November 27, 2025

***NOTE: The Fishing Report Blog is back to regular weekly Thursday updates from September-May***  Local streams got a bump in flow this week as winter weather settles in for the weekend and anglers should expect transitional fishing conditions. 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 beginning to taper off as the big schools of fish move to the western basin for winter. Anglers at the Ohio & Erie Canal are pursuing rainbow trout and Lake Erie anglers are also catching yellow perch and steelhead.

Walleye fishing along the Cleveland shoreline of Lake Erie is beginning to taper off as the big schools of walleye migrate to the western basin of the lake for winter. 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 when the rocks are wet and (soon to be) 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).  Anglers are catching some 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 got a bump in flow this week and winter weather is settling in for the weekend making for transitional fishing conditions. In cold, stained water it’s tough to beat a brightly colored (hot pin, orange or chartreuse) nickel size spawn bag slowly drifted near the river bottom. A small marabou jig tipped with a few maggots or a Gulp minnow as well as tube jigs drifted under floats and salmon egg mimicking beads can also be productive. The Rocky, Chagrin and Cuyahoga rivers as well as Euclid Creek all have decent numbers of steelhead present.  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 (ie 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.

Salmon Surprise Anglers in Local Steams. Although quite a few anglers have lamented that the steelhead run has been sub-par so far this season, a number of salmon catches in local streams have surprised some lucky anglers. Up until now, it was primarily coho salmon and at least one pink salmon. I’ve seen photos of around a dozen locally caught cohos so far this season and surely more have been taken. But over the last two weeks, it has transitioned to be more king salmon, aka chinook salmon, that have turned up (see photo below and others in the previous two reports). None of these salmon species are currently stocked in the Lake Erie drainage and they are most likely straying south from Michigan stockings in Lake Huron.

E72nd Fish Cleaning Station and Rocky River Boat Ramps Courtesy Dock. We are planning to leave the fish cleaning station at the E72nd boat ramp area operational through the end of November for the convenience of all the fall tournament walleye anglers out there. If winter weather hits early and looks like it will be staying, though, the station may be winterized and closed earlier than that to avoid damage.

Also, be aware that one courtesy dock is being left in at the public boats ramps at Emerald Necklace Marina on the Rocky River. The other docks and kayak ramp were removed for the season recently. We hope to leave the remaining dock through the month of November. We try to keep the aforementioned amenities available as late in the season as possible which means the closure dates are subject to change based on weather.

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

Mike shared regarding an exciting Rocky River king salmon catch “Took my wife fishing Saturday morning, and only a couple drifts in this monster took my bobber down. Proudest husband moment when my wife perfectly netted this fish for me! I couldn’t have landed it without her. I’ve been pursuing this fish… it’s the fish of a lifetime in this river.”(photos courtesy of Mike Simon).

Congrats to Rollie (far left in top image) on catching his first walleye ever when fishing with his buddy Carter (photos courtesy of John Lusnek).

Steve shows off a jumbo yellow perch caught at E55thj breakwall (photos courtesy of Ted Choukalas).

John displays a pair of high quality Lake Erie walleye (photos courtesy of John Burkhart).

Jeff and a friend made a nice catch of perch and bonus walleye off Cleveland (photo courtesy of Jeff Deluca).

Kylie shows off a great walleye.  She is out there regularly and noted that the Cleveland bite is tapering off as the big schools of walleye move west for the winter (photo courtesy of Kylie Kwon).

Nick struck silver in the Chagrin River (photos courtesy of Nick Kosiba).

Corey is at it again this week with a great catch of Cleveland shoreline walleyes (photo courtesy of Corey Reed).

Owen made a nice catch of walleyes off the rocks at Wildwood Park (photos courtesy of Owen Lockhart).

#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.