Rocky River Trout Fishing, 21 JAN 2017

[CybrSlydr]

First off, shout out to my brother who turned 30 on the 21st but couldn't come with me because he had to work - and it was his third day of work and opened the store by himself.  lol

 

So, my friend Corey and his friend Mikey and I decided to check out the premiere spot in Ohio for steelhead fishing - The Rocky River up around Cleveland.

 

 

Since he lives over in Maumee and I near Marietta, (90min drive for him, nearly 3 hours for me) we decided we'd start at Lagoon dam and work our way up.  We'd been keeping an eye on the CFM of the river via the USGS website.  It rained a bit on Wednesday so the water was up.  On Friday night/Saturday morning, it crested at about 1000cfm - according to the USGS, optimal flow is 150-250cfm.  But, I had plans on Sunday and Saturday was the day we could go.  So we figured if things were too bad at the dam area, we'd head to Wallace Lake, which is also stocked with trout and contains other species of fish such as LMB, SMB, etc.

 

They arrived at the dam about an hour before me and said it was too high/fast and to meet them at Maple Grove, so that's where we started.  I was excited because when I got out and got my waders put on, I recognized the area from some YouTube vids people have posted.

 

 

Initially, I started in the water about 10ft off shore down below the concrete wall above.  I used some spawn sacks on about 3ft leader of flouro and a sinker.  Unfortunately, as you can see, the current is pretty quick and too murky to see anything.  Came up empty, so I moved up on top of the spot to where I took the picture and cast a few times before getting the spawn sack stuck in the tree.  Ugh...

 

 

Not much you can do about going further up-river at this point as evidenced by the picture.

 

 

So after a couple hours of nothing here, we decided to go head over to Wallace Lake.  Bad idea.

 

We get to Wallace and find that, apparently, with this amazing weather (it was in the mid 60s) EVERYONE decided to come out to Wallace and do some fishing.  About every 10yds or so on the shore, there were small groups of people.  Corey and I found a spot in some trees that allowed for some casting and set up shop.  At this point, I was absolutely furious.  I'm going to say right now that Nanofil is some of the most garbage line I've ever purchased.  Yeah, you can cast it a mile and a half, but when no matter what knot you tie on breaks off, it's not worth it.  Worst $20 I've ever spent.   I lost 5 spinners, a rattle-trap, three various lures from my LTB and about 4 hooks/worms - let alone about 4 size 8 trout hooks and maybe 5 snaps.  And this was 8lb test!  They'd get hung up and just... gone.  Meanwhile, my 10lb Trilene XT wouldn't snap off for anything - but you lose a lot of casting distnace.

 

So, after I vigorously remove the Nanofil from my spool and respool with the Trilene I suggest we break for lunch.  It's about 1:00 by now and they agree.  Head over to Taco Bell since it was close and found out that this Taco Bell is the absolute SLOWEST drive-thru Taco Bell in the entire world.  Took 15 minutes from the time we pulled up until we got out.  But, since I've worked fast-food, I understand things happen, so I wasn't too upset.

 

After lunch, we decide to check out the Nature Reserve (I think #10 on the above map) and see what's going on further up-stream.  Bad idea.

 

Like Wallace Lake, the entire park was PACKED.  Hardly anywhere to park, cyclist/walkers/joggers/HORSES everywhere and when we checked the spot for fishing, it was a 20ft drop-off with no shore access.  So, we continued up-stream for a bit and looked for site #9.  Just like before, people everywhere and no real shore access, though there was a 20ft elevated platform from which you could cast into the river.

 

At this point, I suggested we head back to where we started.  I reasoned that the water level would have been going down all day, so it'd be even better and nobody really seemed to be there, the river was a bit away from the parking and there were spots we hadn't tried yet down-stream.  They both agreed and we went back.

 

This time we fished for a bit where we were previously - I tried some green Powerbait on a similar setup as before and a couple different spinners.  No luck - so I went further downstream and tried in some calmer bits before and after fast bits and bends - struck out again.  We did this for a couple hours and none of us had any luck what-so-ever.  Not even a single nibble that we could discern.  Extremely frustrating.  So around 3:50, we called it quits.  We said our goodbyes and went on our way.

 

Stopped off at Papa Jons to get some pizza for my bro in Cambridge and was home a little after 7:00.  Scenery was great, river looks fantastic and great access, but we managed to pick to go on a day where we got nothing.

 

You know, I'm beginning to develop a complex.  -sigh-

[jbw252]

Jeez. Usually, I make a comment about what a great catch or good looking fish...  So, I'll try to be positive.  You gave it a try & things didn't work out the way we all would like it to.  Chin up & better luck next time.  It happens to all of us.  You were bold enough to share even a bad day with us.  

[CybrSlydr]

I think I need to clarify something - I didn't mean I lost all those things at Wallace Lake yesterday.  That was the sum-total of what I've lost using the Nanofil the last... 4 times I've been out.

 

Also, if you've read my previous fishing reports, you'd see the last time I caught a fish was... October/November.  lol  My brother and I are "WWF" - World's Worst Fishermen.  lol

 

EDIT:  Incorrect - 3rd of December, I got one.