Although the nights are starting to get cold, we are still having many very hot days on Ohio’s north coast. I recently made the most out of one of those days by taking the kayak over to the Cleveland Metroparks and launching out of Emerald Necklace Marina.
I started my day of fishing right at the ramp and was rewarded with a 12″ Largemouth Bass on an inline spinner on the first cast. This was my first bass from the Rocky River and I had only heard of Smallmouth being caught there, so it was a bit of a surprise. I decided I would work my way north, fishing as I headed towards Lake Erie. As easy as the first fish came, I would catch nothing else on my journey to the ‘big pond’. Out in the lake, the fishing picked up and I caught several Channel Catfish and Freshwater Drum. I was running a bottom bouncer/worm harness on one rod and casting a tube jig on the other. I made a few lure changes and was disappointed that I missed a nice strike on a tandem of two Gulp! Minnows. Maybe another drum, but I hate not knowing.
After getting my fill of the lake, I returned to the river and hooked up with a few more catfish and stumbled upon a new pattern. I found a spot that I was catching Bluegill on every cast, with a few being worthy of table-fare, if I were keeping. I will be curious if the spot holds up next trip.
As I headed in, I spotted another fisherman in a well rigged kayak and struck up some conversation. It turns out it was someone from the CLE Kayak Anglers group I belong to on Facebook, Rusty Butchko. Rusty knows the river well and was kind enough to share a few tips. A visit to the Facebook page the next day, revealed that Rusty caught a very nice sized Walleye that evening, too cool!
coolwaterfish.com 
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