February 20, 2025

***NOTE: The Fishing Report Blog is updated weekly on Thursdays from September-May***  Local streams are icing up again quickly following some very cold days and open water is becoming more limited by the day. 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>. (Note: ice on the sensors can lead to erroneously flow readings). Ice on our lakes and ponds, as well as Lake Erie harbors, has been improved by the colder temperatures and anglers have been out ice fishing for recently stocked trout.

The Rocky and Chagrin rivers are icing up rapidly following several very cold days. Open water is becoming more limited by the day.  For hardy anglers who find some open water, slowly drifting dime to nickel size spawn sacks, smaller marabou/hair jigs (1/32-1/64 oz) tipped with a few maggots, and egg mimicking beads under floats through the deeper holes are all good bets.

The return of colder weather has improved ice on our inland lakes and ponds and ice fishers are pursuing the recently stocked trout and panfish. In late January, we stocked the second (and final) bunch of winter trout at Wallace (1,900 lbs), Shadow (750 lbs), Ledge (650 lbs), Ranger (100 lbs), and Judge’s (100 lbs) lakes. These complement the 3,500 pounds of mixed trout we stocked in the same lakes back in December. The bulk of these fish were rainbow trout averaging a pound each although there were plenty of bonus brook, brown, golden rainbow, and even tiger (brook x brown hybrid) trout in the mix. Anglers should fish small baits and jigs under small ice floats and to expect light hits and set the hook quickly. Another good option is small to medium size (1.5-3”) jigging spoons, which can be worked at various depths of the water column until active fish are encountered. Although jigging spoons do not require bait, they can still be tipped with a few maggots, a waxworm or a small minnow, which can sometimes elicit more bites.  A dime size ball of PowerBait on a bare hook or molded on a small jighead can also produce.

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 in winter the daily limit is 2 with minimum size of 12” whether fishing the rivers, harbors or Lake Erie. 

Ice fishing on the Cleveland harbors can offer a variety of species including steelhead, yellow perch and northern pike among them.  The trick is to find areas that are not loaded too thick with schools of gizzard shad (they can get so abundant that at times you can’t avoid snagging them while jigging). Steelhead through the ice will hit similar baits to stocked trout (listed above) as well as offerings they bite in the river. Yellow perch and other panfish bite a small ice jig tipped with a maggot or two or a waxworm and pike bite jigging spoons and live minnows best. Ice in these areas has more variability than inland lakes so be extra cautious. The protected harbors at E55th Marina, Gordon Park/E72nd boat ramps, and Edgewater Park boat ramps are some of the areas traditionally targeted. Exercise extra caution on these harbors as they have more variability in ice formation than our inland lakes due to current and other factors.

For ice fishing most state conservation agencies recommend at least 4" of solid ice before anglers should venture out, 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 and solid, good quality ice 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. A pair of emergency ice picks held at the ready on a cord around the neck are a safety must, as is an emergency length of rope. 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 have already been fishing recently. The forecast for the next week looks promising to keep ice around.

Upcoming Rocky River Parkway Bridge Closure. The bridge over the Rocky River by the Rocky River Nature Center will be closed for rehabilitation starting on March 3 and will extend until August 2025. More info and detour outlined here:  <Rocky River Nature Center bridge closure>.

Annual Metroparks Boat Ramp Tags are now Available for Online Purchase. You can now purchase your Cleveland Metroparks annual boat launch tags online. Discount rates for seniors and veterans ($25), and rates vary if you are a resident of our service area ($30) versus outside the area ($35). You can find more information and purchase at this link: <2025 Boat Launch Tags>. Tags will also be available for in person purchase once our marina shops open again for the boating season in spring.

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

Father and son had fun day of ice fishing at Shadow Lake (photos courtesy of Mike Wolf).

Kylie shared “Would love to share this beauty. After a brutally hard winter bite and dialing in my technique I finally landed this 29 inch, nearly 8lb hen. Not only was this my first steelhead out of a river, it was also my first fish of 2025! Great way to start the year. Pulled her out of one of the dams at Rocky. She hit a fluke on a black jig that had a dropper line with a fly and some waxworms.” (photo courtesy of Kylie Parks).

Jason Sparks flew in all the way from Birmingham, Alabama, to experience ice fishing for the first time. Here he shows off a colorful rainbow trout he caught at Ledge lake with his uncle Sean. And he clearly knows the correct football team to root for!

Macho displays a beautiful buck brook trout he caught through the ice at Wallace Lake (photo courtesy of Macho Velez).

Jimmy got into some multi-species action on the ice this week which included largemouth bass, rainbow trout, and black crappie (photos courtesy of Jimmy Miranda).

Matt and a buddy have been consistently catching rainbow trout through the ice (photos courtesy of Matt Jacquet).

Wes made a nice catch of Cleveland harbor yellow perch. He kept 5 bigger perch for dinner and threw back several smaller fish (photo courtesy of Wes Janke).

Mark your calendars - the 10^th annual Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby fundraiser is coming up on Saturday, March 29! More info and online registration <here>. If you are interested in sponsoring the event please get in touch with me.

The parkway bridge by the Rocky River Nature Center will be shut down for rehabilitation starting on March 3 through August 2025. This is on the Main Branch of the river immediately north of the split into the east and west branch. Above is detour information for the area.

#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