October 16, 2025

***NOTE:  The Fishing Report Blog is back to regular weekly Thursday updates from September-May***  The low water and lack of rain has hindred a substantial run of steelhead upstream in local rivers. 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>. Rivers anglers are pursuing smallmouth bass and steelhead, Lake Erie anglers are targeting walleye and yellow perch, and inland lake/pond anglers are pursuing largemouth bass, channel catfish and panfish.

Anglers should not expect a substantial run of steelhead upstream until we get a reprieve from the low and clear river conditions. After the next substantial rainfall things will improve. Until then the majority of steelhead are relegated to the deeper, slower stretches of streams closer to Lake Erie (these fish waiting for increased flows is called staging). They can also be found cruising along the Lake Erie shoreline at locations like Edgewater, Gordon and Wildwood parks. Casting a spoon (ie Little Cleo or KO Wobbler) or spinner (ie Vibrax or RoosterTail) in the early morning or evening at these locations are as good a bet as any for connecting with a steelhead trout.  These same areas are also producing increasing numbers of walleye after dark, as well, with Perfect 10 and other shallow running stick-style crankbaits working well.

In addition to early returning steelhead anglers are pursuing a mix of other species in the Rocky, Chagrin and Cuyahoga rivers. Smallmouth bass are the most sought after among them and bite best in deeper pools with a dark olive or brown tube jig 3-4" length and Ned rigs with similar offering being proven producers. Anglers equally interested in a smallmouth bass or early steelhead can try casting 3-5” fluke or paddletail jigs or a jerkbait that mimics a shiner by the Rocky River marina. Channel catfish, sheepshead, walleye, common carp and panfish are among a host of other species also available in local streams.

For boating anglers on Lake Erie out of the Cleveland area, crankbaits like Bandits and worm harnessed have been make good catches of walleye, and the yellow perch bite is picking up as the fall weather begins to settle in. For shore based anglers rock bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, steelhead, freshwater drum and panfish species can be found around Cleveland and can be caught on offerings such as tube jigs, dropshot rigs and live bait. When the weather cools further, white perch and yellow perch can make appearances at the shoreline at spots like E55th breakwall. Please note that Wendy Park at the old Coast Guard station is closed for repairs and the reopening is running a bit later than expected. Work could be complete and the area reopened as early as November of this year (I will update folks here when that happens). 

This Friday we will stock 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. Note: the canal will be clearly posted as closed to fishing from Friday morning (October 17) through 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning, at which time fishing will be open to the public. 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 tipps 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.

Fall Family Fishing Fest is this Saturday, October 18!  Come out and join us for Fall Family Fishing Fest at the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation this Saturday, October 18 from 10-2:00 p.m. This event is free and we will have a limited number of fishing poles to loan out, as well as bait. We will be stocking channel catfish and rainbow trout (details above) at the Ohio & Erie Canal in anticipation of the event. Although anglers of any age can participate, prizes in several categories will be reserved for kids 15 years old and under. Thank you to Ohio Division of Wildlife and Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders for supporting this great event with grant funds. More event info here:  <2025 fall Family Fishing Fest>

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

Justin shared “Caught at E.72nd on nightcrawler rig by Gavin and Dad. Biggest Catfish 10LB our personal best.” (photo courtesy of Justin Kresty).

Ethan caught another Cuyahoga River flathead catfish this week (photo courtesy of Josh Merryman).

Wendy and Brandon scored a beautiful pair of steelhead from the Rocky River by the marina on jigs tipped with maggots suspended under floats. Most steelhead are staging in the deeper river sections closer to the lake waiting for rain so they can run upstream (photos courtesy of Brandon Allen).

Carlos caught his second steelhead of the season this week casting a RoosterTail spinner in the Rocky River (photos courtesy of Carlos Velez Serrano).

Steve is keeping the streak alive with another Rocky River steelhead caught this week (photo courtesy of Ted Choukalas).

We conducted a 5 year cyclic fish survey at Wallace Lake this past Friday and our largemouth bass abundance doubled any previous survey at 86 largemouth bass/hour catch per unit effort (136 bass in 95 minutes of sampling)! That was just an initial observation as the data will be processed this winter.

Local angler Zach Kaczmarksi developed a website with flow and other data available for local streams called Alley Angler (after the nickname Steelhead alley given to the south shore of Lake Erie’s abundant steelhead waters). Some screenshots from the Rocky River part of the site are shared above. Zach shared: “Launching a little passion project I’ve been working on: Alley Angler - a clean, mobile-first way to check Steelhead Alley river conditions at a glance. Website: www.alleyangler.com/  Why I built it: RiverBoss and the default USGS tools feel dated, and hopping between multiple sites/apps for gauges, weather, turbidity, and maps was stressful and time-consuming before trips. I wanted one fast place that just works.  Heads up: some text (ideal flows, river descriptions, etc.) is still being polished. The charts, gauges, and data are ~99% buttoned up. With the season coming fast, I pushed it live so folks can start using it. t’s free, fast, and built mainly for phones. ’d love your feedback or ideas (and bug reports). If there’s a river/station I should add or something looks off, drop a comment or DM through Facebook. I’ll be putting out updates almost daily.

#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