# Quality fly fishing destinations within 4 hours of Columbus?



## LearningtoFly (Apr 2, 2011)

I've finally gotten serious (in other words, I got my wife's permission) to by a vacation property/fish camp. 

The initial investment will be to purchase some property, make improvements so my wife and daughter don't have to rough it and get a used trailer. Ultimately we'd like to have a small cabin built but that'll be sometime down the road. 
Step 1 is to decide where to focus our search for property.

My criteria for the location are that it: 1) must be within a 4 hour drive of Columbus and 2) must offer quality creek/stream/or small river wade fishing opportunities for smallmouth bass or trout. Downhill skiing and hiking opportunities in the area would be nice additions but are not essential. The 4 hour proximity to Columbus is important as we want to be able to use this as a weekend get-away as frequently as possible to make the investment worthwhile.

Currently, I'm looking at SW Pennsylvania around Ohiopyle and Seven Springs. I've visited the area several times recently and the fishing seems solid. Prices for acreage are good in this area (~$2000/acre or less for land off the beaten path). We have family in this area who could look in on the property from time to time which offers piece of mind for those times when we can't visit for a while. I'm also interested in NE Ohio near the Grand and Conneaut rivers. This area is closer to Columbus but land is costlier in NE Ohio especially as one gets close to the Hunting Valley area but I've found a smaller lot that would be acceptable. We've got a number of friends with kids around our daughter's age in NE Ohio who could come join us on the weekends so that would be nice.

I'm also curious about areas in NW PA and in WV and KY that might be worth investigating before I move to make a purchase. I've done some online investigation of the Canaan/Blackwater Falls area in WV and, while I've not visited the area in person yet, it looks nice. Real estate prices around there seem surprisingly high though. I've got family who have vacation cabins around Cave Run in KY but on my visits to the area I've not found the sort of stream fishing that I enjoy.

Anyone have a favorite place within 4 hours of Columbus that I should take a look at? We're in no hurry to buy land and this is a great excuse for me to visit new waters.


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## V Fisher (Nov 28, 2009)

We have been to the Elkins WV area The trout fishing is very good Iv herd the smallie bite is good all summer


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## LearningtoFly (Apr 2, 2011)

Yeah, that is one of the areas that I'm curious about. I've heard a lot of good things. It is right on the edge of our 4 hour window but probably worth a visit. I've been a little surprised at the cost/acre around the Mon National Forest but maybe I just need to look outside of realtor.com for better deals.

Thanks


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

You may want to consider looking in or around Somerset KY. which puts you in the heart of the Daniel Boone National Forest and the ability to fish the Cumberland Tail Waters; a great trout and Small mouth fishery. You can purchase property around Lake Cumberland providing you great scenery, not to mention increased opportunities for other forms of recreation. If I am not mistaken, Somerset is right at 4 hours from Columbus.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

I love the Elkins area in WV, but that's got to be outside your 4-hour drive limit. I live in Athens and it takes me over 3.5 hours to get to the area past Elkins I like to fish. I would think that puts you around the 5 hour mark. Awesome place, though.


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

My wife has a lot in Treasure Lake Resort Du Bois PA. That is right around 4 hours from you depending where in Columbus you live.
About 20 miles south of Allegheny State Forest.
$500


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## LearningtoFly (Apr 2, 2011)

flyman01 said:


> You may want to consider looking in or around Somerset KY. which puts you in the heart of the Daniel Boone National Forest and the ability to fish the Cumberland Tail Waters; a great trout and Small mouth fishery. You can purchase property around Lake Cumberland providing you great scenery, not to mention increased opportunities for other forms of recreation. If I am not mistaken, Somerset is right at 4 hours from Columbus.


Thanks I'll look into that area further.


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## LearningtoFly (Apr 2, 2011)

TheCream said:


> I love the Elkins area in WV, but that's got to be outside your 4-hour drive limit. I live in Athens and it takes me over 3.5 hours to get to the area past Elkins I like to fish. I would think that puts you around the 5 hour mark. Awesome place, though.


That's what I'm afraid of. According to Goggle, I can get to Elkins in 4 hours but it is another hour+ to reach the C&R streams near there. And looking at real estate, I need to be out around Belington to find affordable land which increases the time to the streams. Land values in the Mon Forest are pretty high. It seems as though a lot of people with a lot more money than me have already come up with the idea of building vacation cabins around there driving up the prices.

Does fishing in the area stay strong all summer? If not, when do things usually pick up again? Even if the area is off our list for places to buy real estate, it seems like a place I really should visit occasionally.

Thanks


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## LearningtoFly (Apr 2, 2011)

Snakecharmer said:


> My wife has a lot in Treasure Lake Resort Du Bois PA. That is right around 4 hours from you depending where in Columbus you live.
> About 20 miles south of Allegheny State Forest.
> $500


Thanks. Accoring to Google, that is right around 4 hours assuming light traffic. We're looking for at least 5 and preferrably more than 20 acres. What is the size of the lots around there?


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## ski (May 13, 2004)

We have a cabin in Tidioute Pa. About 4 1/2 hours from Columbus. Lots of trout streams up there around Tionesta, Tidioute and Warren. Kinda far and the out of state license is $60, but trout streams are everywhere. There also is the Allegheny River and Tionesta Creek to Kayak and canoe for Lg/Sm bass, walleye, muskie, torut, etc. No skiing.
You can hike till your feet fall off.
ski


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## Four Weight Fanatic (May 14, 2006)

LearningtoFly,

I grew up in Acme, PA, which is approximately thirty minute from Seven Springs and have fly fished the surrounding trout streams for about thirty years. When I got done with my schooling I started a search similar to the one that you are undertaking and while I still go back to the area to fish (about four or five times in any given year) I ended up purchasing property elsewhere for a few different reasons that would only prolong this post. At the time I lived in Reynoldsburg and in doing my research I found the area surrounding Grayling, Michigan to be of interest and after making two trips I fell in love with the waters up there. From Columbus it is approximately five and a half to six hours (I realize that this is well outside of your search criteria but I just wanted to chime in with another option) property without river frontage on the Manistee or Ausable rivers averages less than 2,000 per acre, there is skiing within thirty or forty minutes and cross country skiing everywhere, prolific hatches on both systems and the fishing is second to none east of the Mississippi. Again, I realize that the drive time is almost two hours more than what you were looking for but having been in the same boat nine years ago I found that the benefits far outweighed the costs. Just food for thought.

FWF


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## rickerd (Jul 16, 2008)

Ive been fishing the Oil Creek area of PA for 10 years with friends, (near Tiduoute) 2 plus hours for us. Very nice fishing, hiking, canoeing, Allegheny river is fun also. But last year we went to Grayling, MI. Yea its worth the extra drive time. You could spend your life fishing all the water there. Skiing, hunting, hiking, biking, its all there. I'm in Rocky River though so its closer for me than C-bus.
I'm sure you will find a place to enjoy and cherish with your family. Those log cabin kits can be very economical if you assemble them.

Rickerd


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## LearningtoFly (Apr 2, 2011)

Great information! Thanks guys.


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## LearningtoFly (Apr 2, 2011)

For you guys that have cabins 5 or 6 hours from your primary home, how frequently do you use your vacation properties and do you have anyone to look in on the cabin when you are away for extended periods?

Thanks


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

I agree with ski and rickerd, NW PA is hard to beat. Look into places like Warren, PA, Tidioute, Tionesta, Oil City, etc. or anywhere east of there. You have TONS of options for trout(both wild and stocked) and for smallmouth you have the Allegheny which is excellent, along with Oil Creek, Tionesta Creek, Brokenstraw Creek, French Creek, etc. 

My family has a cottage in the town of Cochranton, PA on French Creek in between Meadville and Franklin. Even though it's right on French which is a great warmwater river/stream it serves as a good base camp for fishing other locations as well. I personally would've liked something out in Venango, Forest, or Warren counties closer to the better trout fishing(and more secluded) but the place we have is nice since it's only a little over an hour from home so it's easy to make an afternoon trip to do maintenance or whatever..


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## V Fisher (Nov 28, 2009)

Nick is wright New Castle down to Ellwood City the Neshannock and Slippery Rock offers Trout in to June


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

Yep, the Neshannock and Slippery Rock areas are definitely good for stocked fish into June, and after that the smallie fishing can be good on both streams. Not many wild trout(though there are a few) in that general area so that's why I recommended the counties farther up north, but yeah that's an option as well. Also, those are good places to hit on your way home if you end up getting a cabin up in Venango, Forest, Warren, etc.. counties.

As of last week I was catching an ok amount of trout on Neshannock, and yesterday I racked up the numbers fishing some of the Allegheny tribs farther north  Really wanted to hit the river for bass and whatever else would bite but it was too high for my tastes..


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

LearningtoFly said:


> For you guys that have cabins 5 or 6 hours from your primary home, how frequently do you use your vacation properties and do you have anyone to look in on the cabin when you are away for extended periods?
> 
> Thanks


It takes me about 5-1/2 hours to drive to our cabin leaving out on a Friday after the work day, just a little over 5 hours on the return trip as there is less traffic. Depending on the season, weather, etc... I go there at least once a month and have gone up to three times in some particular months as well. Depending on the situation, if I am able too I like taking a half day off work on Monday, leaving out around 5:00am that morning going to the office around noon. Having two FULL days with 3 nights down there makes a huge difference, you feel like you are getting your money's worth and it is much more relaxing. 
You cannot see our place from the road and we have a gate that we keep locked preventing any vehicles from entering; it is virtually impossible to drive around the gate. We also have a security system, it has never been tripped since we purchased our place 3 years ago. We have come to know others in the area, they check in on our place periodically if we ask them or after violent storms and that has added to our piece of mind. I can say initially when we purchased the place, security was a big concern but I do not give it a second thought anymore.

I would encourage you to not let the 4 hour window be the determining factor as to the location you seek. The extra hour that we have tacked on to our travel is well worth it, we enjoy our place, it is truly our piece of heaven.


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## Four Weight Fanatic (May 14, 2006)

LearningtoFly, in any given year I visit our cabin at least monthly. Admittedly, now that I am self employed, I have much more freedom to travel back and forth, but I wasn't always self employed and was still able to make monthly weekend trips and spilt my paid vacation time between the Hex hatch in the summer and grouse season/streamer fishing in the fall. Now I'm able to spend most of June up there (this year being the exception due to the late spring/high water conditions that lasted until the end of May) a couple of weeks in the fall and a couple of weeks in the winter (my wife likes to cross country ski). 
I have never had any issues with theft or vandalism but I have neighbors who are locals that look after the place while I'm gone and I pay them a modest amount to plow the trail into the cabin in the winter (I found early on that the county plow trucks tend to leave huge snow banks at the entrance to the property). 
When I lived in the Columbus area the drive was between five and five and a half hours now that I live in Southern Ohio it's about an hour longer but I break most trips up with a stop at the Cabelas in Dundee. 
If you intend to build your own cabin I can tell you that when I was building our place, I was able to take two weeks off from work and at the end of that period the logs were set the roof was on and everything was roughed in. I finished the rest by September by traveling up on weekends. 
Flyman01, is your place in the Grayling area also? 

FWF


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

Four Weight Fanatic said:


> Flyman01, is your place in the Grayling area also?
> 
> FWF


Four Weight Fanatic, my place is in the Cherokee National Forest located in Reliance, TN. We are 7 minutes off the Hiwassee River and a number of other streams that hold trout. As you described the area you are in, we too have an abundance of wildlife for hunting. Deer, Bear, Pig, Grouse, Turkey much which could be seen right off our deck at times. Sounds like you have a great place as well! Enjoy!


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## iaff313 (Jun 13, 2014)

The fishing stays good all summer long. The river will warm up but trout can still be caught basically year around. Most guys I know hit trout till July and don't stress the fish July to mid august, if they are releasing. Plenty of smallies and panfish there as well. The water there stays cooler then most north central wv, higher elevation. 
I thinking Elkins be right at you 4 hour guidelines. I live morgantown , originally from ohio, and Elkins is hour from me depending on which way you go and we approx 3 hours to columbus. 
Most the land down there price up due to hunting more so then fishing, a lot out states, hunting groups buying up land. Don't look morgantown area prices crazy here as well as Bridgeport Clarksburg area. Greater Elkins pretty.high as well. There is plenty of land on smaller Creek rivers to be had just not good fisheries. 
I guess comes down to species you want to fish for, or chase. PA has some nice areas with descent trout fishing as well, secluded and depending on area prices are reasonable. I used live just a cross state line in PA and work with few guys from PA so I have some basic ideas of what.going on in south west PA.


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## LearningtoFly (Apr 2, 2011)

I really appreciate all the great comments fellas. Even the locations that might prove to be too far away for a weekend residence have been put on my list of sites to visit when I'm solo camping.

I'll be sure to leave your favorite streams as good or better than they were when I got there.


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