Fly Fishing in Ohio

A regional note specific to this state: the trout fishing here is concentrated in a single high-quality tailwater below a major reservoir, and the state agency has invested heavily in that tailwater, which is why the catch rate is consistently high and the average fish size is large. Ohio trout fishing is a small but technically diverse fishery built on the cold-water streams of the Driftless Area and a few tailwaters in the central part of the state. The state has about 1,000 miles of fishable trout water, including the famous Mad River, the Rocky River, the Conneaut Creek, and dozens more. The most famous trout river is the Mad River, a freestone that runs through the Logan Hills and produces wild browns and rainbows averaging 14 inches. The state's trout program is administered through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and the agency stocks the put-and-take rivers and lakes in the spring and fall while managing the wild trout water through a combination of slot limits and Trophy Trout designations. A regular Ohio fishing license is required, and the cost is $25 for residents and $50 for non-residents, and the daily limit is 5 trout combined in most waters with a 2-trout limit on the Trophy Trout water. The unique regional quirk is that Ohio requires a special trout stamp for trout fishing, and the daily limit is 3 trout in the inland trout-stocked waters.