January 6, 2022

Update 1/7/22.  The rivers are very slushy this morning with significant ice forming in slower current areas.

***The Fishing Report Blog is updated every Thursday***   The Rocky and Chagrin rivers are slushy this morning but flow and stain are very good.  When the slush burns off steelhead fishing opportunities will be good.  Anglers can check the flow and temperature data at the following links: <Rocky River flow gage data><Chagrin River flow gage data> <Rocky River NEORSD station with turbidity>.  Walleye and steelhead opportunities are available along the Cleveland lakefront and mixed trout were recently stocked at five locations (details below).

The Rocky and Chagrin rivers are slushy this morning but stain and flow are very good.  When the slush dissipates steelhead opportunities will be good.  Yesterday anglers reported success drifting dime size spawn sacks, 1/64 to 1/16 oz marabou jigs tipped with maggots, and salmon egg mimmicking beads under floats. Anglers without specialized steelhead gear can also muse a medium action spinning rod for casting spoons (such as Little Cleo) and spinners (such as Vibrax and Roostertail) in areas with deeper water. Despite not being stocked directly, steelhead are also available in modest numbers in other streams, among them the Cuyahoga River (which shines when other rivers are getting low and clear) and Euclid Creek (which fishes best when bigger streams are elevated and muddy).  I offer some tips below on steelhead fishing when winter temperatures plunge.

Anglers casting off the rocks and breakwalls at Edgewater Park, E55th/E72nd, Wildwood Park and Wendy Park continue to have opportunities to catch steelhead during the day and walleye at night- although walleye the walleye bite is slowing as they start to migrate to the western basin of Lake Erie for winter.  Casting a spoon (such as a 2/5 oz Little Cleo or KO Wobbler) or spinner (ie Vibrax or RoosterTail) are a good ways to connect with a steelhead trout that requires no more than a medium action spinning rig spooled with 8-10 lb monofilament line.  A bobber with a 1/32 oz jig tipped with minnow or maggots suspend 3-6 feet below is also a good producer in the aforementioned areas.  A nightcrawler suspended under a bobber on a bare hook can also work well.  A longer noodle rod is best for fishing floats.  Walleye anglers typically cast lures like Husky Jerk, Bandit, Rattle Trap, and Perfect 10 stickbaits at dusk and after dark.  Be especially careful of slick conditions along the shoreline rocks and breakwalls, with ice cleats and a long landing net being good investments.

Our smaller lakes and ponds are quickly being covered with a thin layer of ice.  On Friday December 17th and Tuesday December 21st we conducted our first round (of two) scheduled winter trout stockings.  This consisted of a total of 3,000 lbs of trout distributed as follows: Wallace Lake (1,400 lbs), Shadow Lake (750 lbs), ledge Lake (650 lbs), Ranger Lake (100 lbs) and Judge's Lake (100 lbs).  The majority of the fish were 1-1.5 lb rainbow trout, but a good  number of brook, brown, golden rainbow and even some trophy tiger trout (more on this below) 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.  The trout can bite well on colorful dime size balls of Power Bait dough, a waxworm ot two on a small marabou or tube jig and jigging spoons. For the time being anglers can target these trout through the thin ice from the safety of docks and areas where the shore drops quickly into deeper water (ledges like this are common around Wallace Lake since it's an old sandstone quarry).  Ice fishing could be kicking off in the foreseeable future if these temperatures continue.

Tiger trout, named for their tiger-esque stipes, are a rare hybrid between a female brown trout and male brook trout and for the first time ever  some were stocked in public waters in Ohio. A few dozen of these cool fish were mixed in with the trout stocking on Friday and Tuesday at Wallace, Shadow and Ledge lakes to offer an opportunity to catch a rare trophy (Ranger and Judge's lakes were also stocked with trout, but not tigers).

Also, I've recieved several complaints of at least one angler regularly chumming for stocked trout with several cans of corn at a time.  DO NOT DO THIS!!!  It could be cited as littering and it is ruining the fishing for others (hence the complaints).  Trout gorge on the corn, which they struggle to digest, and quit feeding for a period of time afterwards.  Then the trout, which we go to great effort and expense to stock for the enjoyment of many people, will not bite for weeks. These trout are not hard to catch with some basic fishing skills so this practice is unneccessary and downright unproductive.  If you see someone doing this please let me know immediately (phone number below) so I can follow up and address the problem.

Tips for Steelhead Fishing after a Cold Front.  An angler emailed me this week inquiring about fishing for steelhead as the temperature drops because he was struggling.  I figured the tips I shared with him could be helpful to others, as follows.  A temperature plunge in winter can definitely slow things down (and usually does).  But I've caught lots of steelhead through slush in rivers and ice fishing harbors, so it never really can be too cold.  Here's my strategy: 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 .

Tight Lines,

Mike
 

Congratulations to Nate on catching his first steelhead ever when fishing the Rocky River with his buddy Jimmy (photo courtesy of Jimmy Pease).



Matt shared "Currently residing in West Virginia and back in town for the holidays, I wanted to submit the attached photo of a nice hen Steelhead recently caught on a Little Cleo spoon at Edgewater Park. Growing up around Cleveland and exploring the Rocky River and local stocked lakes, I have always appreciated following the Metroparks Fishing Report and continue to do so while out-of-state. Thank you for your updates of intrigue and interest." (photo courtesy of Matt Holzman).



Ian caught his first steelhead ever in the Rocky River on Tuesday while fishing with his father Miles (photo courtesy of Miles Boozer).



Jon and his buddy Mark  recently got 6 nice size walleye trolling Bandits and deep Husky Jerks off of E 72nd. (photo courtesy of Jon Brauer).



Pat caught this bruiser hen steelhead by the Rocky River marina yesterday morning.  He was drifting salmon eggs he got from Erie Outfitters (photo courtesy of Pat Cramer).




Tom and a buddy both got bonus smallmouth bass while steelhead fishing this week- one each from the Rocky and Chagrin rivers (photos courtesy of Tom Riley).



Denver caught his personal best steelhead in the Rocky River yesterday morning- a 12 lb 4 oz beast! (photo courtesy of Denver Ladd).




Wes got a limit of late season yellow perch off Cleveland this week, capped by a 15 inch monster (photos courtesy of wes Janke).



Nando caught this colorful buck steelhead casting a spoon by the Rocky River marina on the first day of the New Year (photo courtesy of Nando Fanta).



Marc got a limit of Wallace Lake trout- one rainbow and two brook trout (photo courtesy of Marc Bottone).



Tyler shows off a dime bright Rocky River hen steelhead caught this week (photo courtesy of Tyler Ellsworth).



Dan caught this trophy 20" brown trout at Ledge Lake on Tuesday using a Kastmaster spoon (photo courtesy of Dan Kubicek).



This steelhead is as stout as they come! (photo courtesy of Ray Lancaster).






Ed shared "Here's pictures from 12/31. Slow day but we switched to darker Bandits and ended with a quad, with the last fish being this 12.5 pounder. Bandits with snap weights worked the best for us." (photos courtesy of Ed Oleksy).
 


Keegan and pals show off a nice catch of rainbow trout from a local pond (photo courtesy of Keegan Gandee).






Jason and his buddy had a great day targeting steelhead- first from shore at Edgewater Park then in the Rocky River (photos courtesy of Jason Hollabaugh).







Sean and friends made a nice catch of steelhead, as well as a bonus brown trout, fishing around Morley Ford on the Rocky River (photos courtesy of Sean Perron).



The late season perch are running big if you get lucky and find a pod of willing biters.



It's not terribly uncommon to see a steelhead with a downward turned upper snout like this one caught at Rockcliff Ford on the Rocky River this week.  This is most likely a genetic deformity from the hatchery they came from.  It always surprises me that they can still feed effectively (photo courtesy of Pat Cramer).