Lightning strike wiped out Michigan's only steelhead egg facility. The DNR collected 4.2 million eggs anyway.
A single lightning strike on April 13 disabled the main power source, backup power, and emergency alarm system at the Little Manistee River Weir — the state's only steelhead egg-collection facility — just as the 2026 season was set to begin.
Nonetheless, there were 4.2 million steelhead eggs collected in late April, just short of the 2026 goal of 4.6 million eggs.
"We made it happen, but there was a significant reallocation of staff time, overtime hours and modifications to typical egg-collection operations," said Joe Mickevich, southern area hatchery manager for the DNR.
The DNR's fisheries division normally manages egg collection for restocking steelhead in Michigan's waterways, along with filling out-of-state requests as inventory permits. Steelhead, which are also known as inland stream rainbow trout, are among Michigan's most popular sport fish. They are raised in the state fish hatcheries before release.
The Little Manistee River Weir in the West Michigan community of Manistee was the state's only egg-collection facility for steelhead.
But on April 13, a lightning strike damaged critical equipment at the weir.
The electrical damage took out the system's main power source, its backup power source and even the emergency alarm system that alerts staff to failures, the DNR said. This was all happening just as egg collection was to start, resulting in the loss of some fish from the maturation ponds.
During the next few days, DNR fisheries staff collected eggs from the surviving fish.
They determined that the best available backup source for steelhead eggs was through the Platte River State Fish Hatchery weirs. The Lower Platte River Weir in Benzie County was installed on April 17 to halt steelhead migration and divert the fish into a holding pond for collection.
The fish were trucked from the lower weir to the maturation ponds at the Platte River State Fish Hatchery, where steelhead egg-take operations began May 5 and wrapped up May 7.
This was the first time that the Platte River site was used for steelhead egg collection, the DNR said. But the DNR said it was an emergency, temporary effort; the weir in that location isn't designed for an easy return of live fish to the water.
A total of 4.2 million steelhead eggs were collected this spring, with about 2.2 million at the Little Manistee River and about 2 million at the Platte River. The DNR said this was enough to meet Michigan's restocking needs. Ohio and Indiana would normally have received some of Michigan's eggs, but they were able to fill their orders elsewhere.
In the meantime, equipment at Little Manistee River has been repaired or replaced, and a new alarm system is under consideration.
"This spring season has been full of challenges for the Fisheries Division," said Randy Claramunt, chief of the DNR's Fisheries Division. "But we rose to those challenges. Our staff's teamwork, resilience and focus allowed us to adapt to the changing situation and continue to meet our mission to manage the fishery for public benefit."