CLEVELAND, Ohio – Angling experts along the Lake Erie shoreline and around the Buckeye State are calling this winter’s ice fishing the best in decades, and the end is not in sight.
Slightly warmer daytime temperatures are forecast for late February and early March, but overnight temperatures are expected to remain below freezing. The ice is as much as a foot thick on inland lakes, and Western Lake Erie fishermen are heading a mile, or more, offshore with snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles.
It is a far cry from past winters, when winter anglers often enjoyed a few days on steelhead trout waters on the Northeast Ohio rivers and streams, and casting lures along the Lake Erie shoreline for walleye after dark.
The solid ice has created parking problems around many of the popular Lake Erie access areas for heading out on the ice to fish for yellow perch and walleye. Catawba Island State Park and the Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area have been a hotspots.
SHERP joins ice rescue on Lake Erie
The U.S. Coast Guard and local fire departments now rely on air boats and helicopters to rescue people who go through the ice on Lake Erie, and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department has used its SHERP, an all-terrain rescue vehicle to carry people to safety on almost any terrain, including fractured Lake Erie ice.
Two Lake Erie ice anglers stranded after their ATV went through a crack in the ice last Tuesday off Port Clinton were rescued using the SHERP. Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick said they received the all-terrain vehicle in late 2023 through a $210,000 federal grant that also provided a truck and trailer to haul it. The rescue vehicle has four huge tires and can perform on water, ice, swamp land, rocky areas and over debris.
Local ice fishing reports
The best ice fishing in the Cleveland area is still on Wallace Lake in Berea, which gets the most stocked rainbow trout from among more than three tons released by the Cleveland Metroparks this winter. The other park lakes getting trout releases have been Shadow, Ledge, Ranger and Judge’s lakes. Included are large rainbow trout hybrids.
According to reports, the hatchery-raised rainbow trout are a little shy as the angling pressure has increased, but good numbers of trout are still around. Finesse fishing is needed to hook fish. The best tactic is suspending small marabou jigs under a float that are tipped with maggots, wax worms, a small ball of PowerBait and salted or fresh minnows.
Cleveland Harbor ice fishing is heating up off Edgewater Park, East 55th Street, East 72nd Street and Wildwood Park. Anglers are catching a modest amount of yellow perch, as well as panfish, steelhead trout and largemouth bass.
Fishing the Great Lakes harbors
Fishing the Lake Erie harbors and other harbors around the Great Lakes through the ice is an exceptional winter opportunity. The historic sub-zero temperatures this year have been the perfect time for cold water expert Mike Durkalec to give anglers a game plan for both ice fishing safety and angling success.
Durkalec is featured on this week’s 120 Outdoors Podcast hosted by Don Clowes and Chris DePaola on Apple and Spotify.
The aquatic biologist for the Cleveland Metroparks, Durkalec spearheads the park’s rainbow trout stockings and helps organize such angling events as the Steelhead Expo, Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby and the Fall Family Fishing Fest.
On his own time, Durkalec also roams Great Lakes harbors in winter with his wife, Elizabeth, to hook and land hefty salmon and trout. With Cleveland Harbor in the spotlight, Durkalec offers specific advice on the fishing tackle and sonar equipment needed to find success. He’s a safety-first fisherman, so heed his ice fishing warnings.
Out and about
Steelhead trout fishing expert John Breedlove of Girard is making waves at winter shows with his seminars on catching big trout throughout the year while trolling Lake Erie harbors and rivers. This weekend he’ll be the featured at the Canfield Hunting and Fishing Supershow & Sale at the Canfield Event Center at the Canfield Fairgrounds on State Route 46 in Canfield, which opens Friday and runs through Sunday. Breedlove will be on stage Saturday at 1 p.m. Admission is $10, with kids under 12 free.
Fishermans Central’s 12th annual Spring Fishing Show is Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 21-22 at its New Franklin location, 5461 Manchester Rd., just south of the Portage Lakes. Free raffles, fishing tackle representatives and pro anglers are featured.