Recent fall fisheries assessments completed by the Grand Portage Tribal Department of Natural Resources record a 6 fold increase in coaster brook trout abundance in Grand Portage Bay of Lake Superior between the years 2006 and 2010. The Ashland Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, the Genoa National Fish Hatchery and the Iron River National Fish Hatchery have been participating in a coaster brook trout restoration with the tribe since the late 90's.

Stocking rates and restoration strategies for the restoration effort are described in the tribe's fisheries management plan "A Coaster Brook Trout Rehabilitation Plan for the Grand Portage Reservation 2005-2015. In the plan, trials are ongoing to test different coaster strains and sizes at stocking to gather information on the most successful restoration strategy. Two separate strains of coaster brook trout are maintained at the two Fish and Wildlife Service hatcheries in Wisconsin.

The strains were developed from wild coaster brook trout populations on Isle Royale National Park. These strains were collected due to the larger percentage of individuals in these populations that "coast" or migrate out to the big Lake (Superior). There they grow to larger sizes than the typical "resident" or stream dwelling brook trout, with fish as large as 10 pounds being recorded in historical catches. After growing and maturing for a few years in the big Lake, they head back to their birth streams to spawn. There the eggs and resulting fry will live for 1-3 years and grow relatively protected from the predators residing in the big Lake until they are somewhat larger and harder to catch.

Then a portion of the progeny should return to the lake and start the process of all over again. It is hoped that these stocked fish which are only one generation removed from the wild, will perform very similarly and as successfully as the wild populations on Isle Royale that they originated from. Coasters once played a large role as a large predator fish in the Great Lakes, especially Lake Superior before overfishing, habitat destruction, and the sea lamprey invaded the Great Lakes. It is the hope of many who live by and enjoy Lake Superior and its aquatic resources to see the coaster rise again.