Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders

Summer Break
OCBS membership does not meet during the summer months
Next membership meeting will be September 17, 2026

OCBS September Membership Meeting
Thursday September 17, 2026
Emerald Necklace Marina Cafe Lakewood, OH
DOW Steelhead Fisheries Management
Ohio Steelhead Program Update and Creel Survey Results

Curt Wagner, Ohio Division of Wildlife District 3 Fishery Management Supervisor will be the featured speaker at our September 19 meeting.

Curt will report on the current state of the Ohio steelhead program and answer any questions we may have.

He will present results of the recent creel study, the 2026 stocking numbers as well as the fish on station in the Castalia fish hatchery for stocking in the spring of 2027.

Curt will also have an interesting update on the Division of Wildlife’s evaluation of steelhead natural reproduction in the Cuyahoga River watershed.

We are very fortunate to be able to learn about the latest news regarding the Ohio Steelhead program directly from DOW management.

This will be another excellent and informative meeting you will not want to miss. I hope you can attend.

Location: Emerald Necklace Marina Café
1500 Scenic Park Dr
Lakewood, OH 44107

Time: Doors open at 6:00 pm; Presentations start at 7:30 pm

32nd Annual OCBS Steelhead Expo
Saturday September 26, 2026
Rocky River Nature Center North Olmsted, OH

Free Admission
10:00 am-3:00 pm
(Doors open to Public at 9:30 am)

Presented By
The Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders and
The Cleveland Metroparks
at
Rocky River Nature Center
24000 Valley Parkway
North Olmsted, OH 44070
440-734-6660

The Expo seminars will cover fly and spey fishing, fly tying, spin fishing and center pin float fishing.
Patagonia Ambassador, Jeff Liskay will be at the Great Lakes Fly Fishing display to answer any questions you may have about steelhead fly fishing.
Lamiglas Pro Staff, Roger Hinchcliff will be at the Lamiglas Rod display to answer any fishing rod or steelhead float fishing questions you may have
We will have family fishing activities in the classroom including fly tying lessons.
Conservation organizations will be on hand to educate about protecting our rivers.
Local tackle shops will have displays with advice on the right gear for Great Lakes steelhead fishing.
Local fishing clubs will demonstrate tying the best flies to catch steelhead.

Steelhead Expo Seminar Schedule

10:00 am– 10:10 am Steelhead Expo Welcome

Tom Blotzer, OCBS President, will kick off the 2026 Steelhead Expo with a few words about 2026 to 2027 OCBS meeting programs and events.

10:10 am– 10:50 am Ohio DOW Steelhead Program Update

Curt Wagner, Ohio Division of Wildlife District 3 Manger, will report on the current state of the Ohio steelhead program.

11:00 am – 11:45 am Fly Fishing for Steelhead

John Brochue, OCBS Board Member and expert fly fishing instructor, will make a presentation on fly fishing for steelhead in our local Lake Erie tributaries.

12:00 pm – 12:45 pm Fall Fishing for Steelhead Using Hardware and Float Fishing Techniques

Roger Hinchcliff, Steelhead Manifesto, FishUSA and Lamiglas pro staff, will make a presentation outlining advanced fishing techniques for steelhead.

1:00 pm – 1:45 pm Spey Fly Fishing for Steelhead

Wael Dardir, OCBS Board Member, will make a presentation focused on two handed spey fly fishing.

2:00 pm – 2:45 pm Center Pin Float Fishing For Steelhead

Mike Durkalec, Cleveland Metroparks Aquatic Biologist, will make a presentation focused on center pin fishing for steelhead.

Steelhead Expo Vendors, Conservation Groups and Fishing Clubs

Fishing Equipment Vendors
Dunkin Down Floats
Eggman Fly Company
Furball Baits
Great Lakes
Jibbs Jigs
Independent Anglers
Lake Erie Kayak Fishing with Chuck Earls
Lamiglas Fishing Rods
River Roe Bead Company
Steelhead Manifesto/FishUSA
Steelhead Stuff

Conservation Groups
Chagrin River Watershed Partners
Cleveland Metroparks – Youth Outdoors
Rocky River Chapter of Project Healing Waters
Rocky River Watershed Council

Fishing Clubs
Firelands Fly Fishers
Northcoast Fly Fishers
Ohio Central Basin Steelhead

OCBS "members Only" David K. Esner Memorial
Steelhead Fishing Tournament
Sponsored by Erie Outfitters

Matt Hainzey with a beautiful 32 inch alpha male steelhead caught in the March 13, 2022 OCBS Tournament. Well done Matt!

This season’s OCBS Steelhead Tournament is dedicated to the memory of David K. Esner, a long-time Ohio Steelheader who passed away on May 6, 2018.

FISHING DATES:

November 8, 2026
November 22, 2026
December 13, 2026
February 28, 2027
March 14, 2027

2026-2027 OCBS “Members Only”
David K. Esner Memorial Tournament
Sponsored by Erie Outfitters

Our annual OCBS Steelhead Fishing tournament, sponsored by Erie Outfitters, is for OCBS members only. If not a member, you are welcome to join OCBS in order to register for the tournament.

Members can register for this year’s tournament as follows:

Online: Complete online registration form and credit card payment on our tournament page. Click here to go to online registration.
OCBS Meetings: You can register and pay in person at our monthly meetings.

All participants are required to fish with another OCBS member who is in the tournament and is responsible for verifying the length of each fish checked in.

Check in has been modified to permit members to call or text their catch to the Tournament Director.

Entry fee is $20.00 per participant.

Be certain to read the tournament rules.

OCBS in Action

11th Annual Barbie Rod Tournament

The 11^th annual Barbie Rod Tournament was held on Saturday March 28. The Rocky River was blown out on tournament day due to heavy spring rains, so the allowable fishing area was expanded to include Cleveland Metroparks lakes stocked with trout as well as the Cleveland Metroparks lakefront. A total of 184 anglers participated netting a whopping $15,050 to benefit local public fishing. This brings the cumulative event fundraising total since 2015 up to $93,900.

2026 Barbie Rod Tournament Winners

1^st Place Trout – Connor Floyd 17.25″

2^nd Place Trout- Josh Hall 14.75″

3^rd Place Trout – Drew Rogers 14.25″

Biggest Sucker – Darren McNeil 19.0″

OCBS ran the fishing equipment and 50/50 raffles at the Barbie Rod Steelhead Derby on raising $5,035 for the Cleveland Metroparks Fishing Fund.

Special thanks to the following OCBS members who volunteered their Saturday to run the raffle: Joe Sokol, Bob Hajek, Scott Grossnickle, John Beedlow, Jr, Joe Moravec, John Beedlow III, Jim Berryman, John Brochue, Tom Blotzer and Ben Mott.

Ben Mott, OCBS Grant Director, also presented a $3,725 check to the Cleveland Metroparks as financial support for the two spring Kids Fishing Derbies which will be held at Wallace Lake on Saturday May 16 and at the Ohio and Lake Erie Canal on Sunday May 17. These funds are a combination of ODNR Division of Wildlife Grants and OCBS club funds.