ERIE -- In the land of silvery salmonids, Dan Tome thinks he's sitting on a gold mine.

Tome owns 25 acres of property on both sides of Elk Creek about a mile from Lake Erie in "steelhead alley," a popular fall fishing corridor. As the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission prepares to roll out an online map of the riparian property easements it has so far acquired on Elk and smaller streams, Tome is one of several prospects with whom the agency has yet to make a deal.

"It's been taking a while because I want to be comfortable with what I'm doing," said Tome, a factory worker. "[An easement] is something that is going to be on [my] deed forever."

In a program that's two years old, the PFBC pays for guarantees of public angling access on private lands along steelhead-stocked streams. Unlike real estate purchases, easements are attached to the deeds in perpetuity even when properties change hands.

The commission has had mixed success buying easements on Elk and other tributaries. The parcel adjacent to Tome's is owned by Mercyhurst College, which is donating fishing rights to the commission for the grand sum of $1, while one of Tome's less immediate neighbors rejected a PFBC offer, claiming it was too low. With a main road and public parking nearby, Tome thinks access to his land is worth at least as much the $144,000 the state confirms it paid to his neighbor for easements on eight acres.

"I'd say this is a very, very key piece of property," said Tome, gesturing to his mostly forested land. Although he has posted "No Trespassing" signs in the woods beside the parking lot, Tome said the signs are intended only for hunters, not anglers. A fisherman himself, he said he has never denied access to other anglers. He's just not sure it should be free anymore.

"The way I look at it, the fishermen have used my property for several years now, ever since the steelhead have [become] a very popular sport, and I'm thinking, why not get paid for it," he said. "Times are tough ... so money talks, I guess."

Anglers are indirectly paying for stream access through the Lake Erie or trout-Erie combo stamps they must buy each year in order to target steelhead. So far, the state's half million steelhead fishermen have generated almost $2.5 million for greater access.

By partnering with other agencies and municipalities, the commission has acquired a dozen new easements on Elk, Walnut and Twenty Mile creeks. Those locations will be detailed on maps the commission plans to post at www.fishandboat.com beginning Wednesday.

Agency personnel last week began erecting signs on these spots, advising anglers of their right to fish there and urging them not to litter. Property boundaries are being marked, too.

Several additional acquisitions are pending, including one on Elk Creek across the water from a stretch the Spring Ridge Club now leases as a private fishing preserve.

"We're close to closing on three [properties]," said Dan Martin, the agency's boating and access director, "but it's a delicate process and glacially slow."

With 90 percent of Erie streams privately owned and steelhead fishing a $10 million a year industry, the commission is continuously seeking new prospects by combing deed books and blanketing the community with fliers. Easements are preferred over land purchases, and the agency hasn't ruled out shorter-term leases, Martin said.

"Easements are more affordable, and most of the time you don't need additional property unless you're going to use it for parking."

The Erie easements include the streambed if, like Tome, a property owner has land on both sides. Otherwise, each easement extends from the middle of the stream to 25 feet beyond the beginning of the bank.

The state assumes responsibility for liability and maintenance, and for patrolling the water. Restrictions built into the easements forbid future development on the parcel.