Freestone · Shale · Ohio

Rocky River

Rocky River venue image

A Cleveland-metro-park steelhead stream and the easiest introduction to Ohio's 'Steelhead Alley' — a flashy shale river that colours up after rain and drops to a fishable green quickly, packed with stocked steelhead from fall through spring.

Poor · Steelhead
Egg pattern · 12–16
Poorlive now
Not the day for it
River high but settled. Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
55% confidence
What moved it
  • Level1.59 mLast reading 16h ago
  • Water temp25.1°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Egg pattern
Egg pattern12–16
A dependable searching pattern for these waters.
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
1.59 m
Last reading 16h ago
Water temp25.1°C
ClarityClear
Weather23°C
WindSW 24 km/h
Pressure1012 hPa
Rain · recent0.1 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

Live readings only. Trends shown where the gauge supports them.

Water temperature for Steelhead
Welfare risk
25.1°Cideal 413°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Steelhead
When
Steelhead Oct–Apr, on the drop after each rain or thaw
Where
A Cleveland-metro-park steelhead stream and the easiest introduction to Ohio's 'Steelhead Alley' — a flashy shale river that colours up after rain and drops…
Why this works
Very poor — water clarity is working for you, but water temperature is the limiting factor today.
Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

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Evidence
ModelledModerate confidence

Modelled from regional ecology — no survey or occurrence data for this water yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Quill GordonHatch
2
2
Blue QuillHatch
2
3
2
HendricksonHatch
2
2
Eastern March BrownHatch
2
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Steelhead fly box
Local fly shops: Chagrin River Outfitters·East End Angler·Elk Creek Sports Shop
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Ohio licence; verify ODNR reach rules
  • Introduced, harvestable sport fishery — Lake Erie steelhead are stocked.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 4
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

A Cleveland-metro-park steelhead stream and the easiest introduction to Ohio's 'Steelhead Alley' — a flashy shale river that colours up after rain and drops to a fishable green quickly, packed with stocked steelhead from fall through spring.

  • Shale
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic lifeImpaired
  • Fish consumptionImpaired
  • RecreationImpaired
What this classification means

Fish consumption: Consumption advisory (Polychlorinated Biphenyls PCBs) — fish for sport, not the table.

Recreation: Bacteria/pathogen advisory — mind wading cuts and immersion.

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Rocky River' (OH041100010203), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Oxygen Depletion, Habitat Alterations, Hydrologic Alteration, Pathogens, Polychlorinated Biphenyls PCBs. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · OH041100010203

Why this score · for Steelhead
  • Temperature028% weight
  • Flow8022% weight
  • Clarity9518% weight
  • Feeding Time6513% weight
  • Pressure757% weight
  • Insect activity4612% weight
Related guides
Booking & contacts