# Fishing Opportunities Near Cincinatti



## The Fishing Addict

Hello all,

I live up in NEO in CLE and I'll be moving to Cinci at the end of March to start a new job! I'm just curious as to where you guys fish at down here! Never fished in Southwest Ohio. I have heard amazing things about the LMR and GMR! Do you know which is the better river to fish? Also I have heard that Brookville Lake and East Fork Lake are nearby as well. Does anyone have any experience fishing those as well? Also I know the Ohio River runs right through downtown Cinci as well; is that worth fishing at all or is that more catfishing? I'm not looking for fishing spots; When I find a place to live, I want to be close to some good bodies of water to fish when I get off of work! I'm willing to trade info on steelhead, and other species of fish that are up by me in Lake Erie and it's tribs if necessary!


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## Mikki

I haven't fished neither of the Miami rivers in a long time, so I can't comment. Imho, they're ok but not amazing. Down here you have Caesar Creek aka the dead sea to the north, East Fork lake to the east, and Brookville to the west (but it's actually in Indiana). 
Brookville is your best fishing option, as it had a very healthy walleye and bass population. Bluegill, crappie, carp, white bass are abundant as well. East Fork is another good option, just not as good as Brookville.
The Ohio river used to be great for big cat but has been in serious decline due to commercial catfish operation. If this is your interest, there is a small lake that produce consistently. I won't name it here because I don't want the trophy size cats taken out to pay lakes, but PM me if you want to know.
Various county operated lakes are good as well. Winton Woods, Sharon Woods, Miami Whitewater... to name a few.


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## Pike

Both the LMR and GMR have really nice smallmouth populations. I don't have much experience fishing East Fork or Brookville, so I can't help you there. Caesar Creek takes a little bit of learning, but it is a nice lake and is the best place to go if you are into muskie fishing. Congratulations on the new job!


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## Tyler Curry

IMO the best two lakes on the east side of Cincinnati are Rocky Fork and Cowan. Cowan is a 10 hp or less so if you have a bass boat it’s a trolling motor only. This lake has a ton of 14 inch bass along with a fair share of big ones. Rocky Fork is also a great option. Only problem with it is that it gets a ton of tournament pressers. It still produces very well. My favorite to fish is Rocky. Just my 2 cents.


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## garhtr

Tyler Curry said:


> IMO the best two lakes on the east side of Cincinnati are Rocky Fork and Cowan. Cowan is a 10 hp or less so if you have a bass boat it’s a trolling motor only. This lake has a ton of 14 inch bass along with a fair share of big ones. Rocky Fork is also a great option. Only problem with it is that it gets a ton of tournament pressers. It still produces very well. My favorite to fish is Rocky. Just my 2 cents.


 Those two lakes would be my pick for bass also, plus both are very good saugeye lakes, Imo.
" Fishing addict" if you have a boat the Ohio river will provide an endless array of fishing opportunity.
Good luck and Good fishing !


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## MuskyFan

Caesar, the Dead Sea? LOL... Yeah, stay away from Caesar...no fish in the whole 2700 acres. 

Seriously, Caesar does take a bit to figure out but has a healthy population of saugeye, crappie, bass and, of course, Musky. It also has a healthy population of summer boaters, jet skis, and wake board boats. But is has plenty of coves and no wake zones. Trails surround the the lake so bank fishing is very accessible.

Overall, there are a lot of options living in SW Ohio.


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## crappiedude

I can't add much but will agree with most of what has been said so far. CC is far from dead but will definitely take a little learning before you figure it out. Only bad thing down this way is there isn't that much of an opportunity for ice fishing but a lot of years you can find open water somewhere to keep a line wet all winter long. I never winterize my boat because I tend to use it all year. The only problem with the Ohio River is sometimes the high water makes it tough to get on and fish but it has a good variety if you take the time to look around.


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## fishdealer04

What part of Cincy are you moving to? The LMR and GMR are both good rivers for smallmouth bass and catfish. Good opportunity for saugeye in the GMR as well. The Ohio river has catfish like you stated but also sauger, hybrid stripers, and white bass. For lakes down here Cowan is a good lake, CC is where I spend most of my time. If you head north a little towards Dayton you get to CJ Brown lake. Brookville is good too but in Indiana. Hamilton County has some nice parks like stated as well (Miami Whitewater, Sharon Woods, Hueston Woods, etc..)


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## zaraspook

Most folks know Brookville is pretty decent for walleye, but are unaware of how good the smallmouth fishing is. Smallies really coming on there, but don't tell anyone.


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## RiparianRanger

Judging by number of fish Ohio smallmouth reported to ODNR, the GMR can’t be beat in SW Ohio


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## TopRaider15

Don't forget to buy a KY license too, the streams just across the river can be dynamite. Seriously look at a map and find a decent sized flow in NKY or EKY and you'll be surprised what you find swimming around.


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## G-Patt

All of the bodies of water in your original post have great fishing. Seriously, you have a lot of options available to you. I personally don't have great luck at East Fork during the summer (it's pretty decent any other time), but there are folks on here that do. I prefer river fishing over lake fishing, and there's a lot to work with in Cincy. TopRaider15 is on the money with buying a KY license and checking those places out.


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## MuskyFan

Don't forget Cave Run is only a couple hours SE of Cincinnati. Nonresident license is only $50 for the year.


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## The Fishing Addict

Thank you everyone for the wealth of info! Fish dealer I am looking to move to the Columbia-Tusculum area!


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## The Fishing Addict

Fish dealer- I am looking to live over by the LMR area in Cinci!


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## The Fishing Addict

Are there good ponds in cinci for bass fishing? Up here in the CLE area I love to hit the boat marinas for crappie and bass in the spring; I see some boat marinas on the Ohio river as well; do they hold lots of spawning crappie in the spring time?


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## fishdealer04

Yea you will be right there by the LMR and the Ohio River. Right across the river you also have the Licking River in KY. I have never actually crappie fished the river here but I have friends that live in Indiana that fish the creeks in the spring on the Ohio river and catch a lot of big crappie. I'm sure the marinas around you will hold them. I have caught them in the cast net so I know there are at least some down there. 4 seasons Marina will be close to you. I have done well in there catching bait. Not sure if they will let you walk in and fish but if you have a boat you can go right in there. 

Always a lot of guys bass fishing the banks through that section of the Ohio River. I have done well in the LMR a little ways up from the Ohio on Sauger and hybrids as well. We have caught some LM bass in there while catfishing on cut bait so I'm sure if you actually through cranks or jigs and what not you could catch a few.


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## cincinnati

The Fishing Addict said:


> Are there good ponds in cinci for bass fishing?


Used to fish a couple ponds in condo complexes. Fishing partner was really good @ "networking," & secured permission.


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## The Fishing Addict

Thank you for all of the help; I actually just had my job location changed from Cinci to Pitt!!


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## BMustang

The fishing here is incredible!!!

The catching can be quite challenging.


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## BMustang

The Fishing Addict said:


> Thank you for all of the help; I actually just had my job location changed from Cinci to Pitt!!


Probably a good break for you!


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## The Fishing Addict

It sounds like an amazing fishery you guys have in the GMR and LMR!


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