fish, those that do not return to their imprinted home waters, are far more widespread than previously believed. More importantly, many of these stray fish not only fail to return to their home waters but may also not return to their home state.
Surveys across Lake Erie tributaries found that, on average, 46% of adult steelhead strayed from the state-specific waters where they were stocked. In western New York streams, out-of-state strays accounted for 72% of returning adults in Chautauqua Creek and 88% in Cattaraugus Creek. A large proportion of these fish were traced directly back to stocking efforts by Ohio and Pennsylvania.
So why is this happening?
Biologists have long struggled with increasing return rates. In 1996, Ohio shifted from stocking the domestic "London" strain to the wild Michigan "Little Manistee" strain. As a result, baseline adult return rates rose from roughly 10% to almost 30%, although before this study, researchers believed most adults that did not return to their stocking waters returned to nearby Ohio waters.
Size is also a factor. Smolts released below 5.9 inches often fail to migrate immediately to the main lake, instead lingering in the warm, shallow tributary pool. These smolts then become easy prey for cormorants, walleye, and smallmouth, and they also face higher summer water temperatures. When released, larger smolts (7 to 9 inches) quickly migrated to the main lake, increasing their survival and subsequent return rates.
So, what does this mean for anglers?
First, remember this is only one study; although it identified the outcome, it did not examine all possible causes. It suggests we need to reexamine much of what we believe about fish migration.
Biologists worldwide, not just in Ohio and Pennsylvania, have long believed that certain species naturally return to the tributary where they were born or, in the case of hatchery fish, where they were reared. The study results turn that narrative on its head. Fish may return to local waters, but not necessarily to the same waters they came from, and “local” now encompasses a much larger geographic area.
While it is impossible to know what changes this study may prompt, a broader regional management program is worth examining. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission already plays a major role in setting target regulations and management strategies for many species, including steelhead. Stocking may also need to be multi-jurisdictional. Instead of Ohio and Pennsylvania stocking large numbers of fish that stray into New York, maybe all three states could work together to increase the overall population by combining resources where possible.
What do you think? How should this new information reshape how Ohio and Pennsylvania structure their steelhead stocking programs?