Steelheads are running!

Today began really foggy again! From the weather folks we hear it probably will be the last warm day for a while, sooo we decided to head out to Fairview, Penna about 30 miles from home to see the running of the Steelhead trout. It's an annual happening when the trout swim upstream from the Lake ( Lake Erie) to their breeding grounds where they were born to spawn. In this case Trout Run is a special stream created and watched over by the Pennsylvania Fish Commission. There are 3 man made waterfalls on the lower part of the stream. Each is higher than the previous one. The last is about 3 ft. high. The fish coming in off the Lake try to swim up this stream, that isn't very deep, and try very very hard to jump these waterfalls to gain access to the next area, and hopefully to reach a deeper section of water in which to spawn. BUT- the fish can not jump the last waterfall, but they don't know this. Therefore they remain in the last pool. Beginning next Wednesday and continuing till February. the Fish commission will net the fish, and there are 1000's of them, take them to the hatchery, and milk the eggs from the females. The eggs are then fertilized. The parent fish is then released unharmed back to the Lake. The eggs are hatched, and when the fish reach fingerling size they are released in the stream where the parents were. They think this is their home, and will then eventually make their way out to the Lake. When they reach maturity the process begins again, and the fish will swim up-stream to "spawn" just like the ones before them back to where they were first released..
This is the last waterfall, which is too high for the fish to jump. Fishermen aren't allowed to fish the stream, but they are in the Lake where the stream enters. This man was having a good day. He told us he had caught an 11 pounder yesterday. Also the fish have to be 15" before you can keep them. Some of them will reach 2 feet long! They are brown on top and silver colored on the bottom.

Here are the guys and gals fishing out in the Lake elbow to elbow. There must have been 60 or more in this one spot.

100's of trout all swimming against the current trying to get upstream.

This fish was huge.

More fish on their last trip. Many will die of exhaustion.

Here's one that made it over the first falls.

I'd better let you go, and hope I haven't rambled on too long. I'm just fascinated by the whole process. Lots more pictures from our beach combing days searching for beach glass to follow in the next few days. We found some dead birds on the beach, and I think I need help ID-ing them.