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
Tom Blotzer, OCBS President, will kick off the 2026 Steelhead Expo with a few words about 2026 to 2027 OCBS meeting programs and events.
Curt Wagner, Ohio Division of Wildlife District 3 Manger, will report on the current state of the Ohio steelhead program.
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.
Roger Hinchcliff, Steelhead Manifesto, FishUSA and Lamiglas pro staff, will make a presentation outlining advanced fishing techniques for steelhead.
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Wael Dardir, OCBS Board Member, will make a presentation focused on two handed spey fly fishing.
Mike Durkalec, Cleveland Metroparks Aquatic Biologist, will make a presentation focused on center pin fishing for steelhead.
Roger Hinchcliff will be the speaker at our October 22, 2026 membership meeting. Roger is a top steelheader, featured speaker, a popular blogger, rod designer for Lamiglas and the successful author of many published magazine articles. Roger also has several instructional videos on his YouTube Channel, Steelhead Manifesto.
Considered an authority on steelhead fishing, Roger loves to share his expertise with other anglers. He speaks more than 20 times per year, to crowds of 60-400 people, at fishing clubs and retail events. He is also a pro staffer and consultant for many fishing companies.
Roger now spends every weekend-10 months each year-chasing and catching steelhead in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Alaska, the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, and Michigan.
Roger will make a presentation focused on Fall Fishing Techniques and Tips fir catching Great Lakes steelhead. He will also provide some basic fundamentals to help you become a better and more proficient steelhead angler.
Be sure to put this meeting on your calendar. You do not want to miss it.
Location: Firehouse Pub and Grille 2768 Stark Dr Willoughby Hills, OH 44094
Time: Doors open at 6:00 PM; Meeting Starts at 7:30 PM
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
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
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:
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.
The 11th 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
1st Place Trout – Connor Floyd 17.25″
2nd Place Trout- Josh Hall 14.75″
3rd 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.
