December 4, 2025

***NOTE:  The Fishing Report Blog is back to regular weekly Thursday updates from September-May***   Local streams are low and clear with winter weather in the forecast with possible ice formation coming soon.  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><Rocky River Main Branch live feed camera>. Walleye fishing after dark along the Lake Erie shoreline of Cleveland is still happening, 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.

Walleye fishing along the Cleveland shoreline of Lake Erie is still getting plenty of attention with some anglers reporting good catches. Anglers are still scoring some walleye at dusk and after dark at 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 and scroll down).  We are beginning to see signs that the big schools of walleye are migrating to the western basin of the lake for winter.

Some anglers are still trying for yellow perch on the north facing breakwall at E55th and boating anglers are scoring decent catches of perch at the east end of the outer city breakwall and by the Cuyahoga River lighthouse. Please note that Wendy Park at the old Coast Guard station is still closed for repairs and I will update folks here when it reopens (which is expected to be soon).

Rivers are low and clear with possible icy stream conditions coming soon. In cold and clear  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 is always a viable option when the other streams are getting low. Some steelhead are also being caught along the Lake Erie shoreline at Edgewater, Gordon and Wildwood parks. Casting a spoon (ie Little Cleo or KO Wobbler) or spinner (i.e. Vibrax or RoosterTail) or suspending a nightcrawler 4-5 feet under a bobber with a few split shot have produced lakefront steelhead recently.

On October 17, 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. The trout average 1.5 lbs each and the catfish average 2-3 lbs, but we included a handful of bigger fish and a few golden rainbow trout to keep things interesting. Trout bite good 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 smaller spinners. Either species can be caught on a piece of nightcrawler or shrimp fished on the canal bottom. Winter trout stocking in our other lakes and ponds will occur around the third week of the month.

E72nd Fish Cleaning Station is now Closed for the Season. Our lakefront crew winterized and closed the Gordon Park fish cleaning station this week. It had a great season serving lots of local anglers every day. The main issue is caused by folks do not follow the clearly posted instructions on use and clog the machine. It will reopened 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) at 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

Brian displays a beautiful 28.5” walleye (photo courtesy of Brian Kich).

The parade of salmon continues this week with Ryan’s king salmon from the Chagrin River. Note the teeth set in gray/black gums. In a coho the mouth has black/gray inside but the teeth are set in white gums, and a steelhead has an all white mouth inside (photos courtesy of Ryan Williams).

AJ caught a couple of nice walleyes and a surprise northern pike while casting crankbaits from the Cleveland shoreline this week (photos courtesy of AJ Woolen).

Scott wasn’t about to be deterred by a little snow when the Cleveland shoreline walleye are biting! (photo courtesy of Scott Denham).

Tim caught this Rocky River steelhead on a nuke egg fly (photo courtesy of Tim Daley).

An angler shows off a big Cleveland walleye (photo courtesy of Mike Ruffo).

Daniel shared “I would love to share a photo of a catch I had recently (11-28) on the Chagrin River! It's definitely a PR for me, as I have only been at it for about a year. This was on what I told myself would be my last cast of the day, using an 1/8th ounce curl tail swim bait. I wasn't having any luck drifting a nightcrawler under a float, so I switched to a silver swimmer and this one hit it like a ton of bricks. Quite the fighter! Catch and release, she took off like a bat outta h*ll. Hopefully someone else gets a shot at her!” (photo courtesy of Daniel Jansen).

Sam and friends made a great catch of walleye the were among the last to use the Gordon Park/E72nd St fish cleaning station. The station was winterized and closed for the season this week (photos courtesy of Sam Horn).

Some folks are lamenting on the lower numbers of steelhead in the streams than they expected this time of year, but Steve is not among them.He’s been getting them regularly on the Rocky River (photos courtesy of Ted Choukalas).

#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.