April 26, 2018

In spring, highlight species targeted by anglers in Cleveland Metroparks include steelhead trout, stocked rainbow trout, walleye, largemouth bass, and panfish.  The Rocky River and other area streams are in great shape at the moment and will continue to be in good shape for the weekend if we don't get too much rain.  To keep a handle on stream conditions anglers can check the most recent river water level, temperature, and clarity (turbidity) at the following links: <Rocky River USGS flow gage data> <Chagrin River USGS flow gage data> <Rocky River NEORSD station with turbidity>. (Note: the NEORSD station is damaged and is being repaired).  On Monday we stocked 600 pounds of rainbow trout in the East Branch Rocky River in Millstream Run Reservation and trout from past stockings remain at Wallace, Shadow, Ledge, Judge's, Hinckley, and Ranger lakes.  The Lake Erie marina and harbor areas also offer steelhead trout, northern pike, largemouth bass, and panfish in spring.

Area streams are are currently offering good fishing conditions.  The forecast into the weekend looks like some rain in the forecast, but if it isn't much conditions will remain good for the weekend.  Area streams were offered a diverse mix of fresh pre-spawn, spawning, post-spawn, and skipper steelhead. Fish have been very well distrubuted all throughout the Rocky, Chagrin, and Cuyahoga rivers, as well as smaller tributaries such as Euclid Creek at Wildwood Park.   Fish have been caught on everything ranging from bait (spawn sacks, minnows, jigs tipped with grubs), beads, rubber minnows, flies (nymphs, streamers, and egg patterns), and hardware (spoons, spinners, and plugs) this week.  Anglers can look forward to very good steelhead fishing at least into early May given the slow warm-up we've had this spring.

Complementing the steelhead are increasing numbers of lake-run smallmouth bass.  These fish are present in deeper, rocky holes throughout the main branch of the river.  Anglers fishing a jig, wooly bugger, live shiner, or other lures/flies that mimic a baitfish have a shot at hooking "the silver and bronze" (a smallmouth or steelhead) in the same day for the next few weeks.

The white sucker run is also underway on local streams, with Morley Ford north of the Lorain Road bridge being a hot spot.  A leadhead jig with twister tail, nymph flies or worm and small sinker fished near the river bottom will all take their share of suckers. Suckers are perfect for kids and less experienced anglers, although experienced anglers can find the fast action they afford to be lots of fun, as well.

Cleveland shoreline breakwalls, marinas and harbors on Lake Erie in spring offer anglers a shot at catching steelhead, along with northern pike, largemouth bass, and panfish.  Productive spots include Edgewater, Wildwood, and East 72nd/Gordon Park boat ramp areas.  For steelhead a medium size Little Cleo spoon (or similar) or jig tipped with minnow or maggots suspended under a float are top producers.  For northern pike and largemouth bass a white and silver spinnerbait is often a producer.

On Monday we stocked another 600 pounds of rainbow trout in the East Branch Rocky River.  Early next week we hope to stock the final 600 pounds of trout of the spring to add to the 3,000 pounds stocked since mid March in between Route 82 (Royalton Road) and the river crossing ford about a mile south of Wallace Lake.  Of the six spots we routinely stock, Bonnie Park (on both the upstream and downstream side of the dam) recieves the lion's share of these fish.

Our inland lakes are offering very good fishing opportunities at this time.  In late March 291 coho salmon were stocked in Wallace Lake as a bonus spring fishery.  Stockings like this are made possible by proceeds from the Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund.  On March 29th the Ohio Division of Wildlife stocked 816 rainbow trout at Shadow Lake and 2,759 rainbow trout at Hinckley Lake (these fish avarage about 3/4 lbs each).  Additionally, we stocked 6,000 pounds of trout this past winter, as follows: January 22nd Shadow (1,500 lbs), Ledge (1,200 lbs) and Judge's (300 lbs) lakes and on January 24th Wallace (2,800 lbs) and Ranger (200 lbs) lakes.   

Trout and coho salmon typically bite well on PowerBait, jigs tipped with a few maggots/waxworms, and smaller spinners (such as Rooster Tail).  Please note the current seasonal trout/salmon regulations:  Lake Erie and all streams 2/day minimum size 12" (this includes steelhead), 3/day no size limit at Wallace, Judge's and Ranger lakes, and 5/day no size limit at Shadow Lake and Ohio & Erie Canal.  Please note:  Ledge Lake is posted as catch and release fishing only until further notice.

Chagrin River Outfitters Upcoming Shop Day Event.  Want to learn to catch steelhead, smallmouth bass, and carp on the fly locally?  Well, you're in luck!  On Saturday April 28 Chargin River Outfitters is having a free in-house event to cover these topics.  Learn more at <Chagrin River Outfitters>.

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
 

The Murphys are a fishing family! (photo courtesy of Owen Murphy).







John and friends caught some nice steelhead on the Rocky recently, and he further reports regarding the first two photos "While fishing a kid walked up asked what I was doing ... I was releasing a fish so I took the time to explain to him the how to on releasing it . His dad walked up (I did not know these people) and I asked them if they were in a rush or had a minute to maybe let the kid hook into one and tell it in himself... 10 minutes later the kid got not only his first fish ever but a 26 incher" (photos courtesy of John Lusnek).





Bill had a great day on the Rocky and even got his buddy Larry Koncar (top two images) onto his first two steelhead ever (photos courtesy of Bill Mantle).



Lindsay got her first steelhead ever this week while fly fishing with guide Monte Casey.  See the end of this report for a listing of registered guides (photo courtesy of Monte Casey).




Owen shared "Hi Mike, I wanted to share these two MONSTER steelhead I caught after school today! The one in the 2nd picture is a 28 inch Master Angler steelhead. I caught them both on a white jig with a maggot." (photos courtesy of Owen Seiler).



Nate displays a steelhead he caught on a minnow swimbait (photo courtesy of Nate Olsen).



Derek caught a fine hen steelie in a local stream.  Derek serves as the west Creek Watershed Coordinator (photo courtesy of Derek Schaeffer).



The smallmouth are moving in!  Andy shows off a beaut caught by the marina on the Rocky River this week (photo courtesy of Mark Fascione).



Greg shows off another fine smallmouth-  this one caught off E72nd (photo courtesy of Greg Young).




Brian got the coveted "silver and bronze"-  A Rocky River steelhead and smallmouth bass in the same day (photos courtesy of Brian Ailor).



Sierra caught a fine hen steelie while fly fishing the Rocky River on Tuesday (photo courtesy of Sierra Wick).






Patrick shared from Sunday on the river "My name is Patrick Fuller, a steelhead addict from near Pittsburgh, PA, I just wanted to share some photos from a recent day trip we did.  Adam Shetler and I (he attended the Barbie rod tourney and his friend Josh won one of the centerpin reels) really got into some incredible fishing and figured I'd share some of the pictures.  I'm in the plaid jacket and Adam is in the solid colored jacket.  Thank you for what you do for your state's fishery and letting us come over and enjoy it." (photos courtesy of Patrick Fuller).





Carl shared a few of many trout caught at Bonnie Park on Monday (photos courtesy of Carl Schweisthal).




Jarred caught his personal best steelhead in the Rocky River this week (photos courtesy of Jarred Bugg).






Joyce had a great day fly fishing the Rocky River on Monday.  She also conducted her annual kissing of a sucker! (photos courtesy of Joyce Smith).



Mark caught a silver beauty in the Rocky River this week (photo courtesy of Mark Forbush).






Max had another great week on the local streams and shared "Had fun catching them on the 5wt fly rod this weekend.  Streamers and sucker spawn worked well.  Surprisingly the smallmouth hit the sucker spawn fly instead of the streamer" (photos courtesy of Max Madden). 




Tim experienced some outstanding fly fishing on the Rock this week (photos courtesy of Tim Maher).



Mike caught a redear sunfish, aka shellcracker due to their habit of eating small snails, in Wallace Lake (photo courtesy of Mike Brady).



Brad displays a Rocky River chrome hen steelie (photo courtesy of Brad Gardner).




Dexter caught a fine trout in a fine jacket! (photos courtesy of Corey Butram).



Ted reports that the size of the trout stocked in the East Branch Rocky River on Monday was outstanding (photo courtesy of Ted).




David is having a great spring of steelhead fishing on the Rocky River (photos courtesy of David Wagner).



Eric caught a HUGE largemouth bass in a local lake this week (photo courtesy of Eric Phillips).



We conducted fish sampling at Mentor Marsh this week as part of a regional collaborative project.  Can you name this species in the comments section?



Please don't release your pets in the wild!



Steelhead spawning in Euclid Creek.  How many can you count? (photo courtesy of Owen Lockhart).





During recent flooding, several fish were trapped in mud puddles left behind by the receding Cuyahoga River at Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation.  Here an employee rescues a few northern pike and returns them to the river (photos courtesy of Tom Barnhart).
 


Thank you to Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders for supporting our spring Children's Fishing Derbies (coming up on May 19 & 20) to the tune of $4,200!  Thank you also to the Ohio Division of Wildlife for the grant program these funds came from.