October 8, 2026

***NOTE: The Fishing Report Blog is back to regular weekly Thursday updates from September-May***  In early fall highlight species targeted by anglers along the Rocky River and other area streams include steelhead trout and smallmouth bass. 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 – scroll down at link>. Lake Erie anglers are primarily targeting walleye and yellow perch and inland lake/pond anglers are primarily pursuing largemouth bass, channel catfish and panfish.

Reports of some steelhead being caught around Cleveland continued this week with the cooler temperatures. Steelhead will begin showing up in the northernmost river sections closer to Lake Erie (the Rocky River marina area has been the most consistent spot lately) as well as around the rocks at Edgewater Park and E55th and Wildwood Park breakwalls. Casting or flatline trolling a spoon (Little Cleo or KO Wobbler), spinner (Vibrax or RoosterTail) or crankbait (shallow Flicker Shad) at these locations are as good a bet as any for connecting with an early steelhead trout. The lower Chagrin River and Euclid Creek have also been producing a few steelhead this week. Several more bonus coho salmon also turned up in the Rocky River this week (photos below). These fish are undoubtedly straying into the area from Lake Huron to the north where they are stocked.

Yellow perch, white perch, sunfish, walleye, channel catfish, and freshwater drum can be found along the Cleveland shoreline in early fall.  Most of these species can be caught on offerings such as a live minnow or worms fished on the lake bottom on  a crappie rig. Walleye bite best after dark on minnow profile lures like Perfect 10 and Bandit crankbaits.  Good spots for many species include Wendy Park by the former Coast Guard station and East 55^thbreakwall. The fishing fore yellow perch and walleye typically gets better as the weather further cools. The best bite is often in the morning and late afternoon.

Anglers at our inland lakes and ponds are pursuing catfish, largemouth bass, and panfish. Wallace Lake, Ledge Lake, Shadow Lake, and Beyer's Pond are just a few other spots worth poking around in late summer.

Fall Family Fishing Fest is this Saturday, October 10!  Come out and join us for Fall Family Fishing Fest at the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation this Saturday, October 10 from 10 a.m. - 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 600 lbs of channel catfish and 1,000 lbs of rainbow trout 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: <2026 Fall Family Fishing Fest>

Hinckley Lake Juvenile Fish Stocking. This week Cleveland Metroparks and the Ohio Division of Wildlife are teaming up to restock fish at Hinckley Lake. On Tuesday, we stocked 6,000 juvenile largemouth bass and on Friday we will be stocking 30,000 juvenile bluegill. These fish will take around 3 years to grow to harvestable size but the future of fishing at Hinckley Lake is bright!

Fishing Regulations Change.  Our recent proposed changes to the numbers of fishing lines allowed at select Cleveland Metroparks locations was overwhelmingly supported (93% in favor) based on a poll of 350 local anglers. With that noted the regulation went into effect on July 18, 2026. The change is that only 2 fishing lines per angler, which will include tip-ups for ice fishing, will be allowed at the following locations: Wallace, Ledge, Judges, Ranger, and Bunns lakes; Beyers, Strawberry, Acacia, Garfield, and Astorhurst ponds; and Oxbow Lagoon in Rocky River Reservation. Waters not included are joint management areas with the Ohio Division of Wildlife where we default to their regulation of 3 lines and up to 6 tip-ups (the latter for ice fishing) per angler.

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

Josh shared “Here are a couple photos of Ethan with some nice flathead catfish from the Cuyahoga River. The fall bite is heating up. The smaller one was 22 lbs and the larger one maxed out the scale so was over 30 lbs” (photos courtesy of Josh Merryman).

Clay was drifting spawn sacks on the Rocky River and was surprised to catch this coho salmon. The forked tail with spotting only on the upper and lower margins of the tail are a few differences of a coho salmon versus a steelhead. He also landed a steelhead (photo courtesy of Clay Cutrer).

Jadon was another lucky angler who caught a beautiful coho salmon by the Rocky River boat ramps on Monday. If you ever have trouble identifying a fish species just send in photos to me. Getting some shots with details of the tail and head (including inside the mouth) is best (photo courtesy of Tom Walls).

Raleigh caught this nice northern pike at E55th marina while casting a white spinnerbait (photo courtesy of Raleigh Guice).

Jared and his furry fishing buddy caught some smallmouth bass on the Cuyahoga River (photos courtesy of Jared Kassouf).

John was fishing the Rocky River by the marina from a kayak this week and landed this 30” walleye. The fish may be lean from old age as a walleye that length is a senior! (photo courtesy of John Brochue).

Juan shared from an eventful day on the Cleveland lakefront “A group of us were fishing Wednesday evening for early season walleye. We saw lots of bait fish in the water and a few chasing walleye. We caught a few on X-Raps, Husky Jerks and small spoons. One seagull thought my buddy's X-Rap looked especially tasty, went in for the kill and got a barb in the foot for its trouble. We were able to crush the barb and get the hook out without stressing the bird too much and it flew off after our selfie.” (photos courtesy of Juan Jeffrey).

Sam Miranda caught this thick bodied chrome steelhead drifting spawn on the Rocky River at the Rockcliff Springs hole last Friday (photo courtesy of Ted Choukalas).

Above are some scenes from the recent Steelhead Expo at the Rocky River Nature Center (photos courtesy of Amiy Jha).

You can show your colors and support Cleveland Metroparks at the same time with our new fishing cap and T shirt. You can purchase online at these links <fishing hat> <fishing shirt> and they will also be available at select nature center and marina shops.

Note: The fishing report is updated monthly in June, July, and August and weekly every other month

***Note: All photo submissions must first complete the Cleveland Metroparks photo waiver.***

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, Steelhead Alley Outfitters, www.steelheadalleyoutfitters.com  (888) 453-5899

#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>