October 7, 2021

***The Fishing Report Blog is updated every Thursday***   Anglers are catching steelhead in the Rocky and Chagrin rivers, as well as along the Cleveland shoreline of Lake Erie.  Rain is in the near term forecast so anglers would be wise to monitor the most recent river water level and temperature at the following link: <Rocky River flow gage data><Chagrin River flow gage data> <Rocky River NEORSD station with turbidity>.  Walleye are also biting in Lake Erie anglers and inland lake/pond anglers are pursuing largemouth bass, channel catfish and panfish. 

Anglers reported catching steelhead in the northern stretches (closer to Lake Erie) of the Rocky River, Chagrin River and other local streams this week, but rain is in the forecast so anglers should check in on the flow trend at the links above before embarking on a fishing outing.  Anglers by the Rocky River marina, in particular, had success casting spoons (such as Little cleo) and spinners (such as Vibrax and Roostertail) and drifting 1/64 to 1/16 oz marabou jigs under floats.  There are currently a lot of baitfish where the river meets the lake.  The hottest local bite for steelhead this week, though, has been off the rocks and breakwalls at Edgewater Park, E55th/E72nd and Wildwood Park.  And the hottest offering has been a 2-3 inch blue and silver spoon.  A modest number of smallmouth bass have been mixed in with the lakefront catch, too.

White and yellow perch, channel catfish, rock bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, freshwater drum and various sunfish species can be found along the Cleveland shoreline in early fall and can be caught on offerings such as live shiners, tube jigs, and dropshot rigs.  Yellow perch have been caught at shoreline spots like E55th breakwall, Edgewater Park and Wendy Park recently, at times in decent numbers, and have been biting on live minnows and bits of worm fished on the bottom on a crappie rig.

Fall Family Fishing Fest will be held Saturday October 16.    Come out and join us for Fall Family Fishing Fest at the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation on Saturday October 16th from 10-2:00pm  This event is free and we will have a limited number of fishing poles to loan out, as well as bait.  We will be stocking 600 lbs of channel catfish and 1,000 lbs of rainbow trout at the Ohio & Erie Canal in anticipation of the event.  Although anglers of any age can participate, prizes in several categories will be reserved for kids 15 years old and under.  Thank you to Ohio Division of Wildlife and Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders for supporting this great event with grant funds.  More details here:  <Fall Family Fishing Fest>.

The Steelheaders Ball presented by Cleveland Museum of Natural History Trout Club.  When: Friday, October 29, 2021- 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM  Where: The LaSalle Theater, 823 E. 185th St, Cleveland, OH 44119  What: Live Music by The Interstate All-Star Band, BBQ Food Truck, cash bar, assorted raffles, door prizes and more!  Why: Fundraiser to support a variety of local fisheries projects.  Tickets- $20.00 online, $25.00 at the door. Purchase tickets online at: <Steelheaders Ball tickets>

Photo Release Waivers for Fishing Blog Photos (fast and easy to complete online).  Photo release waivers for photos sent in for the fishing report can easily be completed online through Smart Waiver (takes only about 30 seconds to complete) at the following link: <Smart Waiver link>. You only need to do this one time and any future additional photos submitted are covered too.

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
 

On Friday Alex caught and released a buck pink salmon by the Rocky River marina while casting a gold and orange spoon.  Amazingly, this was his first time ever targeting steelhead, and he caught the rare (in this area) salmon before ever catching a steelhead!  The 23" fish, which was an inch longer than the state record which was broken about a month ago, was caught in the exact same area we turned one up the week prior while electrofishing to collect a few display fish for the Steelhead Expo and I would be willing to bet it was the same fish (photo courtesy of Ken Harper).



Steve caught this chrome bright steelhead from E55th breakwall (photo courtesy of Steve Farley).



A young angler shows off a yellow perch caught during a windy group outing along the Cleveland shoreline on Tuesday.




Chuck scored the "silver and bronze" (steelhead and smallmouth bass) casting along the Edgewater Park shoreline this week (photos courtesy of Chuck Naujoks).



Devonte caught this stellhead casting a blue and silver spoon from E55th breakwall on Tuesday (photo courtesy of Devonte Jones).



Congratulations to Jen on catching her second steelhead ever while casting a blue and silver Little Cleo spoon in the Chagrin River earlier this week (photo courtesy of Carl Schweisthal).




Fred and a buddy both scored steelhead casting blue and chrome Little Cleo spoons (noticing a trend here yet?) from the rocks at Edgewater Park on Monday (photos courtesy of Fred Sandoval).





Captain Gary of Dog Pound Charters is keeping his clients on limits of walleye lately (photos courtesy of Capt Gary Norman).




Jason caught this chunky steelhead while casting a crankbait at Edgewater Park and turned it into some delicious fish cakes.  Steelhead serve as an excellent substitute in any salmon patty recipe (photos courtesy of Jason Blackeney).




Matt is sampling the diversity of early fall fish bounty- from northern pike along the CLE lakefront to smallmouth bass in the Rocky River (photos courtesy of Matt Hanlon).










Sean and a friend scored some feisty steelhead and bonus football size smallmouth bass casting crankbaits and spoons from the rocks around E72nd/Gordon Park this week (photos courtesy of Sean Johnson).





Brad had success trolling around the mouth of the Rocky River for staging steelhead (photos courtesy of Brad Gardner).




Elizabeth shows off a nice steelhead caught on a short after work trip to the Rocky River where it meets the lake with Captain Jeff Liskay.  Funny story- the fish went crazy when she hooked it casting a hot pink Wiggle Wart crankbait and literally jumped right onto the front deck of the boat, flopped around a few times and then jumped back in on the other side and continued fighting!  It was released after the photo and swam off just as strong.



You never know what is going to turn up during a fish survey.  While sampling the fish population at Shadow Lake recently (it is sampled on a 5 year cycle), this monster koi surprised the crew- the result of somebody releasing an unwanted pet.