Rocky River Fishing Report - January 26, 2012
Rocky River was named one of the “150 Best Places to fish in America” in the June 2007 issue of Field and Stream magazine.
***Thursday January 27 morning update: The Rocky River is very elevated and muddy following the rain over the past 24 hours and will not be fishable this weekend. On the other hand, prospects for pursuing freshly stocked trout in our lakes and ponds are very good this weekend (see report below for details).***
The Rocky River is exhibiting very good steelhead fishing conditions this morning, but with more rain on the way that could change quickly and weekend prospects could vary from great to poor accordingly. Wise anglers will stay tuned to the latest trend in weather and river flow before planning a trip in the coming days. The flow gage data can be found at the following link: <river flow gage data>
The river looks great this morning with a slightly muddy stain transitioning towards greenish, but there is quite a bit more rain and sleet in the forecast in the coming days that could change that. Before planning a trip, check the trend at the flow gage link and make sure the flow is not rapidly rising. As long as the trend is slowly rising (not going nearly straight upwards on the graph), stable, or dropping and at below 500 cfs fishing conditions should be good to great. Given the stain, anglers will do well using bigger, bright/dark/contrasting color offerings like a nickel size trout or salmon egg sack (hot pink and chartreuse are always good in dirty water) or a big black and fluorescent orange or dark purple and hot pink egg sucking leech fly. As the water continues to clear anglers can also try marabou or hair jigs (1/32 to 1/64 oz are popular) tipped with maggots or waxworms, 3” rubber troutworms and tube jigs (white is often productive), various fly patterns (globugs, sucker spawn, beadhead nymphs, wooly buggers, and baitfish streamers), live or salted minnows, and wobbling Flatfish style plugs.
This continues to be one of the best steelhead runs we’ve had between fall and winter in many years. Most trout have been reported in the deeper pools with slow to medium flow over the past few weeks. With all the high water this year, fish are about as spread throughout the system as they’ve ever been, with fish in pods from the marina all the way up to Berea Falls on the East Branch Rocky River, as well as being well up into the West Branch, too. Also, the river is ice free again, so enjoy it while it lasts!
On Monday and Tuesday (January 23 and 24) a ton of trout (2,000 pounds) were stocked between five Cleveland Metroparks lakes. These include Wallace (900#), Shadow (450#), Ledge (450#), Judges (100#), and Ranger (100#) lakes. The size range of these trout varied from 12” to some trophy fish up to 4+ pounds, with a good percentage of quality fish in the 16-18” size class. A few bonus brown trout were mixed in with the rainbow trout. These fish complement a similar stocking conducted in the same lakes in mid December. Since the ice is thin and unsafe, anglers are fishing from the solid ground of fishing platforms, docks, and areas where the shoreline drops immediately into deeper water. The hot bite this week has been on jigging spoons (see a few photos below illustrating this). Other offerings worth trying are small jigs tipped with maggots, minnows, PowerBait, and corn.
As a reminder, all fishing guides operating on Cleveland Metroparks property require a permit as of January 1, 2012. This permit allows guiding on 31.2 miles of the Rocky River (including 15.7 miles of steelhead water), as well as steelhead water on the Chagrin (9.5 miles), Cuyahoga (5.3 miles), and number of smaller streams…as well as access to guide on any other inland water of the Park District. A permit is not needed by state licensed charter captains fishing Lake Erie who launch from the Rocky River boat ramps. More information, including a copy of the permit application, can be found at the following link: <Fishing Guide Permit Program>
Reader Experiences Shared. I recieved a few emails this week that I thought readers might enjoy. Again, I reserve the right to come up with the corny titles myself, so submit a story at your own risk!
Tractorhunter and son become Trouthunter and son (Tractorhunter is Bill’s email name) Submitted via email by Bill Mantle on 1/23/12. “I emailed you last week and sent pictures of my first steelhead catch. Well, this past weekend my 12 year old son Jake Mantle caught his first steelhead (an 18 inch male). We again were at Rockcliff Springs access on the Rocky River on Sunday around 8 am and sure enough he had his hooked by 8:30am (perfect to keep his attention). Now he’s on me to go again this weekend. If the water is right I told him we will go. I also had another great day fishing...I limited out!! I caught a 33 inch male and a 31 inch female also at Rockcliff Springs. Now I’m trying to talk my wife into going with us, but so far I’m not getting an answer. LOL! Pictures of Jake’s catch and mine are attached. Now we are both hooked! Thanks Again - Bill Mantle, North Royalton, Ohio”
Mike’s Note: Great job to the father and son team of Bill and Jake on their success. Sunday morning the river was full of ice and slush, so you guys definitely earned those fish. I think it’s safe to say that two new steelheaders have been born. Their photos are included following the text of the report.
Bob the Bearded Steelhead Bandit Strikes Again! Submitted via email by Bob Brunner on 1/20/12. "Hi Mike. I got off work early Friday and hit the Rock about 1:30pm. The river was very slushy. Worked a pool for about a hour with no luck. A buddy was fishing the tailout below me and asked me if I wanted to give it a try, so I did. On the third drift, float down and nailed a nice 29 incher. I was using a white micro tube jig. My buddy was not too mad because he agreed to take my picture...LOL. I was using my centerpin. Hopefully I will get out again on Sunday. Have a good weekend Mike! Bob"
Mike’s Note: Nice job Bob! Please remind me never to let you fish a hole after me! See a photo of Bob's fine hen below.
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 md@clevelandmetroparks.com .
Good fishing,
Mike
Congratulations to 12 year old Jake, who caught his first steelhead in the Rocky River this past Sunday. His father Bill also caught some beauties (photos courtesy of Bill Mantle).
Jeff always seems to catch some large fish from the Rock, but he caught his largest of the season (32.5", 13#) this past week. Wow! (photo courtesy of Jeff Abbott).
Trout are biting good at Wallace Lake, as well as the other four Cleveland Metroparks lakes stocked this week (see the report text for details). As an example, Joe caught his limit, including this 20" rainbow trout and nice brown trout, on a small jig tipped with maggots in Tuesday.
Bob, from the reader submitted story above, displays the fine 29" hen he "poached" out from under his buddy on an icy day on the Rock. He caught the fish on a white micro tube jig drifted under a float (photo courtesy of Bob Brunner).
Len is one of those dedicated anglers I respect, but don't have what it takes to be like, who refuses to put down the fly rod even in sub-freezing temperatures (thicker fly line ices up more readily than monofilament). And to his credit, he still hooks them his chosen way. Nice job, Len! (photo courtesy of Jeff Abbott).
Travis had his best day ever on the Rock this past Sunday. He got his three steelies on Pulse Jigs Spade Tail Drift Worms in white, chartreuse, and pink (photos courtesy of Travis Males).
Mark is one of my appreciated contacts in the field who regularly reports back on the success at various locations with accompanying photos. This week, he reports Wallace Lake trout anglers (like Fred, "Wild Bill", Lee, Jerry, and Sam above) were catching them on jigging spoons and jigs tipped with maggots. In the final photo, Mark displays a dandy 29.5" Rocky River steelie he caught recently (photos courtesy of Mark Fascione).
Brian, a multi-species angler, also notes some good fishing results in Cleveland Metroparks lakes and the Rocky River lately. His recent catches have included rainbow trout, largemouth bass, steelhead, and even a "trophy" goby (photos courtesy of Brian Kich).
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The Rocky River Fishing Report is updated weekly (typically on Thursday afternoons) between September and May and monthy between June and August.
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2012 Cleveland Metroparks Registered Fishing Guides (name, company, contact)
#12-001 Monte Casey, The Steelhead Guide www.steelheadguide.com
#12-002 Jeffery Liskay, Silver Fury Guide Service & Schools silverfury@wowway.com (440) 781-7536
____________________________________________________________________________________ Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund
Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund helps provide a rewarding fishing experience to Northeast Ohio anglers through the stocking of rainbow trout, channel catfish, largemouth bass, and other sport fish. The Fund also supports children's fishing derbies and creation and restoration of essential habitat in the ponds, lakes, and rivers within Cleveland Metroparks.
For more information or to make a gift to Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund, please contact:
Karen J. Kannenberg, CFRE
Manager of Gift and Donor Development
Cleveland Metroparks
4101 Fulton Parkway
Cleveland, Ohio 44144
216.635.3217
kjk@clevelandmetroparks.com
Mike Durkalec