Western US fishing vs Ohio / Midwest fishing

I think Ohioans have it pretty good when it comes to fishing. I have made a few trips to go fishing in Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. I have usually caught something on those trips. Most times just a small trout or two and one giant northern pike. I have fished lakes out west with some bass in them, but they don’t seem to have large populations of them. I think Ohio has the western states beat when it comes to fun times and fishing. Trout fishing is a little tricky in Ohio. Only the Mad River near Urbana seems to hold the fish well through the summer months. Others like the Clear Creek near Logan and Clear Fork near Bellville do okay. People have reported catching trout in the summer months in those waters. The big difference about fishing in Ohio is the variety! Ohio has Steelhead trout for serious fly-fishing in the winter in the Lake Erie tributaries. Walleye all over Lake Erie. Largemouth bass, bluegills, crappie, white bass and saugeye in many lakes and reservoirs in good numbers. Sauger in the Ohio River. Catfish everywhere. Some muskie and northern pike. Some perch in a few lakes and many in Lake Erie. Good numbers of smallmouth bass in Lake Erie and nearly every river in the state. You just don’t get that kind of variety going out west. Also, you will find many different ways to fish in Ohio. Half the fun of visiting a lake or reservoir is to watch all the different ways people fish. Some look like they are going deep sea fishing with their big catfish and muskie rigs. Many folks are happy with just putting a minnow or worm under a bobber and just kicking back. Many take it a little more seriously and spend some good money on rods, reels and lures and have to keep moving to find the next bite. In the western states to go trout fishing you are kind of expected to learn to fly fish and of course buy only the finest gear. There is no peer pressure in Ohio to do that except when it comes to getting a fishing boat. There are a few purists that think if you don’t have 350 horsepower or more and all the electronics you just aren’t doing it right, but really any old boat will do the job. (I’m sure my marina advertisers love that attitude). The bottom line is that there are a million ways to fish in Ohio and they are all a good time, a great way to get outdoors and relax, even when we aren’t catching anything, which is my usual way of doing it.

Article by Steve Philpott steve@theanglermagazine.com