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Hooking Up Anglers Since 2011.
Rocky River was named one of the “150 Best Places to fish in America” in the June 2007 issue of Field and Stream magazine
***February 7, 2011, morning update: Due to milder temperatures over the weekend, a significant portion of the river around Puritas Road offers a good amount of open and fishable water. .***
There is very little open water on the Rocky River currently, and steelhead anglers are hoping for a thaw. Ice formation on the flow gage probes can lead to inaccurate readings during extended winter conditions:
The fishing highlight this week has centered around trout stocked in our lakes and ponds last week. A total of 1,900 pounds of trout were released in Cleveland Metroparks lakes and ponds, with Wallace (900#) getting half of the fish. These fish complement a similar quantity which were released the week prior to Christmas. This will be the last installment of trout this winter (stocking the East Branch Rocky River will not begin until mid-March).
Ice fishing for these trout has really turned on over the weekend, especially at Wallace Lake. I fished Saturday and Sunday afternoon personally and caught a bunch of trout on dime sized spawn sacks of trout and salmon eggs. Some other anglers caught them on waxworms, jigs tipped with a few maggots, Power Bait (orange has been good), single salmon eggs, and minnows. The bite was very light, and a bait set about 5 feet below a small (sensitive) ice float was the ticket. On Sunday in particular, I missed about 2 or 3 hits for every fish I hooked, so paying attention and setting the hook early will pay off. Probably due to the lighter bite, jigging spoons, which have been working good this ice fishing season overall, were not producing much this weekend other than the occasional bump. Ice anglers can use two rods and up to six tip-ups per Ohio fishing regulations.
Reports of slow fishing at Shadow Lake recently have merit, as the dissolved oxygen levels were found to be alarmingly low during an investigation on Friday. The root source of this issue has been identified and is being addressed, but in the meantime anglers should plan to fish elsewhere for a much better chance of success.
Coyotes in Cleveland Metroparks. Over the past year or so, I am seemingly receiving many more reports of coyote sightings by anglers in Cleveland Metroparks. Most recently, this past Monday at dusk Joe Revay and a friend were packing up their ice fishing gear at Wallace Lake when a coyote walked onto the ice near them. At one point, the animal was only about 50 feet away! They noticed that the coyote was wandering from hole to hole eating discarded bait left by ice fishermen. With such encounters with these fascinating animals becoming more common in our urban Park District, we have been collecting data regarding these sightings as part of a research project. Anybody who clearly observes a coyote is encouraged to take part, and the form can be found at the following link: For more information regarding coyotes in Cleveland Metroparks, in general, you can check out the following link:
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
Brad and George got their limits of trout ice fishing at Wallace Lake on Sunday.
Rod and Bob pose with a few of the trout they caught on Saturday.
Luther got his limit of trout on Sunday, as well as a young admirer!
Mark was catching the trout on tip-ups with waxworms and salmon eggs on Saturday.
Julia just discovered the fishing report recently and wanted to share this photo of a her first steelhead, which she caught in the Rocky River this past fall (photo courtesy of Julia Rich-McCarty).
Russ caught these Wallace Lake rainbow trout on live minnows on Friday.
Darren, a biology professor at Kent State University, spent some time unwinding on the ice in Cleveland Metroparks this weekend.
Lee, aka "Possum", is a regular fixture on the ice and is catching trout more often than not. Despite the Steelers hat, he's a nice guy...
...although I like him better like this!
Drew is among a minority of hardcore steelheaders who is still sniffing out the limited open water to find the fish (photo courtesy of Drew Foltynski).
An angler poses with a brace of fat rainbow trout. He rounded out his limit with a third fish right after this photo was taken.
Close-up photo of a deeply colored trout caught ice fishing.
Tyler poses with a "troutsicle" on Saturday. Tyler recieved his undergraduate degree in biology from nearby Baldwin-Wallace College and serves as Assistant Manager at Stone Lab (an Ohio State University field station on western Lake Erie).
Yours truly and Kodiak (my 13.5 year old labrador retriever) got in on the Wallace Lake trout action this weekend, as well. I caught my fish mainly on pink and yellow thumbnail sized trout egg spawn sacks fished about 5 feet below the surface. Some folks are surprised to hear that these fish hit spawn sacks as well as steelhead do but, then again, they are the same species (rainbow trout). On another note, I find it funny that guys I've known for years and talk to almost weekly don't even recognize me when I stop by to fish out of uniform on the weekend!
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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
This Fishing Report was submitted on 2/3/2011 1:44:11 PM by Seamus and last updated on 3/19/2011 1:44:11 PM.
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