March 12, 2026

***NOTE:  The Fishing Report Blog is back to regular weekly Thursday updates from September-May***  The Rocky River and other area streams are elevated and muddy from rain but could be fishable by the weekend. Wise anglers will keep an eye on river trends 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>.

The Rocky and other area streams are elevated and muddy from the heavy rain yesterday. Streams could be in good shape and offering fresh run steelhead by the weekend.  Earlier in the week anglers were reporting a mix of fresh run fish (bright silver) as well as those that have been in the river awhile (darker and colorful). Steelhead have been biting on dime size spawn sacks of trout or salmon eggs, small (1/64-1/16 oz) marabou/hair/tube jigs tipped with a few maggots or a waxworm, egg mimicking beads, small tube jigs (white and pearl work well), and live or salted emerald shiners drifted under a float through the deeper holes. Anglers fly fishing (egg patterns, nymphs, streamers) and casting hardware (medium size spoons, spinners and crankbaits) also have opportunities to hook into steelhead right now. The first reports of lake-run white suckers were also coming in and lake-run smallmouth bass are right around the corner.

A total of 6,500 pounds of mixed trout were stocked between Wallace, Shadow, Ledge, Ranger and Judge’s lakes this winter and the bite has been good in the weeks surrounding ice-off. Small jigs tipped with maggots or a waxworm, smaller jigging spoons, salmon eggs, PowerBait, and minnows, worms and canned corn all have their days. Casting smaller spinners, spoons and crankbaits can account for plenty of trout, which become more aggressive as the water warms and oxygen levels increase from recent melt-off. The spring stockings of rainbow trout in the Rocky River will begin in mid-March and will be roughly every other week through the end of April.

As the ice melts along the Cleveland shoreline Gordon and Edgewater parks, as well as marinas at E55th and Wildwood, are all good options for mixed catches of yellow perch, sunfish, steelhead, largemouth bass, and northern pike along with others species. The Lake Erie shoreline and harbors are currently ice free and the public boat ramps at Edgewater, Gordon Park (E72nd) and Wildwood Park are all functional (all have at least one permanent courtesy dock present although additional courtesy docks are not in for the aseason yet). Annual passes for Cleveland Metroparks boat launches can be purchased online <here>.

Cleveland Anglers Meeting and Presentation on March 25.  The Cleveland Anglers group is inviting the public to their meeting coming up on Wednesday, March 25 which will feature the presentation Status of Ohio’s Native Brook Trout by Paul Pira of the Geauga County Park District. Social hour starts at 6:00 p.m. and will offer food and drinks for sale at Beach Club Bistro in Euclid followed by the talk at 7:00 p.m. Attendance is free.

11^th Annual Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby is coming on Saturday, March 28!  The always popular Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby will be held on Saturday, March 28. Cleveland Metroparks will be leading the event and Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders (a non-profit) will be hosting the raffle. Trophies for three largest steelhead, raffles, and a cookout are all part of the day's festivities for this fun event where anglers must pursue steelhead with a kiddie fishing pole! 100% of proceeds from the fundraiser event go to support the Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund (this event has raised $79K for public fishing since 2015). The event headquarters will be at South Mastic Woods Picnic Area (immediately south of the Puritas Road bridge), a central location on the Rocky River that offers lots of space. Mark your calendars for this fun event for a great cause! You can save $5 versus the day of the event ($35 vs $40) by registering for the Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby online. More info (including event rules) and register online here: <Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby>.

This event is rain or shine and if river fishing conditions are poor at the time of the event then the competition will also be opened up to trout at Wallace Lake. Registration includes a hot lunch but if you choose not to participate in the event you may still take part in the OCBS raffle (you do not need to be registered to take part in the raffle). If you are not registered but still want lunch, you can take part in that for a $10 onsite donation. The lunch traditionally features brats, hot dogs, special recipe baked beans, potato salad, grilled onion/pepper toppings, choice of chips, and cookies. Thank you to Dairy Queen (Seven Hills location) for providing hotdogs and buns and Westside Toyota for providing bottled water for the event. Raffle tickets will be sold onsite and will be cash only with OCBS members hosting that.

A big thank you to our repeat event supporters Westside Toyota, EnviroScience, Jason’s Automotive, Point Blank Hunts, Kevin Kilbane, Realtor Richard Ward, and Brian Kich.  Jeff May of M3 Technologies will again design and donate 3 stunning custom stainless steel trophies (works of art) again this year.  Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders report that raffle donations (in no particular order) include contributions from Shine’s Bait & Tackle, River Roe Tackle, VooDoo Custom Tackle, Cuyahoga Falls Parks & Recreation Department, ASG Custom Rods, Erie Outfitters, Lake Erie Kayak Fishing with Chuck Earls, Cast Cray Outdoors, Olmsted Laser Wash, Lyon’s Legacy Outdoor Sport, Steely D’s Jigs, The Backpackers Shop, 120 Outdoors podcast, Bayside Provisions, Chagrin River Outfitters, Cuyahoga River Outfitters, Randy Gerrick Handcrafted Baits, Heirloom Barber Shop Lakewood, Conneaut Creek Fishing Lodge, Pine Lake Trout Club, Hand & Stone Spa Parma Heights, Masthead Brewing Company, the Toker family (in memory of John David Toker), Ken Stein, Walt Mueller, Steve Nyetrae, and Fred Jersey. Please consider patronizing these businesses/groups that support local fishing!

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 will 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

Carlos caught this beautiful brook trout at Wallace Lake (photo courtesy of Carlos Velez Serrano).

Sergei landed a massive 17” black crappie in a Metroparks marina on Lake Erie (photos courtesy of Corey Reed).

Nick caught some fine steelhead on the Chagrin River (photos courtesy of Nick Kosiba).

Max has been enjoying the good “ice out” trout fishing on our local lakes (photos courtesy of Max Bilan).

An angler scored some Rocky River steelhead on a custom centerpin reel (photos courtesy of P Hruby).

Ted and Steve have been having success at Wallace Lake using black trout Magnet jigs tipped with a few maggots (photos courtesy of Ted Choukalas).Our Lake Erie boat launches are ice free and usable. Above are Edgewater, Gordon Park (E72nd) and Wildwood Park ramps as of yesterday. Annual passes for Cleveland Metroparks boat launches can be purchased online <here>.

Thank you to the 349 local anglers that took our proposed fishing regulations survey over the past 2 weeks. 88% of respondents agreed with the proposed reduction to 2 fishing lines total (including tip-ups) at select sites and that increased to 92% in agreement after reading our justification for making the change. Any changes that are made will be clearly communicated in the future.

The popular and fun Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby will be returning on Saturday, March 28! Registration is now open at the QR code in the image above or at this link: <Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby registration>. Also thank you to our growing list of event sponsors (and please contact me if you or your company would like to join our sponsor team).

2026 Cleveland Metroparks Registered Fishing Guides (name, company, contact)

#26-001 Jeff Liskay, Great Lakes Flyfishing LLC, [email protected] (440) 781-7536

#26-002 Monte Casey, Steelhead Guide, (440) 773-8064 www.steelheadguide.com

#26-003 Gareth Thomas, Alley Grabs Guide Service, [email protected] (216) 235-5056

#26-004 Jim Lingenfelter, Wild Ohio Outdoors Guide Service, (440) 731-9160  www.wildohiooutdoorguide.com

#26-005 Lucas Smith, What That Vise Do LLC, [email protected] (724) 841-1564

#26-006 Sean Sudimak, Steelhead Alley Outfitters, www.steelheadalleyoutfitters.com  (888) 453-5899

#26-007 Nicholas DelVecchio, Wildwood Outfitters, [email protected] (724) 433-2315

#26-008 Cole Jaskiewicz, Chagrin River Outfitters, [email protected] (330) 357-7998

#26-009 Michael Kainec, Chagrin River Outfitters, [email protected] (440) 668-3398

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