Erie steelhead showing at Elk and Walnut; PFBC adds three Walnut Creek easements

Lake Erie tributaries are wet enough to start the conversation. ORN’s Sept. 12 recap of GoErie reporting says steelhead are showing at the mouths of Elk Creek in Avonia and Walnut Creek near the marina after recent rains. Pennsylvania Steelhead Association president Chris Larson called the numbers modest — fish sliding in overnight or at first light, then often sliding back to the lake. Early-September water in the low 70s is still warm for a strong push; colder nights and more rain are the missing pieces.

PFBC has concentrated stocking at Fairview State Fish Hatchery after Tionesta closed in 2023. Hatchery upgrades (extra water, filtration, UV, temperature control, new raceways) are aimed at about a million fish a year. Recent plants: roughly 800,000 yearlings in 2024 and nearly 500,000 in the most recent year.

In July the commission approved three Walnut Creek easements: Asbury Woods, 730 feet on both sides in Fairview Township ($14,000); Judith M. Schroeck, 312 feet at the “tubes” on Dutch Road ($5,750); and Millcreek Township, 3,600 feet plus parking and a footpath, partly Erie Access Improvement Program money. East End Angler’s Kirk Rudzinski likes dawn lake casting with K.O. Wobblers or Little Cleos in blue-chrome; eggs, minnows, and ugbugs also get used. The association wants catch-and-release in warm water, heavier tippet, wet hands, and survey reports — a lower creel has been asked for, not approved.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: ORN — Steelhead Returning to Erie Creeks with New Fishing Easements Approved (Sept. 12, 2026).