November 15, 2018

The Rocky River and other area streams are currently exhibiting good flow and stain for steelhead fishing, although leaves can cause difficulties drifting in some areas.  Rain forecasted into the weekend could change conditions, though, so wise anglers will 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>.  Nearshore Lake Erie anglers are targeting walleye, steelhead, and yellow perch.  Anglers at Ohio & Erie Canal are catching recently stocked rainbow trout. 

The Rocky River and other area streams are ofering good flow and stain for steelhead fishing and many anglers experienced success this week.  Fallen leaves can pose a challenge when drifting some holes, though.  Rain is in the forecast into the weekend, though, so anglers should check the flow gage links above before planning a trip.  Steelhead opportunities will remain good until stream conditions change.  As is typical this time of year, the greatest concentration of steelhead are in the northernmost river stretches, although fish are well spread at at this time.  The big trout, averaging 5-7 lbs as of late, have been biting especially well on marabou jigs under floats this week.  They can also caught on brightly colored dime to nickel size spawn sacks, beads that mimic salmon eggs, flies (egg patterns and baitfish streamers), and lures such as Little Cleo spoons and Vibrax spinners.  The fall run is going strong with the recent increase in flows and more steelhead will continue to migrate up area streams into the fall season.

Although the lake is stained today, fishing along the Cleveland lakefront was good this week with steelhead and yellow perch by day and walleye after dark caught from the E55th/E72nd breakwalls, as well as at Edgewater and Wildwood parks as wave conditions allowed.  Lakefront steelhead will bite on a whole nightcrawler on a plain hook or small jig tipped with minnow suspended between 4-6 feet under a bobber, as well as for anglers casting a spoon (ie Little Cleo or KO Wobbler) or spinner (ie Vibrax or RoosterTail).

In mid-October rainbow trout (1,000 lbs) and farm raised channel catfish (600 lbs) that were stocked in the Ohio & Erie Canal fishing area off E49th Street and plenty of these fish remain.  Trout often bite well on a dime sized ball of colorful PowerBait fished near the canal bottom with a sinker.  Our lakes/ponds are scheduled to be stocked with rainbow trout around mid December.

Walleye fishing was good along the Cleveland shoreline of Lake Erie after dark this week.  Anglers are connecting by casting Husky Jerk or Perfect 10 stickbaits.  A few yellow perch can turn up along the E55th breakwall, as well.  The ODNR Division of Wildlife weekly Lake Erie fishing report can be viewed <here>.

ODNR Needs Angler Assistance on Reporting Lake Trout Catches   If you or anyone you know/see catches a lake trout in Ohio waters of Lake Erie or a tributary please remember the following. If the fish is kept, the head would be extremely appreciated for the information that can be obtained from the implanted coded wire tag (which you will not see because it is internal).  If the angler chooses not to keep the fish, a picture (or even call/email) with information would be a much appreciated second option to taking the head. Any information would be good: date, location, size, was the fish flowing any milt or eggs, what was it caught with, name, email contact, etc. This information is CRUCIAL to tracking the success of this program in Ohio.  Please report to: John Deller, ODNR Fairport Fish Station at [email protected] or (440) 352-4199 and/or Mike Durkalec, Aquatic Biologist at [email protected] or (216) 701-7634.  Thank you!

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
 

Congratulations to Ellie on catching her first steelhead ever recently (photo courtesy of Tristen Kaso).




Dana caught some nice walleyes trolling just off E72nd Street yesterday (photos courtesy of Dana Daugherty-Klonowski).



Congratulations to Bruce on catching his first steelhead ever in the Rocky River this week (photo courtesy of Bruce Gula).



Congratulation to Geoff on catching his first steelhead ever in the Rocky River by the marina this week (photo courtesy of Geoff Stanton).




Congratulation to Luke-  he went out on his first two steelhead outings ever on the Rocky this week and caught a steelie both times (photos courtesy of Matthew Moore).



Bill reports "I wanted to send in a photo of a steelhead I caught on Wednesday Nov.  14th.  It was my first steelhead on my centerpin.   Caught it in the Rocky River on egg sacs. I went 6 for 8 that day." (photo courtesy of Bill Millard).



Nooky  caught a fine walleye at E55th breakwall on Saturday night (photo courtesy of Nooky Robinson).



Casey caught a stray coho salmon in the Rocky River yesterday.  Some cohos from Lake Erie tend to have the greenish coloration similar to a chinook (king) salmon (photo courtesy of Casey Smith).



Tim caught a Rocky River chromer on his fly rod this week photo courtesy of Tim Maher).




Captain John Osage Cole (top) and Bill Mantle (bottom) caught some fine steelhead in the northern Rocky yesterday.  Bill went 9/10 and likes to drift jigs he ties himself (photos courtesy of Bill Mantle).




Tim landed a bruiser hen on the Rocky on Sunday along with several other steelhead (photos courtesy of Tim Daley).




Lance (pictured) and Moe had fun casting hardware on the Rocky River this week (photos courtesy of Moe Slyman).




Speaking of hardware, James made a spoon out of an actual kitchen spoon-  and caught a Rocky River steelhead on it! (photo courtesy of James Semple).



Ken shared "The fish eluded me today but Veteran’s Day (Sunday) was fun.  I arrived at the first set of riffles below the bridge a little past 0900.  There were only a few anglers and no one seemed to have much patience; that is, they threw a few casts and took off, with the exception of a fly fisher who had some luck.  Around 1030 the fish seemed to turn on.  After a couple of hookups using black jigs (either orange or silver head) with pink Mad River troutworms, and tipped with maggots, I switched to either different jig colors or ran black jigs with different colored troutworms. After no success using the alternatives, I would revert back to the black jig/pink troutworm/maggot combo.  It was the only rig that would continue to work for me. I also noticed that because the current/river level was variable, (that is, all over the place) it seemed easy to fish in a variety of lanes, rather than a pool with well-defined margins.  Well, maybe nothing new here for some, but I can’t recall a time where their color preferences were so steadfast. Thanks again for your reports" (photo courtesy of Ken Stein).



Tyrone caught a fresh steelhead at E55th breakwal this week (photo courtesy of Tyrone Harris).




Zachary caught a trophy steelhead on the lower Rocky River on a purple jig (photos courtesy of Zachary Rohaley).



Bill always seems to catch the steelies at Morley Ford (photo courtesy of Bill Arensberg).



An old newspaper clipping indicates this was the first coho salmon caught at Euclid Beach Park by "Gramps" (photo courtesy of Brian Zimmerman).