Status of Great Lakes steelhead

Ontario is blessed with one of the best steelhead fisheries in North America. The Great Lakes offer excellent habitat, and numerous tributaries provide opportunities for spring and fall migratory runs. Big water boat anglers and river-fishing enthusiasts spend countless hours pursuing Great Lakes rainbow trout. But these avid steelheaders share a common concern: what does the future hold for steelhead? Lake Erie When you mention Lake Erie to most Great Lakes anglers they immediately think of walleye, not rainbow trout. But rainbow are present in good numbers. “The Ontario side of Lake Erie attracts large numbers of rainbow trout from July through September due to the concentration of smelt,” said Jeremie Brooks, owner of Trophy Taker Fishing Charters (www.trophytakerfishing.com). Open-water, double-digit catches are a reality, due in large part to a stocking program run by New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan states, that introduces almost two million yearling rainbow into Lake Erie each year. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) does not have a program, but the Lake Erie Salmon and Trout Club stocks rainbow out of Port Stanley. The inflowing streams of Erie pass mainly through agricultural land and, as a result, lack the structural dynamics of Lake Huron and Lake Ontario tributaries. The Grand River, however, offers anglers a steelhead run with excellent potential. Rob Heal, Ontario OUT of DOORS fly fishing columnist and co-owner of Grand River Outfitters (www.grandrivertroutfitters.com), guides on the river and is enthusiastic about the Grand. “The fall steelhead run, according to most anglers, is prjected to be about 10,000 fish. About 70% of the total run are fall fish, with numbers comparable to the Maitland and Saugeen on Lake Huron,” he said. Tom MacDougall, a rehabilitation ecologist with the MNRF Lake Erie Management Unit, suggests that the Grand River isn’t the only option connected to Lake Erie. “Other smaller feeder streams, from Port Dover to Long Point, offer exploration opportunities.” Although there are no MNRF studies in place, the general consensus among anglers is that steelhead success is good and remains stable. Lake Ontario Lake Ontario plays host to a large number of rainbow fanatics. However, in the last couple of years, there has been reason for concern about a decline in the rainbow fishery. The Ganaraska River has been used by the MNRF as an “index” river to monitor spring rainbow trout runs for over 40 years. In 2016,