January 28, 2021

In winter steelhead trout are the highlight species targeted by anglers in area rivers. The Rocky River and other streams are currently exhibiting low and clear water conditions and given the dry forecast that can be expected to continue into the weekend.  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>.  Note: river flow readings can show inconsistencies due to ice and slush interference.  Shadow, Ledge and Judge's lakes were stocked with 1,500 lbs of mixed trout yesterday and Wallace and Ranger lakes were stocked with 1,500 lbs last Thursday.

The Rocky River and other area streams are offering low and clear water conditions and anglers can expect slushy flows following nights that dip below freezing.  Anglers continue to use finesses techniques in the clear water and persistent anglers are catching a mix of chrome bright fresh steelhead and darker, more colorful fish that have been in the streams awhile.  Most fish have been caught in deeper holes spread throughout the watersheds. In our current clear water conditions downsizing to lighter 6 pound flourocarbon leader and drifting salmon egg mimicking beads and soft rubber eggs (8-12 mm), small (1/32-1/64 oz) jigs tipped with maggots or live minnows under a float catch the most fish, as do nymph and streamer flies.  As another tip, the Cuyahoga River has a big watershed and maintains a good flow even under dry conditions and exploring it is ideal at such times.

Yesterday morning we stocked 1,500 lbs of trout at Shadow (750 lbs), Ledge (600 lbs) and Judge's (150 lbs) lakes.  These complement the 1,400 lbs stocked last Thursday in Wallace Lake and 100 lbs in Ranger Lake.  These add to the total of 6,000 lbs of trout stocked in these 5 lakes since mid December and concludes our winter trout stocking.  The majority of the fish were 1-1.5 lb rainbow trout, but a good  number of brook, brown, golden rainbow and trophy rainbow trout were in the mix.  A few trout remain at Ohio & Erie Canal from stocking in October, as well.  Note: the daily limit at Wallace, Ledge, Ranger and Judge's lakes is 3 trout/angler and the limit at Shadow Lake and the Ohio & Erie Canal is 5 trout/angler.  Winter trout often bite well on a dime size ball of colorful Power Bait dough and small marabou or tube jig tipped with a waxworm or a few maggots and medium size jigging spoons. 

Ice fishers are chomping at the bit to get on the frozen lakes and ponds right now, so I offer some very important safety advice to keep in mind.  Most state conservation agencies recommend at least 4" of solid clear (not cloudy) 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 bringing 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.

Thank you to Cleveland Fishing Co. for your Generous Support!  Thank you to Brian Tighe, owner of Cleveland Fishing Co., for donating a total of $3,000 to support the Cleveland Metroparks fisheries program this month!  The donation came at a very good time as most budgets were cut 10% at Cleveland Metroparks this year due to COVID related challenges, and this donation helped make up the differrence from our Fishing Fund so trout stocking will not be reduced this year (note: 100% of catfish stocking comes from this donation fund, too, as well as support for kid and family fishing events).  It has never felt better to show your Cleveland fishing pride!  Check out their website and products <here>.

Photo Release Waivers are now Required for Fishing Blog Photos (and are fast and easy to complete online).  Photo release waivers are now required for any fishing blog photos where individuals are identifiable.  It only has to be completed 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 over the past 15 years 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

 

Phil caught and released this 27.5" steelhead at Morley Ford on the Rocky River over the weekend (photo courtesy of Phil Shramko).









Nick and friends caught a nice mix of trout using small tube jigs at Wallace Lake on Thursday (photos courtesy of Nik Zarzeczny).






When the slush burned off the river on Sunday the steelhead bite was hot for Brad who was using a minnow jig under a float.  Among his fish he landed a monster 11.7 pound buck! (photos courtesy of Brad Gardner).



The very first anglers are testing the ice on local lakes this week, but ice is inconsistent between and even within lakes right now.  I WOULD NOT CONSIDER THE ICE SAFE AT THE TIME OF THIS REPORT AND WOULD NOT BE ON IT MYSELF! Conservative anglers are are still (wisely) erring on the side of safety and fishing through ice from solid ground for the time being.  See ice safety guidelines in the report text above.











Yesterday Shadow, Ledge and Judge's lakes were stocked with 1,500 lbs of mixed trout, and last Thursday Wallace and Ranger lakes were stocked with 1,500 lbs of trout- just in time for ice fishing conditions to be shaping up.    This concludes our winter trout stocking.



Thank you to Brian Tighe, owner of Cleveland Fishing Co., for donating a total of $3,000 to support the Cleveland Metroparks fisheries program this month!  The donation came at a very good time as most budgets were cut 10% at Cleveland Metroparks this year due to COVID related challenges, and this donation helped make up the differrence from our Fishing Fund so trout stocking will not be reduced this year (note: 100% of catfish stocking comes from this donation fund, too, as well as support for kid and family fishing events).  It has never felt better to show your Cleveland fishing pride!  Check out their website and products <here>.