January 23, 2020

In winter steelhead trout are the highlight in the Rocky and Chagrin rivers.  The Rocky River is in good shape this morning with quite a bit of open water.  Ice and slush has been a challenge on local streams the past several days, but that will continue to subside with the warmer temperatures and rain headed our way.  There is precipitation forecasted into the weekend, though, so wise anglers will keep an eye on the flow data at the following link: <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 in mid-December, as well, to expand winter fishing options and another 3,000 lbs is scheduled to be stocked next week.

Local streams were met with freezing temperatures as the flows dropped following the last rain, leading to quite a bit of slush and ice (especially in the mornings).  As of this morning the Rocky River is in good shape, with moderate flow and quite a bit of open and fishable water.  When and where anglers have found fishable conditions this week the steelhead have been there, with good numbers in all of our streams at this time. This situation will likely be short lived, though, as mild temperatures and rain are forecasted into the weekend beginning tomorrow, so wise anglers will keep an eye on the river flows at the links above.  Steelhead in stained water earlier this week were biting dime to nickel size spawn sacks in bright colors, and as the water has cleared small marabou jigs (black with orange head and white with flash have been producing well) 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 have all been taking a share of the fish. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week we stocked 3,000 lbs of trout at Wallace (1,400 lbs), Shadow (750 lbs), Ledge (600 lbs), Judge's (150 lbs) and Ranger (100 lbs) lakes.  This complements the 3,000 lbs distributed between the same locations back in mid-December.  This was our second and final winter trout stocking.  The size of the trout averages about a pound and a half each, and along with the predominantly standard rainbow trout are good number of bonus golden rainbow trout and brook trout (see photo below).  These trout bite 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 need to be minimum length of 12" and you can harvest 2/day). 

Since a local angler fell through the ice at Shadow Lake yesterday (fortunately he was rescued by other anglers onsite), I figured now was a good time for an ice safety guidlines and tips reminder.  A crust of ice has formed over most of our inland lakes and ponds recently, although not thick enough for ice fishing.  Anglers are currently fishing from the safety of shore in areas where the water drops off quickly, such as from docks, other platforms, etc.  Since ice fishing could (hopefully) be just around the corner, I offer some advice.  Most state conservation agencies recommend at least 4" of solid ice before anglers should venture out to ice fish, and in Cleveland Metroparks it is the angler's responsibility to check that.  One method is to use a spud bar near shore and check the ice thickness, and if it is > 4 inches then walk out a little further and check again.  Ice is often thinnest right at the water's edge and around inlets and outlets of the waterbody.  A pair of emergency ice picks held at the ready on a cord around the neck are are a safety must, as is carrying a length of rope.  A floating "survival suit" is something you may consider, as well.  Other safety tips are to always fish with a friend, let someone know where you'll be, and focus on areas near where other anglers are already fishing. 

Cleveland Fishing Company Supports the Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund.   Cleveland Fishing Company committed 5% of profits in 2019 to the <Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund>, and they did not disappoint.  Just this week owner Brian Tighe forwarded $2,000 to Cleveland Metroparks.  The 5% total from last year came out to $1.6K, but he generously chose to round up the total contribution.  He said they are shooting to double that in 2020.  So know that when you wear your Cleveland fishing pride via their cool apparel line you are also supporting public fishing in Cleveland Metroparks.  Learn more/check out their products on their website: <Cleveland Fishing Company>

Fishing Guide Permit Renewal Reminder.    Please note that Fishing Guide Permits expired on December 31, 2019.  Anybody interested in guiding on Cleveland Metroparks waters this year may find a link to the application materials following the photos at the end of this report.  Thank you and may all your clients have fish filled trips in the New Year!

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

Mary proudly shared "Got my girlfriend Mackenzie hooked on her first steelhead ever. Small trib brute of a buck." (photos courtesy of Mary Taylor).




Walt (top) and his neighbor Randy (bottom) got their 5 trout limits at Shadow Lake yesterday.  Notice that 3 of Randy's fish were brook trout!  Walt notes that they got their fish on PowerBait, but other anglers were also catching them jigging Swedish Pimple spoons.  They fished from the safety of shore.  One angler who was fishing on the unsafe (too thin) ice there yesterday was not so lucky, and broke through and had to be rescued by other fishernen (photos courtesy of Walt Gedeon).



An angler shows off her steelhead limit caught at the "Black Wall" (wet staining on cliff side) by the Rocky River marina late last week (photo courtesy of Sam Horn).



On Sunday morning when it was 13 degrees and the Rocky River was elevated and very muddy, Adam proved that steelhead can still be caught if you have persistence and reasonable expectations (photo courtesy of Mike Flachbart).




When streams were still muddy on Sunday morning Nick caught a nice steelhead in a smaller stream (that clears more rapidly) in Cleveland Metroparks, then on Tuesday he caught several rainbow trout at Wallace Lake capped by the catch and release of the pretty golden rainbow trout pictured (photos courtesy of Nick Zarzeczny).



On Sunday morning Dave caught the colorful golden rainbow trout at Wallace Lake, which was BEFORE we restocked the lake on Tuesday (photo courtesy of Dave Bowser).




Corey was hoping for a brook trout, but caught a bonus golden rainbow trout along with a bunch of standard rainbow trout at Ledge Lake this week.  He was using smaller jigging spoons (photos courtesy of Corey Zelinski).





When many other folks opted to stay in theit warm beds on Saturday morning, Brad braved the elements on the Rocky and was rewarded with his best day of the season.  He was into "double digits" (landed over 10 fish) by noon (photos courtesy of Brad Gardner).



Max noted on Tuesday "Had a good day before the freeze and hooked into 12 fish" (photo courtesy of Max Madden).



Randy shows evidence that you can fish floats on a baitcaster rig if you choose to, even if it's not very commonly done in these parts (photo courtesy of Randy Gerrick).





We stocked 3,000 pounds of trout on Tuesday and wednesday, concluding our winter stocking (see report above for distrubution details).  On Wednesday I was assisted by friend and former Baldwin Wallace University biology faculty Tyler Lawson, who just accepted a fulltim position as a fish biologist in Alaska.  We will miss you, Tyler, but look forward to hearing about your future adventures up north!



A good number of bonus golden rainbow and brook trout were in the mix of fish stocked this week (photo courtesy of Ephrain Bowser).