March 27, 2025

***NOTE: The Fishing Report Blog is updated weekly on Thursdays from September-May***  Local rivers are offering good fishing conditions and steelhead are being caught. If anything water levels are getting low which tends to concentrate fish in the deeper areas. 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 stocked trout in the East Branch Rocky River as well as at the 5 lakes and ponds stocked in winter among other species.

The Rocky and Chagrin rivers are offering good fishing conditions with the lower water levels having fish most concentrated in deeper holes. Steelhead have been caught this week by anglers drifting brightly colored dime size spawn sacks, smaller marabou/hair jigs (1/32-1/64 oz) tipped with a few maggots, egg mimicking beads, live or salted emerald shiner minnows, and plastics that mimic minnows and nymphs under floats. For fly fishers, egg patterns, streamers (those that mimic minnows but also wooley bugger style), and beadhead nymphs drifted through holes and faster water with some depth. And, of course, casting and retrieving spoons (ie Little Cleos and KO Wobblers), spinners (ie RoosterTail and Vibrax), and medium size crankbaits that mimic minnows or shad will also account for a share of the spring steelhead. By almost all accounts this has been a subpar season in terms of steelhead numbers. That was initially not terribly surprising given the very low flows all fall followed by a harsh winter. But since then we have had some good flows and warming temperatures and a 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 go). 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 has begun and will only continue to get better into spring. 

At our inland lakes and ponds anglers are pursuing the remaining trout stocked throughout the winter, as well as panfish and largemouth bass. Trout have been biting well since the ice melted a few weeks back. Throughout winter a total of 6,500 lbs of mixed trout were stocked between Wallace, Shadow, Ledge, Judge’s, and Ranger lakes.  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.

The East Branch Rocky River in Mill Stream run Reservation was stocked with the first bunch (900 lbs) of catchable size rainbow trout last Monday. 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 a month away. 

10^th Annual Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby is this Saturday, March 29!  The always popular Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby is this Saturday, March 29 and we are celebrating 10 years! Cleveland Metroparks will be leading the event and Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders (a non-profit) will be hosting the raffle. Trophies for three largest steelhead, raffles, and a cookout are all part of the day's festivities for this fun event where anglers must fish for steelhead with a kiddie fishing pole! 100% of proceeds from the fundraiser event go to support the Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund (this event has raised $62K since 2015). The event headquarters will be at South Mastic Woods Picnic Area (immediately south of the Puritas Road bridge), a central location on the Rocky River that offers lots of space. Mark your calendars for this fun event for a great cause! You can save $5 versus the day of the event ($35 vs $40) by registering for the Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby online. More info and register online here:  <Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby>.

This event is rain or shine and if river fishing conditions are poor at the time of the event then the competition will also be opened up to trout at Wallace Lake. Registration includes a tasty hot lunch but if you choose not to participate in the event we still welcome you to the OCBS raffle (you do not need to be registered to take part in the raffle). If you are not registered but still want lunch, you can take part in that for a $10 onsite donation. The lunch features brats, hot dogs, special recipe baked beans, potato salad, grilled onion/pepper toppings, choice of chips, cookies, and 10^th anniversary sheet cakes (the latter while it lasts). Thank you to Westside Toyota for providing bottled water for the event. Raffle tickets will be sold onsite and will be cash only. The raffle will have an amazing array of 38 packages exceeding $13K in value so don’t miss out!

A big thank you to our current event supporters, as follows. Westside Toyota is a Supporting Sponsor ($1,000) and Friend of the event level sponsors ($250) EnviroScience, Cleveland’s Raw Woods (flooring specialists), Jason’s Automotive, and Kevin Kilbane (Kevin donated $500). Special thank you to Church of Perch Facebook page and Brian Kich for donating $100 each towards the effort. Jeff May of M3 Technologies has designed and donated 3 stunning custom stainless steel trophies again this year (see photo below). Contributors to the Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders raffle (that I have in-hand currently and in no particular order) include River Roe Tackle, Furball Custom Baits, VooDoo Custom Tackle, Shine’s Bait & Tackle, Cuyahoga Falls Parks & Recreation Department, ASG Custom Rods, Conneaut Creek Fishing Lodge, Erie Outfitters, Masthead Brewing Co, Lake Erie Kayak Fishing with Chuck Earls, Cast Cray Outdoors, Olmsted Laser Wash, Lamiglas, Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa (Parma location), Heirloom Barber Shop, Limestone Bait Co., Lake Erie BoatTronics, Streamside Adventures, Bayside Provisions, Chagrin River Outfitters, Backpacker Shop, Ken Stein, Beth Kivela, Jennifer Grieser, Randy Gerrick, Matthew Brady, Roger Berglund, and Fred Jersey. Raffle packages compiled to date can be viewed <here>. Please consider patronizing these businesses/groups that support local fishing! 

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

Mike caught this healthy lake-run smallmouth bass by the Rocky River boat ramps. This fishery will only get better in the coming weeks (photo courtesy of Mike Simon).

Rocco has been catching stocked trout at Wallace and Ledge lakes and steelhead on the Chagrin River this week (photos courtesy of Rocco Serio).

Nick caught this 29” spawned out hen yesterday. Spawned out steelhead are also called “spent” or “dropback/droppie” steelhead and they feed heavily on their way back to the lake.  With the leaner prfile and warming water temperature they often jump, as well, making them a lot of fun. Pre-spawn this fish would have been pushing 10 pounds (photo courtesy of Nick Zarzeczny).

Carlos caught this beautifully colored rainbow trout at Wallace Lake (photo courtesy of Carlos Velez Serrano).

Jimmy caught this big buck steelhead at Lagoon Dam on the East Branch Rocky River (photo courtesy of Ted Choukalas).

Despite lower numbers of steelhead around this year, Mike had a successful outing drifting beads on the Rocky River (photos courtesy of Mike Sekerak).

Mark your calendars- the 10^th annual Barbie Rod steelhead Derby fundraiser is this Saturday, March 29!  More info and online registration <here>. Raffle packages can be viewed <here>.

The parkway bridge by the Rocky River Nature Center is shut down for rehabilitation starting 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

#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