January 18, 2024

***NOTE: The Fishing Report Blog is back to regular weekly Thursday updates from September-May***   The Rocky River and other area streams are largely iced over at this time. As our streams thaw (possibly next week) anglers can 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>. Anglers are cautiously ice fishing for trout at the five lakes and pond stocked recently (details below).

The Rocky River and other area streams are 95%+ iced over at this time. Streams could be thawing next week, though, given the forecast. Ice on the rivers should NOT be considering safe to walk on. Recently 3,000 pounds of mixed trout we stocked between Wallace (1,400 lbs), Shadow (750 lbs), Ledge (600 lbs), Judge’s (150 lbs) and Ranger (100 lbs) lakes. Most 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 jigging spoons are all great offerings to try for trout this time of year. I plan to do the second (and final) round of winter trout stocking next week. Keep posted to this report for details on that.

The first ice fishers of the season have ventured out on our smaller lakes and ponds the past few days. For those considering ice fishing I offer the following safety advice. Most state conservation agencies recommend at least 4" of solid ice before anglers should venture out to ice fish, and in Cleveland Metroparks it is the angler's responsibility to check that. One method is to use a spud bar near shore and check the ice thickness, and if it is > 4 inches then walk out a little further and check again. Ice is often thinnest right at the water's edge and around inlets and outlets of the waterbody. Heavy snow serves to insulate the water and slow additional ice formation, as well. A pair of emergency ice picks held at the ready on a cord around the neck (see first photo in the report where Nick is setting a great example of this) are a safety must, as is an emergency length of rope. A floating "survival suit" is something you may consider, as well. Other safety tips are to always fish with a friend, let someone know where you'll be, and focus on areas near where other anglers are already fishing. Anglers leery about going out on the ice can still pursue these trout by drilling or spudding holes the ice along shore and fishing from the safety of docks and areas where the shore slopes rapidly into deeper water, such as is common at Wallace Lake which was a former sandstone quarry.  

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

Nick shows off a gorgeous Wallace Lake brook trout he caught ice fishing at Wallace lake yesterday on a jigfly he tied himself (photo courtesy of Nick Zarzeczny).

Ice fishers have cautiously been venturing out onto the ice at Wallace, Shadow and Ledge lakes the past two days.  See report above for important safety tips when considering ice fishing.

JP has been out on the ice at two Metroparks lakes over the past 3 days and has had success at both. A few of his catches are shared above. He has been doing well on small marabou jigs tipped with Gulf maggots and vibrating blade baits (photos courtesy of JP Webb).

The water temperature plummet on the Rocky River was understandably drastic this week (data courtesy of USGS).

Here is the Rocky River two days apart when the temperature plummeted (photos courtesy of Chris Balser).

These photos are from this time of year in 2021, but are I figured I’d share again. These two fellows ice bathing in the frozen Rocky River are way tougher than me. It hurts just to think about it!