October 19, 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 primarily targeting walleye, yellow perch and steelhead and on inland locations they are pursuing fresh stocked rainbow trout and farm raised channel catfish at the Ohio & Erie Canal off E49th Street.
 
Rain and cool weather in the forecast this week have given a boost to steelhead fishing opportunities. More rain is in the forecast, too, so anglers would be wise to check the flow links above before heading to their local stream.  The best steelhead fishing so far has been in the northern river sections closer to Lake Erie (the Rocky River marina area up to around Lorain Road bridge, for example) as well as around the rocks at Edgewater, E55th, and Wildwood parks. In the streams fish are being caught on an array 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. In streams and lakefront locations anglers aree casting spoons ie 2/5 oz Little Cleo or KO Wobbler, medium size spinners (ie Vibrax and Rooster Tail) and crankbaits. Cleveland shoreline areas are also producing a few walleye after dark, as well, with Perfect 10 and other shallow running stick-style crankbaits working well.
 
Some decent catches of yellow perch, white perch and channel catfish have turned up along the shoreline at E55th breakwall. Wendy Park at the old Coast Guard station can also produce when water coming out of the nearby Cuyahoga River is not too muddy. They have been biting on bits of worms or small minnows fished on the bottom on a crappie rig. Boaters have been getting in on the action, too, with some tracking down limits of yellow perch off Rocky River and Cleveland in 32-36 feet of water. The best bite is often in the morning and late afternoon.
 
On Wednesday October 11^th we stocked 1,000 lbs of rainbow trout and 700 lbs of channel catfish at the Ohio & Erie Canal off E49th Street for Fall Family Fishing Fest and many 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. For basic tips and techniques on fishing for these fish check out a past  <Facebook Live> segment offered by my colleague Faruq from Cleveland Metroparks Youth Outdoors program. If you are content catching either species you can try a nightcrawler worm or piece of shrimp fished on the canal bottom.
 
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

 

Geoff shared “My son Jack at Rocky marina 10/12/23. Yellow jig and maggot. 29 inches. Safely returned for next fisherman.” (photo courtesy of Geoff Stanton).




Josh caught this chunky hen steelhead on a spoon by the Rocky River boat launch (photo courtesy of Josh Mathis).




John caught thus chrome steelhead off the rocks at Edgewater Park (photo courtesy of John Watts).





Kevin scored a pair of Rocky River steelies this week (photos courtesy of Kevin Bjerre).



















The gloomy forecast did not deter people from joining us for Fall Family Fishing Fest at Ohio & Erie Canal this past Saturday! Around 300 attendees caught scores of rainbow trout, farm raised catfish and sunfish and the abundance of smiles brightened a rainy day!