Natural Steelhead in Ohio?

Mike Durkalec, fish biologist for the Cleveland Metroparks sent this photo of juvenile steelhead that were captured in from one of the tributaries to the Chagrin River on the North Chagrin Reservation.  The park does annual water quality studies and routinely find good numbers of juvenile steelies in all the tribs entering park river.  Unfortunately, conditions during the summer- lack of flow and heat, limit the survival of the fingerlings, and no one is really sure how many survive. 

The East Branch of the Chagrin River, however, is year-round coldwater habitat and can hold fingerlings for survival over the summer until they can drop out to the main river and into the lake the following spring.  Once again, no one really knows how many fish come out of this system.