August 12, 2024
Currently, PA Fish & Boat Commission annually plans to stock 100,000 Brown Trout into Lake Erie and its tributaries. This allotment is part of the 1.1 million fish the Lake Erie Committee of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the regulatory body that decides the total Lake Erie stocking allotment, allows Pennsylvania to put into Lake Erie and its tributaries.
Your chances of catching a Brown Trout while Steelhead fishing are slim! First and foremost, Pennsylvania rarely reaches their target of 100,000 Brown Trout. There are various reasons for this, and if you wish to fact check that statement please visit the P.F.B.C. website and browse the stocking information for Erie County. However, October and November annually produce large lake-run specimens. Whether the Browns are up the creeks to spawn or to chase Steelhead eggs is anyone’s guess. One point to note, the Lake Erie Research Unit (the fisheries biologists assigned to Lake Erie management studies) recommend fishing for Brown Trout in the lower sections of streams. Over the course of a number of lectures and discussions, it is the common opinion that Brown Trout fail to migrate past minor barriers in the streams and are too lazy to travel the dozens of miles upstream that Steelhead Trout travel.
That being said, upper sections of a number of Lake Erie tributaries in Erie County are on the designated Wild Trout listings available from P.F.B.C.. How those Brown Trout and Steelhead got a foothold is a mystery. Moreover, in order for the commission to list that particular stream at least 3 wild specimens were found during field surveying. For a stream to have a designated section with a ‘class’ rating there must be a certain amount of fish weight per hectare.
Stream-bred wild Brown Trout have flawless and full fins; their tail fin edges are crisp, not blunted or frayed, their dorsal fin is not malformed, and their adipose is both present and upright. Apart from how their body looks (pugheadedness), and their fins, it’s rather hard to tell if a trout is genuinely wild, or simply a well bred holdover. Private hatcheries built into or alongside streams, produce stunning fish that are near impossible to distinguish from stream-bred, wild ones. Additionally, Brown Trout emigrated to America in the latter half of the 19th century. All Brown Trout are stocked fish. So enjoy your catch and be thankful Pennsylvania has so many thousands of miles of trout streams!
Pennsylvania stocks the same strain of Rome Brown Trout found in Lake Ontario and throughout the state of New York. The Great Lakes region is very cooperative when it comes to working together to share hatchery fish and aid in filling gaps in stocking programs. Michigan shares Little Manistee Strain Steelhead with Ohio when they can, there are also Ganaraska Strain, Skamania Strain, Chambers Creek Strain, Trout Run Strain/PA Broodstock, and naturalized and reproducing wild strains.
Flies for Brown Trout:
- Size dependent on water clarity and fish behavior, Woolly Bugger (conehead or tungsten bead is my recommendation – build the weight into your flies, not your leader)
- Size 16, Globug in a natural roe color, or something comparable to natural Brown Trout egg in size (6 mm or smaller) and color
- Size 14-16 Pheasant Tail Nymph variants
- Size 12-18 Prince Nymph or Fly Formerly Known As Prince
- Leeches, bunny or dubbing
https://www.fishandboat.com/Conservation/Plans/Management-Plans/Documents/TroutPlan2016-2017.pdf
https://www.fishandboat.com/Conservation/Plans/Management-Plans/Documents/TroutPlan2020.pdf
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