# Steelhead run



## SteelHEAD412

I've fished PA steelhead for many years I was wondering if Ohio's run was the same. I've heard that they have a spring run


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## zimmerj

We start getting steelhead in the rivers in September and have runs that last through April. We get PA strays and the Manistee run which is the strain Ohio uses. My guess is some have already made it to the shallower tribs to start their spawn process. Rocky, Grand, Chagrin, Vermillion, and Conneaut are the stocked rivers, although strays show up in just about all rivers on south shore.


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## nooffseason

Yes, the stockers in OH are all a spring run as of about ten years ago I believe. Doesn't mean we don't get fish as early as September, but your chances of numbers are better the further east you go early in the year. Come March to April our rivers have large numbers.


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## kapposgd

Usually the manistees start coming in heavy in mid december, but like the posters before stated youll get some earlier. In the coming years though we are going to see big changes in the timing om the steelhead runs because the DNR has changed the way they stock steelhead. By controlling when they are born they can control when steelhead spawn, and they are now staggering the stocking which means we will see more steelhead in different stages of the run over a larger period of time


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## smath

kapposgd, where do you get this stocking info? I'd like to read more about it.


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## kapposgd

PM sent on the contact info, out of consideration for them i think it would be best not to publicy put info out on how to contact them while at work


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## kapposgd

Its interesting too bc i always thought spawning had to do with water temps, increasing daylight, strain, etc and not to mention sexually mature fish dont spawn every year but appearantly once they reach sexual maturity (which is what they are controlling by hatching them at certain times) they go ahead and spawn


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## smath

It is amazing to me that there is this wonderful fishery all around Cleveland. I was a kid when the Cuyahoga caught on fire and now it's possible to catch steelhead in the Hoga. What a turnaround.


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## laynhardwood

smath said:


> It is amazing to me that there is this wonderful fishery all around Cleveland. I was a kid when the Cuyahoga caught on fire and now it's possible to catch steelhead in the Hoga. What a turnaround.


The fire, while giving Cleveland a bad name, helped bring to light how bad the pollution had become in such a short time. Rivers in New York and Pennsylvania also caught fire but not much is made of those. It is remarkable how quickly the river has recovered and now it supports gamefish populations year round not just the steelhead run.


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## zimmerj

kapposgd said:


> Usually the manistees start coming in heavy in mid december, but like the posters before stated youll get some earlier. In the coming years though we are going to see big changes in the timing om the steelhead runs because the DNR has changed the way they stock steelhead. By controlling when they are born they can control when steelhead spawn, and they are now staggering the stocking which means we will see more steelhead in different stages of the run over a larger period of time


This is from an employee who works for ODNR: Directly from Kevin Kayle, who is in charge of Ohio hatcheries (and please share on OGF!): "You can dispel that rumor. Due to the fact that we primarily get all of our eggs from Michigan (collected at the weir on the Little Manistee), we have little control over the span or timing of the egg take."


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## Cleveland Metroparks

smath said:


> It is amazing to me that there is this wonderful fishery all around Cleveland. I was a kid when the Cuyahoga caught on fire and now it's possible to catch steelhead in the Hoga. What a turnaround.


You 'll be interested to know that of all the streams we assess in Cleveland Metroparks (nearly 1,000 headwater streams), I've never seen as many wild naturally produced baby trout (steelhead) as I have in a trib of the Cuyahoga. One June I literally sampled HUNDREDS of pinky finger long trout there in a few hundred feet of steam!

As noted by another poster, the rumor about ODNR changing their stocking timing is just that...a rumor. I know this because I asked the guy in charge of the Ohio hatchery program yesterday and he confirmed it as such.

Mike


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## nooffseason

It would be nice if it was somehow possible and true, though


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## laynhardwood

Cleveland Metroparks said:


> You 'll be interested to know that of all the streams we assess in Cleveland Metroparks (nearly 1,000 headwater streams), I've never seen as many wild naturally produced baby trout (steelhead) as I have in a trib of the Cuyahoga. One June I literally sampled HUNDREDS of pinky finger long trout there in a few hundred feet of steam!
> 
> As noted by another poster, the rumor about ODNR changing their stocking timing is just that...a rumor. I know this because I asked the guy in charge of the Ohio hatchery program yesterday and he confirmed it as such.
> 
> Mike


That is pretty cool I wonder how many actually survive to spawn


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## HappySnag

nooffseason said:


> It would be nice if it was somehow possible and true, though


it is possible,they are doing that West,it has somting to do with egs,they changing the fish clock by heating the egs to specific temperature,to specific time 2 second or 10 second.


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## kapposgd

I apologize for being incorrect on that. Im not one to throw info around unless i believed it to be true. My info came from a professional guide who said he was told about the staggered stocking when he visited the hatchery. I was also told the new hatchery was going to have the means to produce and collect eggs from now on bc they had issues getting them from michigan in the past but i guess that was incorrect as well


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## Flowie

zimmerj said:


> This is from an employee who works for ODNR: Directly from Kevin Kayle, who is in charge of Ohio hatcheries (and please share on OGF!): "You can dispel that rumor. Due to the fact that we primarily get all of our eggs from Michigan (collected at the weir on the Little Manistee), we have little control over the span or timing of the egg take."


Not to neglect the fact that no fish goes by a timed schedule ever....salmon and steelhead wont return to a river until they have reached sexual maturity.


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## kapposgd

Ever catch a skipper?


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## smath

laynhardwood said:


> The fire, while giving Cleveland a bad name, helped bring to light how bad the pollution had become in such a short time. Rivers in New York and Pennsylvania also caught fire but not much is made of those. It is remarkable how quickly the river has recovered and now it supports gamefish populations year round not just the steelhead run.


A friend who grew up fishing on the Delaware River said that when they stopped polluting that river, the fish populations came back within a few years. A free-flowing river can clean itself surprisingly fast. It just shows how essential it is to maintain a healthy environment for these fish (and everything else as well).


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## crestliner TS

I think he meant to spawn. Jacks run up with the adults sometimes to eat the eggs.


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## crestliner TS

I took this from New York Dept. of Environmental conservation. 
"An interesting fact is that although rainbow trout spawn later than other New York trout species, their eggs still hatch at about the same time in the spring. This is because the amount of time required for fish eggs to develop depends on the water temperature. Eggs develop faster in warm water than in cool water. Therefore, the eggs deposited in the fall take longer to hatch - as they develop over the winter - than those deposited in the early spring, allowing the eggs of each species to hatch at a similar time." Thought it was interesting.


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## crg

Cleveland Metroparks said:


> You 'll be interested to know that of all the streams we assess in Cleveland Metroparks (nearly 1,000 headwater streams), I've never seen as many wild naturally produced baby trout (steelhead) as I have in a trib of the Cuyahoga. One June I literally sampled HUNDREDS of pinky finger long trout there in a few hundred feet of steam!
> 
> As noted by another poster, the rumor about ODNR changing their stocking timing is just that...a rumor. I know this because I asked the guy in charge of the Ohio hatchery program yesterday and he confirmed it as such.
> 
> Mike


As a former intern for Summit County Metroparks, it is amazing which tribs contain smolts. I used the stream data to scout many locations when I was in college.


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## Chef T

crg said:


> As a former intern for Summit County Metroparks, it is amazing which tribs contain smolts. I used the stream data to scout many locations when I was in college.


 Im not too suprised you guys have seen the amount of natural reproduction that takes place in all our streams. You gotta know your history with The Little Manistee strain and why it was picked. The strain originally came from the McCloud river and surrounding areas in California a hundred plus years ago. That area has a similar environment to Michigan temp wise albeit slightly warmer. These fish have adapted over time and have flourished in the Great Lakes. They have survived lampreys, poluttion, alewive over populations, mussels, etc. Whats a few decades in Ohio gonna do,lol.


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## thistubesforu

Out of curiosity when do the surveys take place? In the wild a steel takes 2 years to smolt and than head to the lake. No doubt in my mind that fish hatch but not sold that they can make one year of high river temps let alone two.


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## c. j. stone

thistubesforu said:


> Out of curiosity when do the surveys take place? In the wild a steel takes 2 years to smolt and than head to the lake. No doubt in my mind that fish hatch but not sold that they can make one year of high river temps let alone two.


I was wondering abt this myself. To my knowledge, we have few, if ANY cold water, spring fed streams!? I have heard of native brook trout(actually a member of the char family) being located in unmentionable streams that flow into certain tribs. Mother Nature however, usually finds a way!


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## Chef T

We have more cold water tribs and creeks than you know of. Historically, the wster sheds held brook trout before settlers. Once the land was raved, they changed. Now they have been protected for decades and rivers heal. Manistees are slowly filling in that niche while creeks improve.


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## Flowie

kapposgd said:


> Ever catch a skipper?


Oh yeah, but thats a a tiny percentage outlier...not the main spawning run.


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