First Posted: 3/21/2015
Anglers living in Ohio usually do not have trout fishing as one of their major pursuits, primarily because there are not many trout waters in the state.
People do get an opportunity to fish for trout when the Division of Wildlife releases catchable rainbow trout on a put-and-take basis each spring in a number of waters, including lakes and reservoirs. These fish are not released in what one would consider “trout waters.”
Anglers do have an opportunity to fish Cold Creek near the fish hatchery in Castalia, but they must enter a lottery drawing for that as was mentioned in this space a couple of weeks ago. There are three “trout” rivers in Ohio. There is Mad River in west-central Ohio, which is considered the only true cold water trout stream of any size in the state. The Clear Fork branch and Clear Creek of the Mohican River are considered “coolwater” trout streams and do not always sustain trout through the summer. While some anglers consider these good trout streams, I suggest you head to the border if you want to experience some outstanding “wild” trout fishing.
I love to fly fish and quite honestly prefer seeking other species than trout with flies. I much prefer hooking into a smallmouth bass in a riffle area that will rocket out of the water and tail-dance for you. Years ago I landed a 3 1/4-pound smallie in the Maumee River that to this day is my most thrilling catch on a fly rod. If I could take only one flyfishing trip, it would be to Pennsylvania and a day on the Susquehanna River with smallmouth guru Bob Clouser.
I love tossing a Clouser minnow, woollybugger, hair bug or popper for smallies or largemouth. I would rather fish for steelhead than trout, and Ohio has an excellent steelhead (actually stocked rainbow trout of Michigan’s Manistee strain) fishery which has been mentioned in this column numerous times. Check out steelhead fishing on the Department of Wildlife website.
I dabbled in trout fishing as a kid, fishing with worms in non-descript little creeks in wooded areas near my home in Pennsylvania. As I grew older, sports became more of an interest, and I didn’t pursue fishing again until I moved to Ohio in 1972. My late father-in-law taught me to fly fish. I later become involved in bass fishing and was a member of a bass club for years, but using a fly rod has always been my most enjoyable form of fishing. And if you fly fish, there likely is a time in your life when you want to give trout fishing a try.
My first opportunity actually came about 25 years ago when I was invited to an Orvis fly fishing school near Traverse City, Michigan. We got to fish the Boardman River and my first trout on a fly rod was a 12-inch brown trout.
If you are going to fish trout waters in Michigan, you should fish the nationally-known AuSable River. There is a section of the river known as “The Holy Waters.” It is a flies-only, catch and release section.
I fished such a section near Roscommon on the tail end of a week’s camping trip several years ago. The fish I caught there were not huge, but I did catch my first brook trout. Although canoeists drifted by me later on that morning, the sunrise, ducks swimming by and the chattering of squirrels and singing of birds left one in a pristine and peaceful setting.
My other trout river fishing experience came on the Two-Hearted in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula made famous in a short story by Ernest Hemingway, who was an avid fishermen. The river’s name appealed to Hemingway, but he actually described a different trout stream — the Fox near Seney — in the story. Bell’s Brewery, a craft brewery based in Kalamazoo, uses the famous river’s name on its India Pale Ale.
Michigan actually is seeking input from anglers who fish an inland body of water for trout. Go to www.michigan.gov/dnr and click fishing on the left of the page. Look for anglers alerts. Under that, it asks you to take the survey. The survey is available through March 31.
“The information we obtain from this survey will be critical in our effort to make sound management decisions,” said Troy Zorn, research biologist with the Michigan DNR’s Fisheries Division. “We hope anglers will take the time to complete it so our future management plan is reflective of their input.”
Neighboring Pennsylvania features a plethora of trout streams like Michigan. If you go online, you can find ratings for the top 10 trout streams in western, central and eastern Pennsylvania and even the top 10 streams in the state during July. The state classifies streams that support a population of wild trout, those that have been stocked, some with special regulations and some that are wilderness streams. Check out the Pennsylvania Fish Commission online for additional information.
An interactive tool for trout anglers allows them to locate streams stock with trout in West Virginia. The West Virginia Online Interactive Trout Stream Map can be found on the state’s DNR home page at www.wvdnr. Once there, click on trout stream map under the fishing heading. A high-speed Internet connection is required to access the map.
In neighboring Kentucky, the Cumberland River below Lake Cumberland is becoming a premier trout fishing destination in the southeast U.S. It features good numbers of rainbow, brown and brook trout.
If you try any of these areas for trout, always remember to “mend” your line.
