which year(s) were the largest runs you can recall?

I go back a pretty good ways
I used to keep notes, but quit doing that by the early '90s
 
from recollection, I'm thinking the best run years were from 2000 to 2003
(both Ohio and Pa)
 
 
what's  your recollection ..be it 30+ years chasing steel or 3 years
 
all comments welcome
 
 
..L.T.A.

2003 for me.  I was fishing a stretch on upper elk and there weren't that many people.  Fish were stacked in some of the holes.  We had holes with 300 or more fish to ourselves.  Many days with over 20 landed.  Never had that since although I was gone for 11 years in South Carolina.  The hurricane came through the next year and filled in all of those holes, numbers declined and the people increased up there.  Went to Edinboro from 91 to 95 and was able to go weekdays.  Used to walk from the gas well down to the dirt parking lot and see a handful of people.  Miss those days, this work thing destroyed my fishing. 

2003 flashback.......My son's 15 lb. 34" upper Elk Steelhead. Still remains the biggest in our fishing group. Had it certified at Elk Sports. Not a great fresh picture we were apart for hours and I had the camera. Lots of fish that year !
 

I would say 2008 was the last good year for decent runs.

2011 was the second time I took my son for steelhead (he was 8) and the last time I can recall that there were stupid numbers of fresh, hard fighting fish in some of my favorite spots after a big blow out in early November.  2012 was still pretty good in that regard too.  
 
I didn't start fishing the tribs till 2003, but had some great days in the first couple years, even as I was still learning the ropes.  2006-2008 were my best seasons for numbers.  
 
The last two years have definitely been different.   
 
 
 
 

I took a laxitive 2 years ago and had a pretty good run.

I started fishing Erie in 2006. The first few years were amazing but anymore it's a sad shadow of what it was then. I fished Monday. Found a few fish much higher on Elk than I expected given the conditions, but I've learned never to underestimate these fish. Actually watched several fish on the move Monday in no more than an inch and a half of water and up into the next pool. Is there any sort of a plan to identify and address the depleted runs, short of speculation that the fish are running to other states or increased smolt predation?

Screamin Steel
Is there any sort of a plan to identify and address the depleted runs, short of speculation that the fish are running to other states or increased smolt predation?

I'm not aware of much and would think if there was a plan we would have heard about it by now.

I do recall a couple of years ago that the PFBC did kind of a half hearted look at Walnut and some other tribs to see if there were natural barriers preventing fish from getting upstream in historical abundance. I think anybody who used to fish middle and upper Walnut knows that a very very small fraction of fish that used to make it over the falls above the Manchester Hole are making it further than that since the big summer blow out of 2009 that changed a lot on that stream including the stream bed at the falls.

Kind of a shame as there are many very nice stretches on Upper Walnut that are open to fishing and have some really nice water and could relieve a lot of pressure on lower stretches. But short of dynamite or a fish ladder I'm not really sure there's a solution there other than letting nature take it's course on making another big change to the falls that lets fish make it past there in good numbers.

I've also seen quite a bit of speculation that recent smolt stocking numbers are nowhere near what's been advertised. But that is all just speculation and the PFBC maintains that the numbers are accurate.

There could very well be big changes that have happened in the lake too.

The numbers of fish being roped and harassed with lower returns certainly doesn't help but there are other factors out there causing significantly diminished returns compared to the past.

As long as the PFBC keeps making boatloads of money from the hordes that flock to Erie, in my opinion they have very little incentive to address the significantly reduced numbers of returning steelhead in a transparent and pro active way.

genieman77

Mountian Man
I took a laxitive 2 years ago and had a pretty good run.

 
duud..one werd....Natural Psyllium Fiber
(ok, so it's three werds)
 
 
..L.T.A.

That's a little metamucil right there. 

Now, it seems that there is less and less holding water on the tribs, and I'm pretty sure this at least plays a part in it. Back in the day, in addition to the bigger holes that held plenty of fish for all, there were plenty of smaller holes that held a handful of, say 5-10 fish that you could cast to if you weren't in the mood to fish in the crowds. These holes are getting more and more filled in each year, I can name countless instances of it, and the fish will often congregate in the bigger holes, and get pounded to death. Heck, the beach at 16 mile, where I hooked my first ever steelhead when I was a kid back in 1996, is about a third as wide back then, and not nearly as deep as it once was. That entire stretch used to have nice little pockets and holes for fish to hold in, now it's mostly frog water with tons of leaves on the bottom. 

Well I know the salmon runs are declining on Lake O as well. This year seems better so far than the last 3 years though for numbers. A strong run of cohos on the SR this year. I think creel limits could be reduced to 2 in PA and that minimum size increased to 24". That would help some but I still believe it's a lake issue. Upswing in the walleye population perhaps or maybe something else causing smolt mortality.

2016 run is epic so far. Best one I've seen in the past couples years.

there's def something to  the notion that the poor runs aren't just a PA problem. Sure seems like its even more than a lake erie problem, too. the salmon fishery totally collapsed on huron,  salmon are hurting on Michigan, steel are down on erie, and they are cutting stockings for kings on Ontario (albeit because of 2 lost years of alewives due to the polar vortex).
 
Now as for the walleyes, that 2003 class dominated the lake up until a about 2 years ago. since then, overall size has decreased, starting last year where i'd pick up a 18"er here or there (prior it was almost everything 23" or bigger). Now this year was really a  transition year. TONS of 14-15"ers, and if you were jigging for perch you could count on catching a bunch of little 6"ers. i know i saw a pic on another site that covers a neighboring state, a big girl walleye puked up a half dozen smolts .  Ohio is saying the last 2 years were both solid hatches, that  combined may surpass the freak hatch of 2003. so, if walleyes are the culprits, its probably not gonna get any better any time soon.

I agree it's a combo of situations in both Ohio and Pa. waters. Numbers are way down especially after the first Fall run. You just don't see the in coming runs after. Regardless of water conditions they will show up and find holding areas along creeks somewhere. Like G man said Ohio creeks are deep and hold good water as compared to Pa.so where are the schools of Steel.
 
To switch to a Coho program would be worse. No.1 they all die after spawning no sense for catch and release. Next , they are near impossible to catch in the clear creeks unlike the aggressive Steelhead Trout. Salmon once in full spawn have the strongest lock jaw I've seen. Most in N.Y. are line runners and lifted, some do strike out of aggravation, their stomachs are always empty. I fished in the past Erie years for Coho, and many on average were snagged or foul hooked. All these reasons I've stated is why the program switched to Steelhead and it was the absolute best decision !  
 
I believe the low numbers in Pa. are mainly due to low stocking numbers or as I call it crowd control.
Ohio Steel I'm not sure I'll say the cash flow crunch has slowed up stocking.