April 3, 2025

***NOTE: The Fishing Report Blog is updated weekly on Thursdays from September-May***  Local rivers are flooded and very muddy with more rain on the way so stream fishing this weekend will very likely not be an option. Once water levels do recede and begin to clear I would expect a good num,ber of lake-run smallmouth bass and a modest number of fresh steelhead. To monitor the most recent river water level and temperature you can check the following link: <Rocky River Main Branch flow gage data> <Rocky River East Branch flow gage data><Chagrin River flow gage data> <Rocky River NEORSD station with turbidity>. (Note: The flow gage on the Rocky River Main Branch is temporarily down due to an upcoming bridge project and Cleveland Metroparks and USGS are in ongoing communication seeking a workable interim solution. The East Branch flow data above will still give anglers a good idea of the trend in river flow in the meantime). Anglers are pursuing rainbow trout in Wallace and Shadow lakes, both of which were recently stocked.

The Rocky and Chagrin rivers are flooded and muddy with more rain in the near term forecast. Once the river finally does recede and begin to clear, I would expect a modest number of steelhead to still be available, including a few fresh fish. The big push of steelhead still has not happened and this will likely remain the status quo for the remainder of the spring. The reasons why are unclear at this time, but the trend was observed on all Ohio steelhead streams (most pronounced the further west you venture).  The best explanation could be lower survival of the current cohorts of steelhead, but the reasons for that would only be speculation at this time. On the plus side, the run of smallmouth bass and white suckers was getting good before the latest rain, and can be expected to be even better whenever stream levels are conducive to fishing again.

With rivers being flooded, we stocked the 900 lbs of rainbow trout slated for the East Branch Rocky River into Wallace Lake instead on Tuesday. Also, on March 18 the Ohio Division of Wildlife stocked just over 1,000 rainbow trout in Shadow Lake but note that these trout average a half pound each (versus the Metroparks stocked fish that are at least twice that size). These smaller trout are perfect for children and for fish fries. Additionally, throughout winter a total of 6,500 lbs of mixed trout were stocked between Wallace, Shadow, Ledge, Judge’s, and Ranger lakes and a fair number of those trout are still around. Small to medium size spoons and spinners, a dime size ball of PowerBait on a bare hook and fished about 18” from a sinker on the bottom, and small jigs tipped with a few maggots or a waxworm below a float/bobber are just a few proven offerings for stocked trout. 

As long as the water level is not too elevated the East Branch Rocky River in Mill Stream Run Reservation will be stocked with trout again in about 2 weeks. On March 17 we stocked (900 lbs) of catchable size rainbow trout in the river. Fish were released at the parking area off the parkway just north of Rt 82/Royalton road, as well as off the bridges to the Strongsville Wildlife Area, The Chalet, and the low ford that crosses the river just south of Wallace Lake. The covered bridge spot was not stocked because the ground was too soft from recent construction work and rain. Trout will be released into this stretch of river roughly every other week until the end of April.

To clarify trout limit by location (all trout species combined), the daily limit is 3 trout at Wallace, Ranger, Ledge and Judge’s lakes.  The daily limit is 5 trout at Shadow Lake and Ohio & Erie Canal. For steelhead/rainbow trout in the rivers, harbors and Lake Erie this time of year the daily limit is 2 with minimum size of 12”.

In spring there are a variety of fishing opportunities along the Cleveland shoreline. Largemouth and smallmouth bass, northern pike, rock bass, steelhead, yellow perch, and sunfish can all be found in area harbors and breakwalls. This fishery will only get better as water temperature increases further in the coming weeks. The courtesy docks have been installed at both E72nd/Gordon Park and Edgewater public launch ramps for the convenience of early season boaters. The docks at Emerald necklace ramps on the Rocky river will not be installed until the river is dredged-  likely about a month away.

10^th Annual Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby Fundraiser Recap. Thank you to the 218 folks who attended a Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby fundraiser for the record book this past Saturday! We had several steelhead caught by anglers who persevered. Jason Lawson took first place with a 29.0 inch steelhead. In second was Kevin Kolesar with a 28.25 inch and Sam Gibson was the 3rd place finisher with a 26.25 inch steelhead. Photos of the top 3 steelhead can be viewed below. The "coveted" biggest sucker award went to Marcus During with a 21.625 inch white sucker catch. Everyone enjoyed the cookout and went home with a full belly and a 38 folks won some great raffle prizes. And we garnered a new event record $16,460 for our Metroparks Fishing Fund in the process (we've raised $79K for public fishing over the past 10 years of these events!). A huge thank you to all our volunteers who helped pull this off, our awesome sponsors, and Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders for hosting the raffle portion (which a good chunk of the proceeds). Additionally, OCBS awarded Cleveland Metroparks a grant check from the Ohio Division of Wildlife to support our Spring Children’s Fishing Derbies coming up on May 17 & 18, netting a grand total of just shy of $21K for public fishing for the day.  More event photos can be viewed <here>. Here’s until next year!

USGS Rocky River Main Branch Flow Gage is Temporarily Unavailable. Due to the upcoming bridge project the USGS flow gage on the Main Branch of the Rocky River is temporarily out of commission. Cleveland Metroparks and USGS are in ongoing communication to seek a workable interim solution. Stay tuned to this report for updates on that. In the meantime, there is an East Branch Rocky River flow gage in Strongsville (link at beginning of this report) that will still give anglers a good idea of the trend in river flow.

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

Jim shared “My grandson Braylon caught a few nice dropbacks last Thursday morning. He's really getting good at this. He is only 14. He outfished me (grandpa) again. Great memories” (photo courtesy of Jim Harants).

Christian (bottom photo) caught a new personal best smallmouth by the Rocky River marina and also got his buddies Brennan and Terry into some fish, as well (photos courtesy of Christian Pfieffer).

Brent shared from a Metroparks lake that this beautiful brown trout at a streamer when it was practically at his feet (photos courtesy of Brent O’Neill).

Kylie really has those Wallace Lake crappies dialed in and is enjoying some great fish fries as her reward!  Her excellent advice is “Try jigging a soft plastic minnow under a float near structure. Always adjust your depth first, before changing baits if you haven't got a bite. Run through all feasible depths (even changing an inch will make a difference) and then switch baits. They should all be minnow imitations tho. Vary your jigging cadence as well. First day they wanted twitch twitch pause..second day they wanted lots of erratic movement and action.” She does concede, though, that she was a bit envious of her partner Tyler when he caught a golden rainbow trout because she has had her sights on catching one! (photos courtesy of Kylie Parks).

I don’t think anyone (including myself) knows Wallace Lake and has more success there than Brian!  He did it again this week catching a 25” Wallace rainbow trout that was heavier than the steelhead he caught this week, as well as a pair of beautiful brown trout (photos courtesy of Brian Kich).

Chuck had a fun multi-species outing in a small boat along the shoreline by E72nd and on the lower Rocky River.  He caught largemouth and smallmouth bass, as well as a pair of pretty little northern pike (photos courtesy of Chuck Naujoks).

We had a Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby for the record books this past Saturday! A recap is offered in the report above. These are the top 3 steelhead from the day- Jason Lawson 29.0”, Kevin Kolesar 28.25”, and Sam Gibson 26.25”. More event photos can be viewed <here>.

#25-001 Jeff Liskay, Great Lakes Flyfishing LLC, [email protected] (440) 781-7536

#25-002 Gareth Thomas, Alley Grabs Guide Service, [email protected] (216) 235-5056

#25-003 Jim Lingenfelter, Wild Ohio Outdoors Guide Service, [email protected], (440) 731-9160

#25-004 Monte Casey, Steelhead Guide, (440) 773-8064 www.steelheadguide.com

#25-005 Nicholas DelVecchio, Wildwood Outfitters, [email protected] (724) 433-2315

#25-006 Lucas Smith, What That Vise Do LLC, [email protected] (724) 841-1564

#25-007 Nate Miller, Steelhead Alley Outfitters, www.steelheadalleyoutfitters.com (440) 796-6105