# Huron River :)



## steelhead sniper 860 (Nov 6, 2013)

Just wondering if anyone ever has any luck in the huron.
I had one chase a spinner to shore in october around milan area, but returned to day around coho dam with no luck. 
I know the huron gets a run of stray steelhead, but does 
Any one know if the coho still run the huron from the 70s-80s stockings?
any info is appreciated.


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## ztkaz (Sep 25, 2013)

No any fish from them in long gone and no natural reproduction. Might get a few stray salmon though.


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## no_luck_again (Mar 25, 2010)

I have caught a few stray steelhead in Huron upstream of Milan, They are there, but the drive over to vermillion is worth it in terms of quantity of fish.


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## steelhead sniper 860 (Nov 6, 2013)

Ive caught stray steelhead from the huron also in the past, and am well aware that the vermilion has a Larger quantity of stockers. 
I live directly in the middle of both systems about 10 min drive from either. 
I also know that in the peak of the season the more popular places can turn into a circus with 2-5 guys at every hole. (vermilion,rocky, etc) 
I enjoy the solitude of being on a river alone sometimes.
Guess I was wondering more about the coho run because my friend caught one just a few years back very far upstream on a feeder of the huron up close to norwalk. 
People say the fish do not naturally propegate and reproduce, but Ive landed trout smolts smaller then the ODNR stocks out of streams that Are not listed on the stocked places on there website, So Ive noticed some natural reproduction.


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

If there's any salmon that run up the Huron they most likely are strays from other states(and other Great Lakes). The most recent Cleveland Metroparks fishing report shows a coho caught out of the Rock recently, and usually a king or two are caught each year as well. 

And yep there's definitely some wild steelhead in our tribs. Not nearly enough to make any noticeable contribution to the stocked fishery, but natural reproduction does happen.

Here's a little guy I caught about a month ago..


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## steelhead sniper 860 (Nov 6, 2013)

Thanks for the picture FishingNick
Looks similar to the ones ive got in size and coloration.
The small "fry" that ive caught had circles on there sides like
the one you caught. Do you think this is a rainbow/ steelhead fry?
IF you dont mind me asking or if its not a small unnamed stream, 
where did you catch that small fry at?
The few that ive caught I always thought were creek chubs at first take then once i got a closer look I realized it was a salmonid hatchling.


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

steelhead sniper 860 said:


> The small "fry" that ive caught had circles on there sides like
> the one you caught. Do you think this is a rainbow/ steelhead fry?
> IF you dont mind me asking or if its not a small unnamed stream,
> where did you catch that small fry at?


Yeah, all trout/salmon/char species at that size have those circles...aka parr marks. Believe it or not I caught it in Walnut Creek in PA of all places. At first I thought it was a small shiner, chub, or goby but it turned out to be a little wild steelhead. I had a bunch of places in mind of where I'd catch my first one, but walnut wasn't one of them as it gets extremely toasty in the summer. Goes to show there's more natural reproduction than we think.

Here's a non-steelhead wild rainbow from a small nw PA stream way off the beaten path for comparison. Most of the inland wild bows I've caught are usually a little more colorful than all the pics I've seen of wild steelhead in the Erie tribs...which tend to be more silver.


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## trout4u (Jan 7, 2007)

steelhead sniper 860 said:


> Thanks for the picture FishingNick
> Looks similar to the ones ive got in size and coloration.
> The small "fry" that ive caught had circles on there sides like
> the one you caught. Do you think this is a rainbow/ steelhead fry?
> ...


I raise both steelhead and rainbow trout for a living, only job, and find it to be impossible to tell the difference between the two at any age. A DNA test will give you the exact answer of origin. If I pigment my rainbow feed the result is a rainbow with outstanding color quite different from fish from the same hatch.
It is conceivable that there is some limited reproduction occurring in any given year if conditions are perfect. However, considering the nature of the two, I would bet the fingerlings you are catching are strain run rainbows. Pa. and Ohio stock a great number of rainbows as well as steelhead into Lake Erie tribs.
I will admit, I have only been working with steelies for thirty years, so I could be wrong. Either way, it is amazing and encouraging to see the little guys show up. Good luck and tight lines.
Dan
Little Pickerel Creek Farm


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

^Good stuff...


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