# Hinckley Lake Spillway



## topwater (Dec 22, 2004)

What's in there? I fished there today for the first time, no bites, but it looks like a killer place. I have fished in the lake once, and remember seeing pike, lm bass, cats, etc. in pics on the wall in the boat house. I figured all of those species are probably under the spillway, + probably sm and carp, does that seem about right? Anybody had any luck there lately?


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## devildog (Jan 2, 2005)

Hinckley has some pretty decent bass. If you can get out there in a small boat and throw a jig into some of those sunk trees you can catch some nice bass. Also there is a good population of channel cats in there. I believe they continue to restock it every year. Oh and in the spring they dump a ton of trout in there too!!!


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## ParmaBass (Apr 11, 2004)

Is there only one place to launch at Hinkley? I've only seen the one "so-called" ramp in the creek or stream that is silted almost completly in. Launched there once and had to literally put on the waders and pull the boat to the main lake. Wasn't a very good experience.


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## ackracing (May 12, 2004)

I rented a boat there once a while back... Didn't catch high numbers of bass, but good quality. Used 4 different jigs, spinnerbaits, and a shad rap. Jigs produced the best fish.


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## devildog (Jan 2, 2005)

as far as ramps go< I just take a canoe and the man in the boat house said I could launch it right in the front. So far I have had no problem. But I put it in that first little bay off the parking lot so I'm not in any customers way.


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## LaDobasser (Apr 13, 2004)

Yea, that one launch you mentioned is the only one. I carry my jon boat to the water in the same bay as devildog. They have no problem with it as long as you don't drive your truck down that little road in front of the boathouse. That bay is also very shallow around the edges, so try to stay out in the middle of it. 
LaDo


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## UDBasser (Apr 9, 2004)

SSSHHHHHH! Haha. yea they are having problems with guys launching their boats down there. I worked there all through highschool and still help out in the evenings from time to time. There were rumors about future plans to dredge the back section. Another rumor was they were going to drain the lake, dig it all out, plant grass and then re-flood it. But now I think they are going to preserve that back area for wildlife. It is nice to go back there in a kayak. I wouldn't waste all your time and effort trying to launch your boat there. The lake gets a lot of pressure...too much. There aren't any bass in that pond anyway.


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## devildog (Jan 2, 2005)

Yeah that sounds like a great Idea let it be a wildlife area. Ya know what that sounds like to me a good excuse to let it go to crap. I don't know how many of you fish wallace, but there is another lake across the street. I think it was called baldwin at one time. Now you can call it a big waste of space. I've been told by many fisherman in the area and by my own uncles that baldwin was twice as good as wallace. they said more people fished there than coe or wallace in other words good fishing. Well if anyone has been there they know what I'm talking about. A good fishing lake turned into a giant mud puddle.


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## just perchy (Jan 16, 2005)

sorry to disagree with you devildog, but i have always done better in both wallace and coe. i've caught nice bass, sunfish, crappies out of both, and all i've ever caught in baldwin was a couple of sucker fish many years ago. the lake (Baldwin)was the rocky river dammed up. it was always muddy from the silt coming in from the river. if they dredged it it would be a matter of time before it silted in again. as far as the original question, fishing the hinckley spillway, i've fished it a couple times, only caught a snapping turtle. a buddy claims to have caught some bass behind the ranger station.


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## topwater (Dec 22, 2004)

Wouldn't you think that any species in the lake would likely exist under the spillway as well? Plus it seems like a place where little river smallies could set up camp and get big


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## Dingo (Apr 13, 2004)

The Hinkley lake spillway is actually a pool below the waterfall on the north end of the lake, where the east branch of the rocky river was dammed. Back when the metroparks stocked Hinkley with some pike, it was known as an early season place to catch some northerns. A native population of suckers in that area helped to fatten 'em up a bit. I doubt that the metroparks are stocking many northerns in Hinkley anymore, so I don't think it is much of a place to target them. It is a very seasonal fishery, since that same area is a swimming hole during the summer. Some nice largemouths are available in the main lake, as they are in the other metroparks lakes in the area.

Baldwin lake suffers from advanced stages of the silting issues that plague Hinkley lake. I remember fishing baldwin when I was a kid, when it was actually a lake (actually, a dammed portion of the east branch as well). Back then, it was noted mostly for catfish, but held a few other types of fish (large/smallmouth bass, a few pike, carp, suckers) and seasonal stocked rainbows. The thing that made it interesting to fish was the great amount of debris (mostly logs) that provided some under-pressured fish for those that took the time to drag a canoe or float tube out there.

At the time that Baldwin was the preferred place to fish over wallace, the lake across the street (wallace) wasn't really being managed by the metroparks (i.e. stocked). This made Baldwin "the better lake" in some folks opinions (as mentioned in another post). Since the parks let Baldwin fill in, the fish management on wallace was improved, with some good size bass (although not many), trout (seasonal), crappie (getting bigger again), bluegill (always undersized), and catfish (channels and bullhead -- stocked heavy and underfished). Some dredging was done on the north end of baldwin for the water company to make it appear a little more like a lake again.


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## UDBasser (Apr 9, 2004)

Here's what I know about Hinckley. Hinckley is silting in very fast! I fish it regularly when Im home from school. Pike are no longer stocked there, however, 1 is caught from time to time. While working there all through highschool I have only seen 1 in person at the boathouse. A friend of mine hooked into a large nothern a few years ago in the river but did not manage to land it. That same year a lady fishing with live chubs caught a fish ohio northern in the river while I was working at the boathouse. Going back maybe 5 years now I watched a guy land a 30 inch northern within site of the boathouse. The picture is on the wall down there. I have had some great afternoon's in the river below the dam on roostertails and 4 inch worms on an ultralite rig. Bitsy tubes will produce down there as well. Hold on, never know what you might get in the river! The most prized catch of Hinckley is the channel cat. There are some monsters in there, especially below the dam. I have seen a number of fish over 32-33 inches, all released. A picture of one approaching 28 pounds can be seen at the boathouse. Unfortunately you cannot fish down there between Memorial and Labor day.

Side note. Hinckley has become populated with muscles and gobies. Thanks to whoever used gobies for bait! jerks.


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## devildog (Jan 2, 2005)

no kidding about the gobbies last year I caught them through the ice there.!!!!! I also caught one through the ice at wallace


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