January 7, 2021

In winter steelhead trout are the highlight species targeted by anglers in area rivers. The Rocky River and other streams are currently offering very good fishing conditions and given the forecast that looks to continue into the weekend.  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>.  Wallace, Shadow, Ledge, Ranger and Judge's lakes were stocked with a combined 3,000 lbs of mixed trout recently (details offered below).

The Rocky River and other area streams are offering very good fishing conditions at the moment and given the dry forecast that should continue into the weekend.  Anglers earlier this week werer catching steelhead on the smaller streams when the main rivers were elevated and muddy, and have been doing well on the Rocky, Chagrin and other area streams the past two days.  Anglers have caught a mix of chrome bright fresh steelhead and darker, more colorful fish that have been in the streams awhile.  Most fish have been caught in deeper holes spread throughout the watersheds. In stained water as we've experienced this week brightly colored (neon pink, orange and chartreuse) dime to nickel size spawn bags under a float have taken many of the fish, but as the water continues to clear downsizing to salmon egg mimicking beads and soft rubber eggs (8-12 mm), small (1/32-1/64 oz) jigs tipped with maggots or live minnows under a float will gain the edge.  A few stray brown trout continue to show up in our local streams (see a few pics below).

On Friday December 18th we stocked 1,500 lbs of trout, with 1,400 lbs going into Wallace Lake and the remainder in Ranger Lake.  These complement the additional 1,500 lbs stocked on December 9th as follows: Shadow Lake (700 lbs), Ledge Lake (650 lbs) and Judge's Lake (150 lbs).  The majority of the fish were 1-1.5 lb rainbow trout, but a good  number of brook, brown, golden rainbow and trophy rainbow trout up to 7 lbs were in the mix.  A fair number of trout remain at Ohio & Erie Canal from stocking in October.  Note: the daily limit at Wallace, Ledge, Ranger and Judge's lakes is 3 trout/angler and the limit at Shadow Lake and the Ohio & Erie Canal is 5 trout/angler.  Winter trout often bite well on a dime size ball of colorful Power Bait dough and small marabou or tube jig tipped with a waxworm or a few maggots and medium size jigging spoons.

A crust of thin ice remains over our inland lakes and ponds and anglers are currently fishing from the safety of shore in areas where the water drops off quickly, such as from docks, other platforms, etc.  Since ice fishing could be just around the corner, I offer some 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.  A pair of emergency ice picks held at the ready on a cord around the neck are are a safety must, as is bringing a 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.  

Fishing Guide Permit Renewal Reminder.    Please note that 2020 Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Guide Permits expire on December 31, 2020.  Anybody interested in guiding on Cleveland Metroparks waters in 2021 may find a link to the application materials following the photos at the end of this report.  Thank you and may all your clients have fish filled trips into the New Year!

Photo Release Waivers are now Required for Fishing Blog Photos (and are fast and easy to complete online).  Photo release waivers are now required for any fishing blog photos where individuals are identifiable.  It only has to be completed one time per person (and then it's good for any subsequent photos) and there's a super easy and secure online form to do it through Smart Waiver that takes only about 30 seconds to complete.  So please use this link to complete the waiver if you send in any images for there report: <Smart Waiver link>.  Sorry for the slight inconvenience and THANK YOU for all who have contributed over the past 15 years to make this report a fun and personal offering!

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  md@clevelandmetroparks.com .

Tight Lines,

Mike

 

Zach used the scale he got for Christmas to weigh this 1.87 lb rainow trout he caught in Wallace Lake (photo courtesy of Brian Zaptocky).



Kevin made a nice catch of rainbow trout at Shadow Lake this week (photo courtesy of sam Horn).



Marc scored this quality Rocky River steelhead on a white tube jig yesterday 9photo courtesy of Marc Bottone).







Buddies Greg and Jason fished a smaller local stream on Sunday when the main rivers were muddy and it paid off not only with several steelehad but, amazingly, two stray brown trout from the same hole! (photos courtesy of Jason Hollabaugh).



The steelhead this year have been very healthy looking specimens (photo courtesy of Ken Harper).







Nick rang in the New Year with his first fish (a crappie at Wallace Lake), a steelhead from a smaller stream on Monday, and several from the Rocky River this morning (photos courtesy of Nick Zarzeczny).




"Catfish John" shared photos of his recent trout catches from Wallace Lake (photos courtesy of John).