Eastwood MetroPark is a magnet for outdoors activities in Dayton, Ohio

Eastwood MetroPark is a magnet for outdoors activities in Dayton, Ohio

Easy to find
Located on Harshman Road just south of Route 4 and just a bit north of the Air Force Museum, Eastwood is probably the easiest of all the Five Rivers Metroparks to find. There are several points of interest here for the fisherman. First, and most impressive is 185-acre Eastwood Lake.

Formerly called the Hydrobowl, Eastwood Lake was officially added to Eastwood Park in 1992, two years after the maintenance of the park transferred from the City of Dayton to the Park District of Dayton-Montgomery County. This lake is a beehive of activity every summer, hosting hydroplane races, kayaking and sailboarding clinics as well as car shows and Gospel music concerts. This can tend to make the lake less than totally attractive to serious fishermen, especially since some of these events result in entrance to Eastwood Lake being a fee-based activity.

Fishing Eastwood Lake
Fishing Eastwood Lake from the bank can be a fairly daunting task since it is a shallow 185-acre oval largely devoid of discernible structure. This problem is compounded by the fact that wading is not allowed, presumably because the park staff doesn’t want any pedestrians run down by the power boats that are allowed on the lake on all even-numbered days and the jet skis that are allowed on the lake any day.

Fish? Yeah, we’ve got fish!
Eastwood Lake is stocked regularly by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources with saugeye and channel catfish. The lake also has self-sustaining populations of largemouth and smallmouth black bass, yellow perch, crappie, bluegill, and carp. Other species that show up occasionally are white bass and northern pike but these are too rare to make targeting them worth an angler’s time.

The best times to fish Eastwood Lake are:
1) In the cold – Once the jet ski cowboys start getting frosty in places, the fish start getting pretty close to the shore.
2) In the dark – Take advantage of the Friday and Saturday night late hours and fish until midnight.
3) In the rain – When the grass gets wet, the crowds dry up. The fish seem to know this and start feeding.
4) On the odd days – Make the most of the absence of powerboats!

CAUTION: Get off the lake at the first sign of lightning or if you detect a static electricity charge in the air! If your hair starts standing on end, get back in your car!


Other fishing at Eastwood Park
Eastwood Park also boasts other fishing opportunities for the adventurous angler. There is a strip mine pit at the far western end of Eastwood Lake that is alternately called Blue Hole, Blue Lake or just The Pond by locals.

This body of water is much deeper and clearer than Eastwood Lake although it has much less surface area. Only hand-powered watercraft are allowed on Blue Lake and the number and size of bass in it would make carrying a canoe or kayak from the nearby parking area very well worth the effort.

Fishing in the sticks
The need for a boat will become very clear once you are on the water. Fully three quarters of Blue Lake’s banks are lined with trees and brush. Even in the few gaps between the trees on the bank, there are trees in the water, felled either by nature or the park staff. The result is that the bank-bound angler must poke himself and his rod through small holes and that rod had better be a stout one loaded with strong line. These conditions don’t inspire confidence while fishing gin-clear water for heavily-pressured bass. There are open places for casting by the parking area, however the bass tend to avoid this end of the lake most of the time.

All the rest of the fishing
There are two parts to Eastwood Park. The old park, also known by locals as The Lagoon Side, lies across Mad River from The Lake Side. The Lagoon itself has been a decent place to fish in years gone by and may come to be once again. The fishing in the Lagoon depends on natural recruitment of species that enter it by way of the water pumped into the Lagoon directly from the Mad River. This means that bluegills, crappies, largemouth and smallmouth bass, rock bass, carp and catfish may turn up in the Lagoon at any given time. Unfortunately for area fishermen, recent beautification projects have involved draining the Lagoon for several winters now; thus the fishery has literally shriveled up and died. There are many fry in the Lagoon now, but a viable fishery will need at least three more winters when the water is not drained.

Dividing the old park (Lagoon) from the new park (Lake) is the venerable Mad River, haven of smallmouth and largemouth bass, rock bass, crappies, bluegills, carp, suckers and the odd trout in the wintertime in some of the deeper holes. This is a wade and fish proposition, especially for fly anglers. Wading makes the productive holes along the banks easier to cast into without spooking the fish. Besides, wading is great exercise so you can use this as an excuse to go fishing! Remember not to wade alone if you can help it and stay away from the railroad bridge as it has some tricky currents.

Eastwood Park is a great place to make a short fishing trip when you don’t have much time or the gas money for a longer trip. Fish the low-traffic periods and you might end up with some trips to brag about!