As we move into early fall, highlight species targeted by anglers along the Rocky River and other area streams include smallmouth bass, steelhead trout, carp, panfish, and channel catfish. Local streams are currently moderately low and running clear. Anglers can keep abreast of the latest river flows and temperature at the following link: <Rocky River flow gage data> <Chagrin River flow gage data>. Lake Erie anglers are targeting yellow perch, walleye, white bass, smallmouth bass and panfish, and inland lake/pond anglers are primarily pursuing largemouth bass, channel catfish and panfish.
A handful of eager anglers have caught steelhead in the Rocky River this week. Early steelhead tend to first show up around the river mouths and off the rocks at Edgewater Park. Most steelhead reported from the river have been north (downstream) of Rockcliff, although at least one fish was hooked as far south as Cedar Point Road this week. Early fall steelhead will hit spoons/spinners (Little Cleo, Vibrax and Rooster Tail all being proven producers), as well as jigs and spawn. On Friday afternoon we were testing some repairs to our electrofishing equipment by the marina and in only about a half hour we sampled 11 steelhead between the boat ramps and just up from the Black Wall, with one buck in the 12 pound range among them (see photos below).
Anglers are also still pursuing smallmouth bass in the streams. Smallies are typically found in the deeper, rocky pools of the river during the day, and often move to the heads of such pools in the early morning and evening hours to feed actively. A dark olive or brown tube jig of about 4?�� length is one of the best producers of bass in the river. Bass also bite well on live bait (ie: minnow, crayfish, and leeches), lures (ie: spinners and minnow plugs), and flies (ie: crayfish patterns, Clouser minnows, dark brown or olive sculpin or muddler minnow patterns).
The yellow perch bite has been on and off this week due to rough lake conditions. Perch had been biting pretty well off the north facing breakwall at E55th Street. Anglers are using perch spreaders and live emerald shiners, which can be purchased at the bait shop right at the E55th Marina building (if hungry, the food there is excellent, as well). Boating anglers have reported success off Rocky River/Gold Coast in 47?�+, Edgewater Park in 51', Gordon Park/E72nd Street in 54-59?�+' and Wildwood Park in 50-60'. A few anglers are catching walleye while perch fishing, as well, which is always a welcome surprise. The ODNR Division of Wildlife weekly Lake Erie fishing report can be viewed <here>. Anglers/boaters can view current lake conditions off Cleveland at the following link: <City Of Cleveland Water Intake Crib Cam>.
A parasite gone viral! This past Friday we turned up two steelhead by the marina with non-native, parasitic sea lamprey attached to them. The photos were posted on Metroparks Facebook page Monday at 2:30pm and have already drawn nearly 200,000 views. Next thing we knew, all the major news stations picked up the story, and I even woke up to DJs talking about it when my alarm radio went off Tuesday morning! Here is one such news story: <Channel 5 News lamprey segment>. It?�+s not every day that a fish draws this much attention, but in this case bringing awareness to non-native species issues was a positive outcome. The specimen was donated to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for their fish collection.
Steelhead Expo at the Rocky River Nature Center Saturday October 4th. A great way to kick off the steelhead season is to attend the 21st annual Steelhead Expo will be held at the Rocky River Nature Center on Saturday October 4th, 2014. This event is a collaborative effort between the Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders and Cleveland Metroparks and will offer a full day of expert speakers and seminars, vendors, and other related information to kick off the fall steelhead season. There is no charge for the event but OCBS, a non-profit sportman?�+s group which is very active in the local fishing and conservation communities, is offering a raffle as a fundraiser so donations or participation in the raffle is encouraged. The event press release can be found <here>. You can check out the OCBS website at this link: <Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders website>.
If you have a photo that you would like to contribute to the fishing report, or if you have any further questions regarding fishing in the Cleveland Metroparks, you may contact Aquatic Biologist Mike Durkalec at (440) 331-8017 or [email protected] .
Tight Lines,
Mike
Steve reports from the Rocky "Came up from Columbus on Monday morning and fished from 7-1:30 and was finally rewarded with this silver bullet that jumped four feet out of the water! Got him on a watermelon colored rooster tail" (photo courtesy of Steve Kuklica).
Keith caught this quality Rocky River smallmouth on a little Cleo spoon (photo courtesy of Keith D.).
Joe landed this 29" hen steelie, his first of the season, on a red and black jig tipped with maggots by the boat ramps on the Rock (photo ourtesy of Joe Tonich).
Jerry caught this rainbow trout at Ledge Lake on Saturday. Seeing that we have not stocked trout since May, this one clearly survived the summer in the lake as a result of the cool year (photo courtesy of Jessica Wilkolak).
Last Friday, we sampled two steelhead with non-native sea lamprey parasites by the marina. See the highlight section of the report for more about this.
They are catching some quality perch off the Express party fishing boat out of Wildwood Marina when the weather has allowed (photos courtesy of wildwood Marina).
"Trophy" bass enthusiast Andrew reports "I was out on the Rock on Sunday and I just thought I'd share my two little catches. I love catching them little guy, I always get a real good chuckle when I see them trying to eat something half their size. But for the real story...I caught a steelhead too! It was my first ever and I was just ecstatic! The crazy part was he was chilling under that real little bridge near Cedar Point Rd. and I didn't think they were that far up river yet but lo-and-behold there is at least one of them that made it up real far! I couldn't get a picture because I grabbed my rod wrong (so that the drag couldn't let line out), and when I bent down to pick her up, and she flipped her head and broke my 12# test like it was nothing. I can't wait to get back out on the river!" (photos courtesy of Andrew Pickett).
Chris has been hooking up with some nice chromers on the Rock on spawn and jigs (photos courtesy of Chris Dietrich).
In this installment of Know Your Fish, can you ID this character? Please post guesses in the comments section below.
Last Friday afternoon we were performing a check on an equipment repair by the marina and sampled 11 steelhead between the boat ramps and just up from the Black Wall in only about a half hour. We turned up one big buck about 12 pounds in the bunch!
HOLY SPEY FLIES...LOOK AT THIS!!! Greg Senyo is a local angler who made the big time...owning the largest outfitter operation on Steelhead Alley and having been awarded the prestigious Orvis Fly Tier of the Year award, among many other accolodes. But he has not forgotten his humble roots. Greg made this amazing unsolicited donation (conservatively a $450 value) to be part of the Steelhead Expo fundraiser at the Oct 4 event. I know I'll be bidding! And be sure to congratulate Greg when you see him on his recent promotion to Assistant Police Chief...because he was not busy enough! THANK YOU GREG! (photo courtesy of Greg Senyo).
Note: The fishing report is updated monthly in June, July, and August and weekly every other month
***Note: All photo submissions must first complete the Cleveland Metroparks photo waiver.***
2024 Cleveland Metroparks Registered Fishing Guides
(name, company, contact)
- #24-001 Gareth Thomas, Alley Grabs Guide Service, [email protected] (216) 235-5056
- #24-002 Jeff Liskay, Great Lakes Flyfishing LLC, [email protected] (440) 781-7536
- #24-003 Monte Casey, The Steelhead Guide, (440) 773-8064 www.steelheadguide.com
- #24-004 Anthony Montagnese, Covered Bridge Outfitters, [email protected] (440) 320-105
- #24-005 Lucas Smith, What That Vise Do LLC, [email protected] (724) 841-1564
- #24-006 Nicholas DelVecchio, Wildwood Outfitters, [email protected] (724) 433-2315
- #24-007 Nate Miller, Steelhead Alley Outfitters, www.steelheadalleyoutfitters.com (440) 796-6105
- #24-008 Jim Lampros, [email protected] (216) 513-6011
More information on Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Guide Permit requirements, including the permit application, you may check the following link:
<Fishing Guide Permit Program>
Learn how you can support recreation opportunities through a donation to the Cleveland Metroparks
Fishing Fund.