December 7, 2023

***NOTE: The Fishing Report Blog is back to regular weekly Thursday updates from September-May***   Anglers on the Rocky River and other area streams are targeting steelhead trout. 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>. Lake Erie anglers are catching walleye, yellow perch and steelhead and on inland locations they are pursuing stocked rainbow trout and farm raised channel catfish at the Ohio & Erie Canal off E49th Street.
 
River conditions are currently excellent but there is rain in the weekend forecast so wise anglers will stay abreast of the river flows (links above) before heading out following transitional weather. It has been a good week on local streams with lots of reports of steelhead being caught. The Rocky, Chagrin and other area streams all have lots of steelhead present at this time and they are well distributed throughout the watersheds. The Rocky River, for example, has been producing fish from the marina area all the way up into both branches of the river allowing anglers to begin spreading out over many miles of stream. Anglers are also connecting with some steelhead off the rocks at Edgewater, E55th, and Wildwood parks. In the streams fish are being caught on a variety of offerings including dime to nickel size spawn sacks (colored mesh bags containing trout or salmon eggs), live minnows, 1/64  or 1/32 oz jigs tipped with maggots, and salmon egg mimmicking beads drifted under floats in holes and deeper runs.  Fly fishing with egg patterns and streamers is also catching some fish. At both stream and lakefront locations anglers are casting spoons ie 2/5 oz Little Cleo or KO Wobbler, medium size spinners (ie Vibrax and Rooster Tail) and crankbaits. Trolling the rivermouth areas with spoons and crankbaits is also an option for anglers with access to a small boat, kayak or canoe (the courtesy dock at the boat ramp is scheduled to be removed in the near future, depending on weather). Cleveland shoreline areas are also producing some very good catches of walleye after dark, as well, with Perfect 10, Husky Jerk 14 and other shallow running stick-style crankbaits working well.  
 
For anglers interested in trout, winter stockings in our lakes and ponds is scheduled for the week of December 18th.  Also, in mid October we stocked 1,000 lbs of rainbow trout and 700 lbs of channel catfish at the Ohio & Erie Canal off E49th Street and a fair number of those fish remain to be caught. The trout average a pound each and the catfish average 1-3 lbs, but we included a handful of bigger fish and quite a few golden rainbow trout to spice things up.  Small marabou or hair jigs tipped with a few maggots or a waxworm, a dime sized ball of PowerBait, and small spinners are all great offerings to try for trout.
 
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


 

The Willis family made some great memories on the river this week (photos courtesy of Ken Willis).





Father and son Phillip and Phillip Jr caught some steelhead out of Cleveland this week (photos courtesy of Phillip Hockey).




Ken shared “Volod Pavlo caught his first steelhead yesterday! He arrived from the Ukraine a few weeks ago and had been working hard at it for a few days. Ron Arnholt spent some time giving him some tips, which paid off!” (photo courtesy of Ken Stein).




Tony caught this 30.5” buck steelhead with a 19” girth on the Rocky River near the boat ramps on Sunday. He released the fish, and 3 hours later his buddy caught (and released) the same fish in the same spot!  Hopefully the next person to tangle with this beast appreciates the opportunity this recycled trophy offered! (photo courtesy of Tony Perrin).




Mike caught this bruiser 17” white bass while targeting walleye (photo courtesy of Mike Urbanowicz).






Captain Denny is out there catching some late season trophy walleye off Cleveland with 22 Sport Fishing Charters (photos courtesy of Denny Sharone).





Nick scored a couple of real bruiser steelhead in the Chagrin River this week (photos courtesy of Nick Kosiba).






Ken thinks outside the box, which I can respect and appreciate. It is the hallmark of a great angler.  He shared regarding the catches above “I started fishing late this morning, and at least one guy caught fish before sunrise. I wanted to try out a hand-tied yarn ball. After no hits in the same location, I switched to a white jig and then a bead nymph – still nothing. I moved to another spot and drifted about three different kinds of crankbaits. Still no takers. The only thing I hadn’t thrown was a Flatfish. I tossed out a hand-painted black X5 Flatfish (Fishermen’s Flea Market) and immediately caught this chunky hen. 

Also, I experimented with a planer board the past week, and I lost several fish before landing one.  I feel that I lose some sensitivity with the planer board; I think it dampens the initial vibrations from the tug, resulting in a lag time, and I could use that split-second to set the hook properly. Also, the board attached to the line makes for a more challenging fight. The upside is that it makes it easier to target spots where you think fish are. Anyway, a nice 26” buck on a Rapala Jointed Shad Rap (04) and a 27” hen on a Shad Rap (05). The lag time didn’t matter with hen. She crushed it!” (photos courtesy of Ken Stein).