Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission
PA Steelhead Stocking Program
Over 800,000 steelhead stocked annually across 13+ Lake Erie tributaries — making Erie County one of the most productive steelhead fisheries in the Great Lakes.
The PA Lake Erie Strain
Pennsylvania's steelhead are unique. Unlike Ohio's Little Manistee strain or New York's Washington strain, PA has developed its own "naturalized" hatchery strain over 40+ years of selective breeding from broodstock collected at Trout Run in Erie County.
Originally mixed West Coast genetics, the PA strain has adapted to Lake Erie's conditions through decades of natural selection. Anglers affectionately call them "mutts" — but these fish are strong, aggressive, and perfectly tuned to Erie County tributaries.
PFBC no longer imports eggs from other agencies to protect the strain's genetic integrity and prevent hatchery disease transmission.
Hatcheries & Production
Fairview State Fish Hatchery
Primary steelhead production facility in Erie County. Currently undergoing renovation to restore 1 million fish capacity. Produces ~600,000 yearlings annually.
Tionesta State Fish Hatchery
Formerly produced ~400,000 steelhead/year. Closed to steelhead production after a false-positive VHS (Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia) test. This loss reduced PA's total output by 40%.
Cooperative Nurseries
Local sportsmen's clubs (3-CU, Wesleyville Conservation Club, and others) operate cooperative nurseries producing 74,000+ additional steelhead and 63,000+ brown trout annually to supplement PFBC hatchery stockings.
Stocked Tributaries
PFBC does not publish exact per-tributary allocations. Estimates based on stream importance and total stocking numbers.
| Tributary | Est. Annual | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Elk Creek | ~200,000 | Largest PA trib — bulk of stockings + Shasta strain trial |
| Walnut Creek | ~120,000 | Second most popular Erie trib |
| Twenty Mile Creek | ~80,000 | Most popular eastern Erie County tributary |
| Conneaut Creek | ~75,000 | Shared with Ohio |
| Crooked Creek | ~50,000 | Good access, smaller stream |
Additional streams stocked: Raccoon Creek, Sixteen Mile Creek, Twelve Mile Creek, Seven Mile Creek, Six Mile Creek, Four Mile Creek, Eight Mile Creek, Cascade Creek, Godfrey Run/Trout Run, and Presque Isle Bay.
The Shasta Experiment (2024)
In 2024, PFBC introduced ~75,000-100,000 Shasta strain rainbow trout obtained from Ohio's Castalia State Fish Hatchery. These fish were adipose fin-clipped for identification and stocked primarily in Elk Creek and Raccoon Creek.
The Shasta strain is a supplemental experiment while Fairview hatchery capacity is being expanded. PFBC is conducting ongoing creel surveys and electro-shocking on Raccoon Creek to evaluate Shasta return rates versus the native PA strain.
The Shasta strain was not stocked in 2025 — results from the 2024 trial are still being evaluated.
Lake Erie Stocking — All Agencies (2024)
| Agency | Fish Stocked | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania (PFBC) | 817,488 | 51.6% |
| Ohio (ODNR) | 466,520 | 29.5% |
| New York (NYSDEC) | 251,104 | 13.6% |
| Michigan (MDNR) | 50,048 | 3.1% |
| Ontario (Canada) | 32,992 | 2.0% |
| Total | 1,582,152 | 100% |
Pennsylvania contributes over half of all Lake Erie steelhead. The 2024 total of 1.58M was 11% below the long-term average of 1.84M (1990-2023).