December 11, 2025

***NOTE:  The Fishing Report Blog is back to regular weekly Thursday updates from September-May***  Local streams are in transition this week, going from low and freezing up to re-opened with increased flow and back to a weekend forecast indicating they’ll be refreezing again soon. Anglers would be wise to monitor the most recent river water level and temperature before heading to the streams at the following links: <Rocky River flow gage data><Chagrin River flow gage data> <Rocky River NEORSD station with turbidity><Rocky River Main Branch live feed camera>.  Walleye fishing after dark along the Lake Erie shoreline of Cleveland is still an option, although the big schools of fish are beginning to move to the western basin for winter. Anglers at the Ohio & Erie Canal are pursuing rainbow trout and Lake Erie anglers are chasing yellow perch and steelhead when lake conditions allow.

Rivers this week went from low, clear and freezing up to open with good flow and a stain and back to a weekend forecast indicating they’ll be refreezing again soon. Weekend steelhead fishing prospects will depend on how quickly the cold nights begin icing the streams up again. In cold water focusing on deeper pools and slowly drifting a small marabou jig tipped with a few maggots or a Gulp minnow, dime size spawn sack, salmon egg mimicking bead, or live (or salted) minnow under a float can all produce well. The Rocky and Chagrin rivers as well as Euclid Creek, all have decent numbers of steelhead present and the larger Cuyahoga River tends to freeze up more slowly than the others. Some steelhead can still be found along the Lake Erie shoreline at Edgewater, Gordon and Wildwood parks. Casting a spoon (ie Little Cleo or KO Wobbler) or spinner (ie Vibrax or RoosterTail) or suspending a small jig tipped with minnow or maggots 4-5 feet under a bobber with a few split shot have produced lakefront steelhead recently. Here is a recent article of interest where D’Arcy Egan interviews an Ohio Division of Wildlife fisheries manager about the status of the current steelhead program and the run this year: <steelhead program article>.

Walleye fishing along the Cleveland shoreline of Lake Erie is winding down, although a few walleye were still caught over the past week.  Anglers can try E55th breakwall as well as Edgewater, Wildwood, and Gordon parks casting Perfect 10, Husky Jerk, Bandit, Ripfish, and other crankbaits. A slow and steady retrieve is often best after dark. Just be especially careful out there with the shoreline rocks being wet and  icy. A long handled net, boot cleats and length of safety rope are musts for late season shoreline anglers. Anglers may find the <live feed beach camera at Edgewater Park> helpful for determining lake conditions (just go to that link an scroll down). The big schools of walleye are in the process of migrating to the western basin of the lake for winter. The interior harbors are already icing over along the Cleveland lakefront.

Inland lakes and ponds are already beginning to ice over. Remember that a minimum of 4” of good quality ice is when it it is generally considered safer to venture out onto the frozen lakes and ponds. Back in October we stocked 1,000 lbs of rainbow trout at the Ohio & Erie Canal off E49th Street and a fair number of those trout remain. Trout bite well on a dime size ball of PowerBait about a foot from a sinker on the bottom, small marabou or hair jigs tipped with a few maggots about 2 feet under a small bobber and on small to medium size jigging spoons. Our much anticipated winter trout stocking at our other lakes and ponds will occur around the third week of this month. 

Collision Bend Brewing Company/Mad River Outfitters Collaborate to Release Special Beer that Benefits the Fishing Fund!  A collaboration between Collision Bend Brewing Company (Cleveland) and Mad River Outfitters (Columbus) has yielded a custom brew called Steelhead Sippa (a Helles Style Lager) and $2 from each beer sold at the brewery is donated to the Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund (equally split from the two companies). So check out their Euclid location on Babbitt Road for great food, drink and atmosphere and support local fisheries efforts in the process! In the future the beer may also be offered at their downtown Cleveland location and also canned, and if that happens I’ll update folks in a future report. Also feel free to stop by their Hops and Hooks fly tying night (again, at their Euclid and not Cleveland location) which is open to all every Tuesday from 6:30-9:00 p.m. (bring your own fly tying materials and equipment and come to get some great tying tips from the crew). More <here>.

A Few Updates for Anglers. Access to the former Coast Guard station at Wendy Park has been re-opened to anglers following renovations. This is a popular fishing location for various species. Also, our park operations crew pulled out the final courtesy dock at the Rocky River marina boat ramps (Edgewater and Gordon Park boat ramps offer all season concrete/steel walks for late season anglers and hunters, though). Do note the protected harbors where our boat ramps are located were already freezing up this week although some boaters did make efforts to break the ice. Expect more ice to form this week that will eventually make launching unfeasible. Additionally, our lakefront crew winterized and closed the Gordon Park fish cleaning station last week. It will re-opened when spring arrives.

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) Eat the following link: <Smart Waiver link>. You only need to do this one time and any future additional photos submitted are already covered.

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

Sam shared recently “I would like to submit a photo from a recent trip to next week’s upcoming fishing report. I’ve attached it below for your consideration. My girlfriend Catie and I were able to catch a couple steelhead float fishing on our most recent outing near the lower stretch of the river. Thank you!” (photo courtesy of Sam Kaminski).

Jack scored success his first time float fishing the Rocky River for steelhead (photo courtesy of Carl Schweisthal).

For the 7^th week in a row a salmon photo has been submitted to the fishing report, which is unprecedented in my 20 years of offering this report!  This week Nick caught a coho salmon in the Rocky River in a marabou jig.  It has been a mix of coho and king (aka chinook) salmon catches (photos courtesy of Nick Zarzeczny).

John has been making consistent steelhead catches from the Rocky River lately (photos courtesy of John Zupan).

Hardy anglers are still have a shot at walleye from the Cleveland shoreline (photo courtesy of Kylie Kwon).

The cold isn’t stopping Jimmy from catching those Rocky River steelhead (photo courtesy of Jimmy Miranda).

The Chagrin River steelies are treating Nick very well (photos courtesy of Nick Kosiba).

A collaboration between Collision Bend Brewing Company and Mad River Outfitters has yielded a custom brew called Steelhead Sippa (Helles Style Lager) and $2 from each beer sold at the brewery is donated to the Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund (equally split from the two companies).  So check out their Euclid location on Babbitt Road for great food, drink and atmosphere and support local fisheries efforts in the process!  In the future the beer may also be offered at their Cleveland location and also canned, and if that happens I’ll update folks in a future report.  Also feel free to stop by their Hops and Hooks fly tying night (again, at their Euclid location) which is open to all every Tuesday from 6:30-9:00pm (bring your own tying equipment/materials).  More <here>.

#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

More information on Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Guide Permit requirements, including the permit application, you may check the following link: <Fishing Guide Permit Program>

Learn how you can support recreation opportunities through a donation to the Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund.