February 29, 2024

***NOTE: The Fishing Report Blog is updated weekly on Thursdays from September-May***  Steelhead fishing prospects are looking promising going into the weekend as streams are offering good fishing conditions.  Anglers can monitor the most recent river conditions at the following links: <Rocky River flow gage data><Chagrin River flow gage data> <Rocky River NEORSD station with turbidity>. Cleveland Metroparks has stocked a combined 6,500 pounds of mixed trout between five locations throughout the winter (details in report below).
 
The Rocky and Chagrin rivers are offering good steelhead fishing conditions which, based on the weather forecast, should continue to be the case through the weekend. Be aware that the streams can be especially slushy in the mornings following nights that dip below mid 20 deg F.  Dime to nickel size spawn sacks (trout or salmon eggs in chartreuse, hot pink, orange and white mesh), live minnows, 1/64 or 1/32 oz marabou jigs tipped with maggots, soft plastic minnows/nymphs/tubes on a small jig, and salmon egg mimicking beads can all work well in our current conditions. Offerings should be drifted under a float will enough 6-8 lb leader (fluorocarbon is popular) and split shot to keep the offering very close to the river bottom, but not dragging. Fly fishers are dead drifting egg patterns, beadhead nymph and streamer patterns under strike indicators. There are a mix of pre-spawn, spawning and post spawn fish present in the streams, and they are well distributed throughout the watersheds.
 
The final winter trout stocking occurred in late January making the total this winter a combined 6,500 lbs distributed between Wallace (2,300 lbs), Shadow (1,500 lbs), Ledge (1,300 lbs), Judge’s (200 lbs) and Ranger (200 lbs) lakes. The majority were rainbow trout averaging a pound each although there were plenty of bonus brook, brown, golden rainbow, and even rare tiger (brook x brown hybrid) trout to keep things interesting.  Small marabou or hair jigs tipped with a few maggots or a waxworm, a dime sized ball of Power Bait, and smallish to medium size spinners are all great offerings to try for trout this time of year. Spring stocking of rainbow trout in the East Branch Rocky River will commence around mid March.  Keep posted to this report for details on that.
 
Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby is back on Saturday March 30th and ONLINE REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!  The always popular Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby is back this year and scheduled for Saturday March 30th. Cleveland Metroparks will be leading the event and Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders (a non-profit) will be hosting the raffle. Trophies for three largest steelhead, raffles, and a cookout are all part of the day's festivities for this fun event where anglers must fish for steelhead with a kiddie fishing pole! 100% of proceeds from the fundraiser event go to support the Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund (this event has raised $49K since 2015).  The event headquarters will be at South Mastic Woods Picnic Area (immediately south of the Putritas Road bridge), a central location on the Rocky River that offers lots of space. Mark your calendars for this fun event for a great cause! You can save $5 versus the day of the event ($30 vs $35) by registering for the Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby online. More info and register online here:  <Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby>.
 
A big thank you to our current event supporters, as follows. Westside Toyota is a Supporting Sponsor and repeat sponsors Jason’s Automotive Inc, Point Black Hunts, and Kevin Kilbane. Joining us as a first time sponsor is M3 Technologies. Contributors to the Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders raffle (proceeds also go to the Fishing Fund) include Shine’s Bait & Tackle, VooDoo Custom Tackle, Cuyahoga Falls Parks & Recreation Department, ASG Custom Rods, Lake Erie Kayak Fishing with Chuck Earls, River Roe Tackle, Cast Cray Outdoors, Olmsted Laser Wash, Cleveland Fishing Company and Richard Angelone. Please consider patronizing these businesses that support local fishing!
 
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 already covered.
 
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

 

Vinny and his buddy accomplished an unusual feat - a couple of February smallmouth bass from the Rocky River (photos courtesy of Brian DiGioia).




Fred shared regarding this Rocky River catch “Sometimes beginner’s luck outshines the decades of the seasoned! Mimi caught this beautiful feisty hen on her first ever steelhead adventure! It was her second cast.   She was fishing with her new husband Fred who is from Washington state and has been fishing for steelhead for almost 5 decades.” (photo courtesy of Fred Bennett).




Bill shared “Caught this nice Steelhead after work on a 65 degree early evening in February on the Chagrin. Fish was released unharmed as all of mine are. Thanks for the work you do and for the terrific fishery you all maintain!” (photo courtesy of Bill Mills).






Bryant caught some fine trout from Wallace Lake and then enjoyed them as a equally fine meal with his girlfriend Crystal (photos courtesy of Bryant Glover).





Captain Denny and a buddy got into some nice walleyes off Cleveland this week. Check him out at 22sportfishingcharters.com (photos courtesy of Capt. Denny Sharone).





Denver scored some Rocky River beauties this week. He was struggling to hook fish lately until he started tipping his jigs with maggots. In colder water scent can make a difference! (photos courtesy of Denver Ladd).





Captain Rich and a buddy caught 5 steelhead and a bonus quillback carpsucker at the Rocky River marina area on Monday. He also noted that there was a ton of baitfish around, making the fishing more challenging (photos courtesy of Capt. Rich).





Des shows off a pair of feisty Rocky River steelhead (photos courtesy of Des Deming).






Joe is back at it and made a cool knife pouch from the skin of a rainbow trout he caught recently. I wonder what he’ll make with the skin from that colorful golden rainbow? (photos courtesy of Joe Miller).




Rocco broke a recent slump with this Rocky River chromer (photo courtesy of Rocco Serio).





Mike and Brad scored a couple of Chagrin River steelhead while fly fishing the Chagrin River this week (photos courtesy of Mike Tobin).





Chris has been experimenting with different fly patterns and finding success on the Rocky 9photos courtesy of Chris Ligan).






There is almost always somewhere to find some willing steelhead. The past week required a bit of adaptability, from fishing the deeper areas of the rivers when water was low and then transitioning to smaller streams that clear up first when water levels came up with rain. The payoff? Elizabeth and I hooked just shy of 70 fish in a combined 12 hours of fishing (split between several days) this week. Here are a few of the better ones. The reason I’m sharing this is because I’ve heard a few complaints about lack of fish lately and wanted to reinforce that spending time on the water and being adaptable is by far the biggest key to steelhead fishing success.  Once you get the experience under your belt you will be able to just cherry pick when, where and how you fish for the best odds.





MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!  The Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby fundraiser is coming back on Saturday March 30^th. Thank you to Supporting Sponsor Westside Toyota as well as multi-year supporters Jason’s Automotive Inc, Point Blank Hunts and Kevin Kilbane, as well as first time sponsor M3 Technologies! More info and register online here:  <Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby>.