Rocky River Fishing Report - May 28, 2010

Published May 28, 2010 at 3:23 p.m.

Rocky River was named one of the “150 Best Places to fish in America” in the June 2007 issue of Field and Stream magazine

The Rocky River is currently exhibiting fairly low and clear water conditions.  It doesn’t appear that there will be enough rain in the near future to change those conditions much over the Memorial Day weekend.  Anglers can  keep an eye on the flow gage for the latest trend in river flow and temperature at the following link:      

River anglers continue catching a seasonal mixed bag of smallmouth bass, carp, catfish, sheepshead (freshwater drum), rock bass, and suckers.  A nightcrawler, minnow, or crayfish drifted near the bottom in the deeper holes and runs is a great way to have an opportunity to hook up with any of the aforementioned species.  A four inch dark olive or brown tube jig or similar size/color woolly bugger fly are especially effective offerings for targeting smallmouth bass on artificial lure.

Bluegill, crappie, and other panfish have been biting well around Cleveland Metroparks on grubs or small bits of worm fished below a bobber.  Wallace, Ledge, and Shadow lakes and Beyer’s Pond are a few of many places to pursue panfish around the Park District.

Trout and farm raised channel catfish left over from the spring children’s fishing derbies this past weekend are biting at Wallace Lake and the Ohio and Erie Canal fishing area.  Power bait is catching most of the trout, and chicken livers are working well for catfish.  A nighcrawler fished on the bottom is an effective tactic for the equal opportunity angler looking to catch a trout or catfish.  This week will be among local anglers last realistic opportunities to catch a trout before the water gets too warm.

The Lake Erie boating forecast for the holiday weekend is looking promising.   Anglers out of the Emerald Necklace marina have been making some decent catches of  yellow perch in about 40’ of water and walleye fishing is picking up, with some fish being taken closer to shore in the evenings in about 10-25’ of water and others starting to be caught in deeper waters.

Rocky River Clean-Up Saturday June 5.     The annual Rocky River volunteer clean-up will be held on Saturday June 5 from 9:00-12:00, to be followed immediately by a “thank you” cookout for our volunteers (food sponsored by the Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders).  This is a collaborative effort between caring citizens, Rocky River Watershed Council, Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders, and Cleveland Metroparks.  We will be meeting at 9:00am sharp at the picnic shelter at Scenic Park (near the marina) to form into groups and discuss our plan of attack to clean-up the river.   All are welcome and please come dressed to possibly get a bit wet and muddy.

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 .

Tight Lines,

Mike

 

This young angler caught and released this fine largemouth bass in a Cleveland Metroparks lake recently.

 

A very happy Ashley caught her first two fish ever in grand style.  First, she caught the gorgeous brown trout in the top photo in a Cleveland Metroparks lake, which was followed soon thereafter by the large rainbow trout in the next photo.  Nice job, young lady!

 

This young man pulled in a colorful bluegill at a recent school outing at Wallace Lake (photo courtesy of Tim Krynak).

 

Justin has been catching some fine smallmouth using 3" green tube jigs on the northern Rocky River (photos courtesy of Justin Marconi).

 

Another nice largemouth bass taken by a young fisherlady in Cleveland Metroparks this week.

 

The photos above are from the annual Ken Mantkowski handicapped fishing outing at Ledge Lake this past Saturday.

 

Bob and his wife made a nice catch of trout recently fishing Power Bait on the bottom at Ledge Lake.

 

Stephen appreciates the multi-species diversity in the Rocky River, and if he's not chasing steelhead and suckers he's looking for panfish such as this handsome bluegill (photo courtesy of Stephen White).

 

Jim (top) and Fred are still catching some nice trout at Wallace Lake.

 

Joyce is all about fishing in comfort and style!

 

Strawberry Pond in North Chagrin Reservation was electrofished yesterday to remove non-native common carp and goldfish.  Although this lake needs to be dredged and offers a marginal recreational fishery, there are a few nice bass there, as exhibited by a few of the photos above (which were returned to the pond).  Several hundered carp and goldfish collected were donated to the Zoo and Lake Erie Nature and Science Center to feed their captive animals.

__________________________________________________________________________________

 

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

 

Note:  For all other fishing related inquiries please contact Mike Durkalec at (440) 331-8017 or md@clevelandmetroparks.com

 

 

Back | Read more at Rocky River Fishing Report