***The Fishing Report Blog is updated every Thursday*** Anglers are catching steelhead in the Rocky and Chagrin rivers, as well as along the Cleveland shoreline of Lake Erie. Anglers can monitor the most recent river water level and temperature at the following link:
<Rocky River flow gage data><Chagrin River flow gage data> <Rocky River NEORSD station with turbidity>. Rainbow trout and farm raised channel catfish were also stocked last week at the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation.
Anglers reported catching steelhead in the northern stretches (closer to Lake Erie) of the Rocky River, Chagrin River and other local streams this week, but water levels are low and clear and we could use some rain to freshen things up. The Rocky River marina has been consistently producing some fish with anglers finding success casting spoons (such as Little Cleo) and spinners (such as Vibrax and Roostertail) and drifting 1/64 to 1/16 oz marabou jigs under floats. Another good bite for steelheadhas been off the rocks and breakwalls at Edgewater Park, E55th/E72nd and Wildwood Park. An all around good offering has been a 2-3 inch blue and silver spoon. A modest number of walleye and smallmouth bass have been mixed in with the lakefront catch, too.
A mixed bag catch can be found along the Cleveland shoreline in early fall, including white and yellow perch, channel catfish, rock bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, freshwater drum and various sunfish species and can be caught on offerings such as live shiners, tube jigs, and dropshot rigs. Fair catches of yellow perch have been caught at shoreline spots like E55th breakwall, Edgewater Park and Wendy Park recently, and have been biting on live minnows and bits of worm fished on the bottom on a crappie rig.
Last Thursday and Friday we stocked 1,000 lbs of rainbow trout and 600 lbs of channel catfish at the Ohio & Erie Canal off E49th Street for Fall Family Fishing Fest and the bulk of those fish remain to be caught. The trout average 1.5 lb each and the catfish average 1-2 lbs, but we included a handful of bigger fish and a few albino catfish to spice things up. The trout bite was slow on Saturday but anglers can expect these fish to start feeding well any day now as they become acclimated to their new environment. For basic tips and techniques on fishing for these fish check out a past
<Facebook Live> segment offered by my colleague Faruq from Cleveland Metroparks Youth Outdoors program. If you are happy catching either species you can try a nightcrawler worm or peice of shrimp fished on the canal bottom.
The Steelheaders Ball presented by Cleveland Museum of Natural History Trout Club. When: Friday, October 29, 2021- 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Where: The LaSalle Theater, 823 E. 185th St, Cleveland, OH 44119
What: Live Music by The Interstate All-Star Band, BBQ Food Truck, cash bar, assorted raffles, door prizes and more!
Why: Fundraiser to support a variety of local fisheries projects. Tickets- $20.00 online, $25.00 at the door. Purchase tickets online at:
<Steelheaders Ball tickets>
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 covered too.
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 .