December 19, 2019

In winter steelhead trout are the highlight in the Rocky and Chagrin rivers.  This past weekend the Rocky and Chagrin rivers experienced good bumps in flow, and triggered a modest push of fresh run fish into the streams.  The rivers are slush filled this morning, but looking at the forecast this should not be much of an issue into the weekend.  There is no precipitation forecasted into the weekend so the rivers can be expected to continue to drop in level and clear.  To monitor the most recent river water level and temperature you can check the following link (Note: flow gage data can be erroneous during cold periods due to ice formation on the sensors, as is the case this morning): <Rocky River flow gage data><Chagrin River flow gage data> <Rocky River NEORSD station with turbidity>.  A total of 3,000 lbs of trout were stocked at five Metroparks lakes this week, as well, to expand winter fishing options (see details below).

Local stream levels recieved a good bump in flow this week which enticed a modest push of fresh steelhead further up the watersheds.  There is plenty of slush and shelf ice (ice along the sides of the river) on the streams this morning, but looking ahead to the warmer forecast this problem is expected to be minimal into the weekend.  Ice and slush is most prevalent in the slower areas like the sluggish water by the Rocky River marina.  Ice formation on the flow gage sensor leads to erroneous flow readings, as is the case this morning (in reality the river flow would be around 150 cfs this morning).  There is no precipitation forecasted into the weekend so anglers can expect stream conditions to continue to drop in level and clear.  Some of the steelhead formerly stacked up by the marina/river mouth areas have moved further upstream, but fresh fish are still being caught in the lower river too.  The entire main branch of the Rocky River (from Cedar Point Road bridge north) is worth exploring at this time.  Steelhead have been hitting dime to nickel size spawn sacks, live (or salted frozen) minnows and small marabou jigs tipped with maggots drifted near the river bottom under a float.  At least two surprise brown trout were caught by steelhead anglers in the Rocky River this week, as well (photo of one of them is offered below).

Lake Erie was kicked up and stained yesterday afternoon but is calm this morning.  Warning: lakefront shoreline areas are covered with ice due to the waves and freezing temperature yesterday, so be very careful and wear ice cleats if venturing into these areas.  Steelhead are an option for anglers from the rocks and breakwalls along the Cleveland shoreline at E55th breakwall, Edgewater Park, Gordon Park at E72nd, Wendy Park pier at the old Coast Guard station and Wildwood Park breakwall/pier.  Of these spots, Edgewater Park breakwalls by the boat launch, Wendy Park and E55th breakwall are most protected by the outer city breakwall during wavier conditions. Casting a spoon (such as a 2/5 oz Little Cleo or KO Wobbler) or spinner (ie Vibrax or RoosterTail) at these locations are a good for connecting with fall lakefront steelhead trout that requires no more than a medium action spinning rig spooled with 8-10 lb monofilament line.  A bobber with a 1/32 or 1/16 oz jig tipped with minnow or maggots or simply a nightcrawler on a bare hook suspended 3-6 feet below is also a good producer in the aforementioned areas.  A longer noodle rod is best for fishing floats and a long handle net is required to land fish safely along the lakefront.

The walleye bite is also still an option after dark along the Cleveland shoreline, with the E55th breakwall and Wildwood Park being recent hot spots.   Anglers have a shot at connecting by casting lures like Husky Jerk, Bandit, Rattle Trap, and Perfect 10 stickbaits at dusk and after dark.  Wendy Park pier and E55th breakwall are more protected from wind than Edgewater and Wildwood park shorelines.  As noted above, ice cleats and a long handled net are MUSTS for lakefront fishing in winter.

Winter Trout Stocking Update.   On Monday we stocked 1,500 lbs of trout at Shadow (750 lbs), Ledge (600 lbs), and Judge's (150 lbs) lakes and Tuesday morning we stocked Wallace (1,400 lbs) and Ranger (100 lbs) lakes.  The size of the trout averages about a pound and a half each, although there are a few trophy fish between 3-6 pounds mixed in.  Along with the predominantly standard rainbow trout are fair number of colorful golden rainbow trout, brook trout and brown trout (see photos below).  The second (and final) round of winter trout will go into the same lakes around mid to late January or early February.  These trout bite well on jigging spoons, brightly colored PowerBait, and small jigs tipped with a few maggots or a waxworm.  NOTE: the limits on these trout at 3/day at Wallace, Ledge, Judge's and Ranger lakes and 5/day at Shadow Lake and Ohio & Erie Canal fishing area (there is no size limit, unlike the river where trout ned to be minimum length of 12" and you can harvest 2/day).  Our lakes are mostly covered in a thin crust of ice at this time, so anglers are fishing for trout from the safety of shore after breaking the ice around areas where the shoreline depth drops off more quickly (such as from fishing docks, and also from the concrete lifeguard platform and former stone quarrying ledges at Wallace Lake).

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

 

Congratulations to Kayla on catching her first steelhead ever from the Rocky River on Sunday (photo courtesy of Ed Zim).



Norman caught this fine walleye at E55th breakwall (photo courtesy of Norman Allen).



C.J. caught his first steelhead ever at E55th breakwall this week (photo courtesy of Sam Horn).










Nick and Alex took advantage of the stocked trout this week, getting limits at Ledge and Wallace lakes on Monday and Tuesday this week.  Trout limit varies by location so check the report above for clarification based on location (photos courtesy of Nick Zarzeczny).




Chris has been drifting rubber jigs on the Rocky River successfully for steelhead, but also latched into a surprise carp (photos courtesy of Chris Donlon).






Mojjito has been fishing quite a way up the Rocky River this week and scoring some nice steelhead, as well as a surprise brown trout caught on a rubber minnow (photos courtesy of Mojjito B).




John and a buddy each caught their 3 man limit of rainbow trout at Ledge Lake on Monday (photos courtesy of John Hall).



JP caught this Rocky River chromer on Monday (photop courtesy of Ken Stein).



David caught a rainbow trout at the Ohio & Erie canal while fishing with his son Ephraim (photo courtesy of Ephrain Bowser).





Max has been catching steelhead on egg sacks in the Chagrin River (photos courtesy of Max Madden).



Adam caught this colorful rainbow trout in the Rocky River by the dog park on Sunday (photo courtesy of Adam Coleman).





Walt caught his limit of 5 trout at Shadow Lake on both Monday and Tuesday this week (NOTE: the daily limit at our other lakes is 3 trout/person.  See the report above for further clarification).  Also pictured is Walt's unique design rod holder and thin ice breaker with "jigging bar" made out of PVC (photos courtesy of Walt Gedeon).



William caught his personal best 30 inch steelhead by the Rocky River marina on Friday (photo courtesy of William Mascol).



John caught this nicely colored buck steelie in the Rocky (photo courtesy of John Burkhart).



Tony landed 3 of 4 steelhead hooked on the Cuyahoga River on Saturday- including this brute (photo courtesy of Tony Cilluffo).



I have been recieving reports of lots of juvenile rainbow trout like the one pictured in Euclid Creek lately.  I believe they are most likely the results of about 60,000 surplus juvenile trout that ODNR dumped along the Cleveland shoreline about a month ago, and quite a few went up nearby local streams.  Hopefully they imprint and return to Euclid Creek in the future, enhancing the run of stray fish the stream already recieves (photo courtesy of Austin Belaska).






On Monday and Tuesday this week we stocked a total of 3,000 lbs of trout at five Metroparks lakes,  See the report text for details.






Bill stopped by during the trout stocking at Wallace Lake on Tuesday and captured some great images (photos courtesy of Bill Britt at BDTimaging.com).



Liz broke in her new birthday waders in style, catching this gorgeous hen steelhead after work on Monday.



A scenic view of Lagoon Dam on the East Branch Rocky River in the waning evening light (photo courtesy of Mojjito B).