April 2, 2020

In spring steelhead trout are the highlight in the Rocky and Chagrin rivers.  Area streams are dropping into good shape after being elevated and muddy all week.  Weekend prospects are promising for steelhead fishing in all the streams as well as for rainbow trout fishing in the East Branch Rocky River.  Anglers can check river conditions at the following links: <Rocky River flow gage data><Chagrin River flow gage data> <Rocky River NEORSD station with turbidity>.  A total of 600 lbs of trout were stocked in Ledge and Ranger lakes on Monday and ODNR stocked trout at Hinckley Lake yesterday.

Area streams are offering improving steelhead fishing conditions after being elevated and muddy all week and will continue to improve into the weekend.  Streams are offering a mix of chrome bright silver pre-spawn, spawning and post-spawn aka "dropback" or "spent" steelhead.   Steelhead are well distributed throughout our area watersheds, with fresher fish generally downstream closer to the lake and spawning fish further upstream.  Steelhead in stained water have been biting best on dime to nickel size spawn sacks in bright colors (hot pink and chartreuse are favorites), and as the water clears small marabou jigs (1/32 and 1/64 ounce are most popular) tipped with maggots, live or salted minnows, 3" rubber worms (pink and white have been good) and salmon egg mimmicking beads drifted near the river bottom under a float will take a greater share of the fish. The quality (size) of steelhead has been excellent lately.  Steelhead can be expected in our streams through at least late April or early May.  Lake-run white suckers are intermixed with steelhead in area streams, as well, and lake run smallmouth bass should be showing up very soon.

On Monday we stocked 600 lbs of rainbow trout in Ledge and Ranger lakes and as of last Wednesday we stocked 1,800 lbs of rainbow trout in the East Branch Rocky River in Millstream Run Reservation.  We stock the river near the intersection of the Metroparks parkway and Royalton Road (Rt 82), off the bridges to the Strongville Wildlife Area and The Chalet, at Bonnie park on the upstream and downstream side of the dam and conclude at the Whitney Road covered bridge.  Following the flooding this week those trout will be well distributed throughout that entire section of the river.  The Ohio Division of Wildlife stocked trout at Hinckley Lake yesterday and plans to stock Shadow Lake by tomorrow at the latest.  The trout Metroparks stocks everage 15-17 inches (with some even bigger- offering a quality fishery) and the state stocked trout run 11-12", the latter being perfect for kids.  Some of the abundant trout stocked at Wallace Lake throughout winter remain, as well.  Stocked trout bite on brightly colored PowerBait shaped into dime size balls, 3" rubber trout worms (pink, orange and white), small jigs tipped with a few maggots or a waxworm and small to medium size spinners.  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 need to be minimum length of 12" and you can harvest 2/day this time of year).   The East Branch Rocky River is scheduled to be stocked again next week and we hope to stock through the end of April.

The breakwall at E55th, pier at Wendy Park (old Coast Guard station) and rocks/pier at Edgewater Park and E72nd offer a chance at steelhead, walleye and variety of other species in early spring.  The boat launch ramps at Edgewater, Gordon Park, and Wildwood park are all usable at this time, and the courtesy docks were installed at Edgewater and Gordon park boat launches in March (the docks at the Rocky River Emerald Necklace Marina boat launch have not been installed yet).  In spring, these harbor areas are good locations to find pre-spawn northern pike and largemouth bass, as well as a variety of panfish species.  A white spinnerbait with silver blades worked slowly is a good early season choice for both bass and pike. The post-spawn shoreline bite for walleye typically picks around Cleveland in April. 

Good Fishing Etiquette lends itself well to Social Distancing.  Spring is among the busiest times of the year in our many parks- for fishing and otherwise.  With limited options for entertainment and recreation right now, this rings true more than ever.  The minimum social distancing recommendation of 6 feet would be considered close enough to be rude to most anglers.  I challenge anglers to stay at least 20 feet from each other in the name of good fishing etiquette which, conveniently, works well for extra safe social distancing, as well.  Invading another angler's fishing space uninvited is never welcome, especially if they are fishing with children.  And never move into an angler's spot if they had to move to land a fish!  Please give each other reasonable space out there so everyone can have an enjoyable and safe day on the water.  Fotrunately, in most areas meeting these guidelines is easy enough, and if you walk far enough from easy access points you may not even see another angler in view. But these guidelines are especially important to remember in locations where trout have been recently stocked.  Fortunately anglers have lots of great opportunities right now that will help them spread out around our abundant waters.  

East Branch Rocky River Closure to Vehicles between Spafford Road and Berea Falls.  The East Branch of the Rocky River has been closed off to vehicular traffic between Spafford Road and Berea Falls to essentially turn the road into a 20 foot wide trail so people can properly spread out since our park visitation is at an all time high.  Berea Falls is the end of the road for steelhead traveling up from Lake Erie and this several mile stretch is very popular with spring steelhead anglers.  The good news is that folks with a bike or strong legs and an adventurous spirit can still access this popular fishing area.  The reward will be fewer anglers than usual on this prime spring steelhead fishing water.

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

Andrew shared "Ryan Marantides caught his first stocked trout today (April 1) all by himself on Powerbait. Casted, set the hook when the bobber went down, and beached it without help from dad. Great way to get some fresh air and give mom a break! Also, Brad caught his first steelhead on a spoon near the marina on St Patrick’s Day."  (photos courtesy of Andrew Marantides).




Ray shared "Ray and Erica got into some of the action on the East Branch. She caught her first 2 rainbows!" (photos courtesy of Ray Porter).






Owen took the kids out on the Rocky River and made some family fishing memories (photos courtesy of Owen Murphy).



The Sullivans made a family fishing outing at Ledge Lake today and caught some rainbow trout for dinner (photo courtesy of Tom Sullivan).



Mary Lou landed this beautiful chrome steelhead at the Rocky River marina (photo courtesy of Mary Lou Czajka).



Caliegh was home from the University of Toledo and went fishing at Bonnie Park with her dad on Friday.  They both caught a limit of 2 trout (photo courtesy of Carl Schweisthal).



Sean caught a gorgeous smallmouth bass at Gordon Park (photo courtesy of Sean Johnson).




Zach and his dad Brian had a great day trout fishing at Ranger Lake on Saturday when the rivers were muddy (photos courtesy of Brian Zaptocky).



Nadia landed a quality buck steelhead while fishing the Rocky River with her father (photo courtesy of Moe Slyman). 



This silvery brown trout caught by the Rocky River marina is fresh out of Lake Erie (photo courtesy of Carpyo).



Billy caught a colorful rainbow trout in the East Branch Rocky River in Millstream Run Reservation (photo courtesy of Billy Szabo).




Andrew fly fished a smaller creek while the rivers were elevated and muddy Monday and earned himself some steelhead  (photos courtesy of andrew Shevchuk).



Garrett shared the following observations from the river "Hi the fishing has been very good on the Rocky River this past week.  Please remind everyone about river etiquette.  This past week it was worse than I have ever experienced.  People stealing your spot while you fight a fish, come fish a rod distance from you and people walking right through the top of a run your fishing.  I believe most of these people just don't know better, most seemed new to steelhead fishing." (photo courtesy of Garrett Lambert).



Jeffrey sent me a photo of a hen steelhead from the Rocky River while it was cooking in his smoker (photo courtesy of Jeffrey Schimelpfenig).





Ross and Kelsey caught some very fresh steelhead this week (photos courtesy of Ross Bailey).



Greg caught a steelhead in a tiny creek when the rivers were too muddy to fish this week (photo courtesy of Greg Showalter).



Proud grandpa Al sent in a pic of Hunter's first bass of the year (photo courtesy of Al Reinke).



According to USGS data, the flooding of the Rocky River on Sunday (2nd bar from left in graph above) was the highest the river has been since 1924 (3rd bar).  Talk about a 100 year flood! (graph courtesy of USGS).




This week staff in Brecksville Reservation found a steelhead in the mud puddle pictured that was stranded as flood waters receded in Chippewa Creek.  They successfully corralled the fish and relocated it back in the stream (photos courtesy of Jeremy Peppeard).



For public safety as well as to help us keep our parks open, visitors MUST practice recommended minimum social distancing behavior.