October 8, 2020

In early autumn highlight species targeted by anglers along the Rocky River and other area streams include steelhead trout, smallmouth bass, carp, panfish, and channel catfish. Areas streams exhibiting low flow and clear conditions and with the dry forecast into the weekend that isn't expected to change.  To monitor the most recent river water level and temperature you can check the following link: <Rocky River flow gage data><Chagrin River flow gage data> <Rocky River NEORSD station with turbidity>.  Lake Erie anglers are primarily targeting steelhead along the shoreline and walleye and the Ohio & Erie Canal was stocked with rainbow trout and channel catfish yesterday (details below).

The Rocky River and other area streams recieved are back to low flow and clear water conditions, and with the forecast looking dry into the weekend this isn't expected to change.  Steelhead are staging (and being caught) in good numbers by the Rocky River Marina this week.  The Cleveland Lakefront steelhead bite took a big step forward this week, with many catches reported by anglers.  Productive spots are off the rocks at Edgewater and breakwall/rocks at E55th/E72nd areas, as well as at Wildwood Park.  Casting a spoon (ie 2/5 oz Little Cleo or KO Wobbler) or spinner (ie 1/8 oz Vibrax or RoosterTail), or drifting a 1/32 or 1/64 oz marabou jig tipped with a waxworm or a few maggots under a sensitive float, at these locations are as good a bet as any for connecting with an early steelhead trout.  These lakefront areas are producing walleye after dark, as well, with Perfect 10 and other shallow running stick-style crankbaits working well.

Some anglers are pursuing white perch and yellow perch at E55th breakwall and Edgewater Park.  These fish can bite well on bits of worms, waxworm or small minnow fished on the bottom on a crappie rig.  Bluegill (and other panfish), largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, freshwater drum, northern pike and channel catfish can also be found in the diverse fishery along the Cleveland shoreline in early fall and can be caught on offerings such as tube jigs, dropshot rigs and live bait. 

Yesterday we stocked 1,000 lbs of rainbow trout and 600 lbs of channel catfish at the Ohio & Erie Canal off E49th Street despite the annual Fall Family Fishing Fest being cancelled due to the pandemic.  The trout average 1 lb each and the catfish average 2 lbs, but we included a handful of trophy trout (see an example in the photos below) and a few albino catfish to spice things up.  For basic tips and techniques on fishing for these fish check out a <Facebook Live> segment offered by my colleague Faruq from Youth Outdoors.  If you are happy catching either species you can try a nightcrawler worm or peice of shrimp fished on the canal bottom.

Photo Release Waivers are now Required for Fishing Blog Photos (and are fast and easy to complete online).  Times are a-changin' with this decade and a half old fishing blog, and our legal department has concluded that photo release waivers are now required for any fishing blog photos where individuals are identifiable.  The good news is it only has to be done one time per person (and then it's good for any subsequent photos) and there's a super easy and secure online form to do it through Smart Waiver that takes only about 30 seconds to complete.  So please use this link to complete the waiver if you send in any images for there report: <Smart Waiver link>.  Sorry for the slight inconvenience and THANK YOU for all who have contributed in the past to make this report a fun and personal offering!

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
 

David landed this thick buck steelhead at Morley Ford on the Rocky River (photo courtesy of David Bowser).



Pat caught (and released) this surprise coho salmon along with a steelehad by the Rocky River marina on Monday (photo courtesy of Pat Jurco).



Danny broke the tip of his rod setting the hook on his first steelhead of the season, and he still landed it and it was a beauty!  (photo courtesy of Danny Nagy).



A big congratulations to Adam on catching his first steelhead ever this week in the Rocky River (photo courtesy of Adam Highberger).



Jason caught and released this beautiful 3.15 lb largemouth bass in a smaller Metroparks pond yesterday using an electric blue 3" Krakin' Kraw (photo courtesy of Jason Riley).



Jim shared "Hi Mike, very much enjoy our beautiful MetroParks and your fishing reports. Caught my first steelhead of the season this past Saturday on my kayak. Right near the boat ramps using a perch colored 3/8 oz Kastmaster." (photo courtesy of John Gronowski).



Mark landed his first steelhead of the season his first hour out.  A much better start than he had last year, which took 5 trips and 25 hours to catch his first fish (photo courtesy of Mark Dixon).



Aggressive early season steelhead hit spinners, spoons and crankbaits as well as bait on many days.



Mikake caught this pretty chrome hen steelhead several miles up the Rocky River (photo courtesy of Mikale Mosack).



Jeremiah was casting for walleye after dark at E55th and caught this bonus steelhead (photo courtesy of Jeremiah Short).



Ross landed this gleaming chrome hen steelhead on the Rocky (photo courtesy of Ross Bailey).





Jason illustrates the Cleveland lakefront fish diversity you can expect- including a largemouth bass, walleye and channel catfish (photos courtesy of Jason Blakeney).



Daniel had a great day on the lower Rocky this week, landing 5 of 6 steelhead he hooked (photo courtesy of Daniel Coon).



The lakefront steelhead fishing at E55th/E72nd, Edgewater, and Wildwood parks really perked up this week.




Many of the steelhead being caught are running nize size and very healthy looking this year.






Greg caught some Edgewater Park largemouth bass and scored a bonus steelhead, too (photos courtesy of Greg Johnson).




Buddies Chuck and Duke caught these quality steelhead on the lower Rocky fishing from their fully decked out kayaks (photo courtesy of Chuck Earls).



Jeff reported from the lower Rocky "Got this beauty on Saturday evening.  First kayak steelhead.  What a blast!" (photo courtesy of Jeff Shaw).




Yesterday we stocked 1,000 lbs of rainbow trout (averaging 1 lb each) and 600 lbs of channel catfish (averaging 2 lbs each) at the Ohio & Erie Canal fishing area off E49th Street.  Here Faruq displays one of the handful of tropht trout that were in the mix.  Also, check out Faruq in a <Facebook Live> segment covering techniques to catch these fish.





The lakefront harbors offer a nice diversity of gamefish in fall including northern pike, steelhead and largemouth bass.  These fine specimens were all sampled this week at Gordon Park harbor.