ERIE -- Long awaited rain finally fell Tuesday, filling the Lake Erie tributaries with murky water and thousands of steelhead trout.

The 2007 steelhead spawning run began yesterday, when runoff from nearly 2 inches of rain triggered the migratory instinct of fish that for weeks had been staging near the mouths of creeks east and west of Presque Isle. The run is expected to trigger a migration of anglers from throughout Pennsylvania and beyond for an Erie fishing experience considered by many to be world class.

Steelhead are rainbow trout raised in hatcheries and stocked as smolts in the tributaries. Since 1997, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's stocking rate has averaged 1.1 million smolts per year, with another 120,000 stocked annually by fishing groups. The steelhead grow in Lake Erie into powerful predators, some reaching more than 30 inches. Like their salmon cousins, the landlocked steelhead are attracted to the particular scent of the stream in which they were raised. Rising waters from sustained rains trigger a migratory push upstream and attempts to spawn.

Fishing could be spectacular this fall if intermittent rains keep the creeks flowing well and slightly cloudy.

"If we could get rain every other day -- not a lot, just enough to keep the color and flow -- that would be great," said Dottie Heubel, co-owner of Poor Richard's Bait and Tackle Shop. "I'm not sure how far they've run. They say they will run seven miles in a day if there's water in the creeks."

Poor Richard's benefits from some of the $9.5 million anglers spend on fishing-related expenses, according to a 2003 survey. Emily Beck, director of tourism and development for Visit Erie, said angling adds an additional $5.7 million in value-added revenue to the Erie economy.

"We love the fishermen," she said. "They stretch our tourism season out. Instead of closing up after the summer, the hotels are able to stay open longer, the restaurants are busy. What's nice about the anglers, a lot of them want to stay in the smaller mom and pop motels closer to the creeks."

At the Walnut Creek Marina, west of the peninsula, fish that had been clustered for weeks near the mouth reacted to the rain with an explosive push upstream, leaping waterfalls and thrilling anglers with tail-walking fights.

"The rains brought the color [to the streams] and brought the fish," said Carl Palotas of Erie. "To get this kind of fishing and not have to go to Alaska or New Zealand is amazing. The bigger creeks will all be good this weekend. If we get the rain they say is coming Friday, it'll bring even more fish in."

Mike Timko of Erie released several caught on white-sucker spawn pattern, but "flies, minnows, grubs, just about anything will work this time of year," he said.

Matthew Poole of Latrobe had the kind of morning anglers dream of. While many crowded near the marina, he and a few others found a spot upstream so packed with steelhead, he said, "the water's black with them."

"It's unbelievable," he said. "I haven't had a day like that up here in three years."

A short walk upstream confirmed Poole's description of waters black with fish clustered fin to fin. But some anglers may be spoiling it for the rest. Most of the steelhead fishing is on private property with the owners' consent, owners who bristle at the litter left by an inconsiderate few.

"They're pigs," said Sally Cage, who with her husband, Dale, owns four acres spanning Walnut Creek on Manchester Road. "They leave trash on the road, trash in the woods. They leave hooks -- one of our dogs got a hook in his foot. I think fishing is absolutely great, but some fishermen are slobs and pigs."

Dale Cage said he reluctantly agreed to allow anglers to fish their section of the creek in exchange for the Fish Commission's posting of signs to keep trespassers out of his back yard.

Yesterday, at least, the anglers had been civil. No litter was visible in Cage's yard or on the stream bank.

"They've been better about it this year, I have to admit," he said. "We've got nothing against fishing. We'd just like them to respect our property."