Lawrenceburg/Cincinnati Area

Hello All,

In February my current enlistment is up and I am looking to move to the Lawrenceburg, IN / Cincinnati area to continue the information technology career outside of the military. I have not yet visited the area, once I am home from Afghanistan I am planning to flying out to visit a buddy who lives out there. My question for all of you locals is other than the Fork Lakes that I have found, what are some hot spots for bass fishing that would be within driving range? Are bass pretty common to find, most ponds/lakes in the area are consistently populated? Are private ponds/lakes pretty common to find to fish on? From what I can see from looking on google maps it appears the area is spotted with ponds. It would be a dream come true if I could find some property with a pond on it or enough land to make my own, I don't think that is going to likely happen but it doesn't hurt to dream. Also if anyone knows, local clubs I could link up with once I am a resident.

I am originally from Oregon, stationed in California. My small fishing experience in Oregon has shown me that private ponds stocked with Bass is typically your best bet. In Socal the majority of your options are reservoirs that are pretty heavily fished so competition and pressure is high. Hoping to get some feed back on what the Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio area is like in the world of bass fishing. If its a struggle to find good lakes to fish within a decent driving distance or if networking once I have moved in will lead me to find ponds/lakes all over that are stocked with hungry bass waiting to bite. Also if the region I am looking to move to is slim to none, what other areas would be a better choice.

Thanks for all the time and help.

-Jaeson

Honestly, that is the last place i would move if fishing was high my priority list. I lived there for 5 years. Ohio river fishing is tough, lakes are small and lots of time heavily pressured. I would consider the Indianapolis area before the Tri-State area. Other than Erie, it seems at least to me Ohio Fisheries programs arent all that.

I lived in Dallas, TX and ATlanta, GA before living in Cincy, and now back in Dallas. If your an IT guy and love to fish Dallas or Atlanta could not be a better choice.

I like the midwest, grew up there but it seems like its not in my cards to live there.
There are some smaller lakes around but I cannot comment on that. I know whitaker201 who hangs on here, likes to fish some of the smaller lakes and has some success maybe he can chime in.

That being said my wife and i enjoyed living in that area except for the snow! Good luck http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/USA1.gif

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by dmov &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Honestly, that is the last place i would move if fishing was high my priority list. I lived there for 5 years. Ohio river fishing is tough, lakes are small and lots of time heavily pressured. I would consider the Indianapolis area before the Tri-State area. Other than Erie, it seems at least to me Ohio Fisheries programs arent all that.

I lived in Dallas, TX and ATlanta, GA before living in Cincy, and now back in Dallas. If your an IT guy and love to fish Dallas or Atlanta could not be a better choice.

I like the midwest, grew up there but it seems like its not in my cards to live there.
There are some smaller lakes around but I cannot comment on that. I know whitaker201 who hangs on here, likes to fish some of the smaller lakes and has some success maybe he can chime in.

That being said my wife and i enjoyed living in that area except for the snow! Good luck http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/USA1.gif </td></tr></table>

dmov, thank you for the insight. I'll have to look into the Indianapolis area. Also I'll need to remember to send a message to whitaker201 and ask for some info. Do you remember if the lakes freeze over in winter? Something I have been curious about, only a few small lakes up in the mountains frooze over where I grew up.

Thanks again,

Jaeson

Yes our lakes freeze over.

In the Indiana area we have the Ohio River, Brookville, Monroe and Patoka and Lake Hardy. Hidden Valley Lake is a private community lake if you choose to live there.

In Ohio we have the Ohio River, Ceasar's Creek Lake, East Fork Lake and Rocky Fork Lake.

In Kentucky there's the Ohio River and alot of small trolling motor, or small hp lakes.

Within traveling distance there is Lake Erie, Lake St Clair, Lake Cumberland, Norris Lake, KY and Barkley.

Check the schedules for the BFL Buckeye and Hoosier Divisions and that will give you some other places in the near by areas.

Over all our fishing tough, it leaves a lot to be desired. But if you can catch them here you can catch them any where.... Dan

Dan200xl, thanks for the info I'm going to do some research on all those lakes you listed off. Have you ever fished in socal and could compare the fishing? My local socal lakes are all I really know so I'm not sure how to put things into perspective. Out here some days it seems if your on your game you may pull 5 or 50 fish out of the lake, other times you'll be skunked for weeks on end. Typically its the latter and you struggle to get a limit. Thanks for all the info!

Jaeson

If you can live anywhere. I would not pick the cincy area for fishing. If it's for a job I understand. If I could go back in time when I was single and just getting off active duty, Huntsville ,AL would be my choice all the lakes you'll ever need and 5 hours from the beach.

DH205DVS, Yeah a lot of it is for the job. I was honestly expecting the area to be pretty good for fishing though I'm honestly surprised by what I've been hearing. Never would have guessed it. Thanks for the info.

Jaeson

I've fished a few of the San Diego County lakes. Our lakes fish different, hard to explain. Our lakes have a lot of standing timber, some have grass, most don't. We have a lot of variety, the Ohio River fishes very shallow, Patoka and other lakes fish deep... Thank you for your service, I'm sure you'll do great no matter where you end up... Dan http://www.bassboatcentral.com/boardstuff2/beers.gif

Migit most of our lake around here a small, less than 4000 acres, the river is almost endless in size. There is some good fishing at times around here and also if you dont mind driving 3-5hrs you can be at some very nice lakes.

Around the Cincy area there is Rocky Fork, Brookeville (IN), and the river that are all decient fishing. They can all have there good days and bad. On the river (where I spend most of time time fishing) in the spring it will take about 12#'s to win a tourny, in the summer it will normally take about 8#'s to win. Not alot of fish around bigger than 3#'s on the river. Bville and Rocky are different animals, spring T's can take +15#'s to win and do have some very nice fish in them.

Thank you for your service and if you have any questions feel free to ask me.

O yeah Dmov is the only smart one......he left and went back to Texas where they have real LM bass! http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/mad.gif ... http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/Laugh.gif

If you like SM fishing you do want to go up to Erie in the spring and catch some football SM's.

Whitaker hit it right on the head,(first post) Rocky has been hot all year,Brookville has a great population 4to6lb smallmouth and big heads. The river can be quite tough after mid june. If you are just fun fishing mid wk tuesday to friday you can catch plenty, wk ends stay home and play slap and tickle with wife or girl friend . http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/wink.gif Good luck with your decision and also thanks for your service for our country!!!!! http://www.bassboatcentral.com/boardstuff2/beers.gif http://www.bassboatcentral.com/boardstuff2/beers.gif

Thanks for the info gents. I've actually never caught a SM, only experience is with large. I'll have to ask my buddy who taught me how to fish how much it usually takes him to win a tournament around where we live. He even told me the cincy area is rough and he seems to place or win every tournament he enters in socal. I've never actually fished a river before either. Is the current strong or can you easily sit in a spot with out hardly touching the trolling motor?

Staying home on the weekend means I'd have to spend time with the wife though. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/doh.gif I won't have a clue what my schedule would be like until I'm out there http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/Laugh.gif

No problem bud. If you end up in this area let me know.

Raleigh, NC would be better... I grew up in Indianapolis, great city, good fishing, but that's all relative... I don't miss the winters...

Here, we have Kerr Lake, Lake Gaston, Shearon Harris, Falls Lake, Jordan Lake all within an hour. High Rock Lake (2hrs), Down East (Albemarle sound with the Chowan, Roanoke, Cashie, Scuppernong, Alligator, Yeopim, and Little Rivers (full of cypress 2hrs away). Many other smaller impoundments.

Research Triangle Park is just west of Raleigh (the Triangle is formed by Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill) and is a hotbed for technology companies. NC State in Raleigh, Duke in Durham and UNC in Chapel Hill...

The winters are mild, I play golf often Dec-March...

Lakes can get ice on them, but never freeze. Falls, Harris and Jordan are excellent big fish lakes (usually takes an 8+ for bigfish)....

I've never actually fished a river before either. Is the current strong or can you easily sit in a spot with out hardly touching the trolling motor?

The current on the Ohio is pretty tame, you could fish the main river all day and not wear out your batteries... Dan

For the Albemarle Sound rivers, most of the time, current is negligible. Early spring, the flush water through for the Striper spawn in the Roanoke. With the Albemarle Sound being the largest freshwater sound (it's brackish, but you can catch largemouth in the bays), the sound itself tempers large currents, but certainly at times there is some, but not usually more than a large reservoir (like Kerr lake 50K acres) when they are pulling water for electricity. You can see surface debris on the water moving, but it doesn't really affect the boat or fishing much. The sound also tempers tidal effects. For the Albemarle Sound rivers, there is a tidal influence but you really have to be paying attention to notice it. It's not like the James River in VA or the Potomac (which is only about 4hrs from here!)....

If you're looking to move somewhere for the fishing, Ohio aint it! http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/Laugh.gif

There is "decent" fishing in some areas. I live on a private lake (private meaning you have to be a member of the home owners association to have access) about an hour north of Cinci on 71. It's a great little lake.

I fish Caesar's Creek too much, which is usually just painful.

Rocky Fork is a great lake most of the year, and at some points takes a 20 pound bag to win.

Indian Lake is a little further north and another decent lake...takes upwards of 15 pounds early in the year there.

Then you have Erie about 4 hours away, and i'm sure you've seen the smallies it can produce. If you're not catching 20+, you probably won't even get a check. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/Laugh.gif

I've never fished the river, so i can't comment on that. But on the Kentucky side, we've been hitting Cave Run once a year of the last couple of years. It's known as a musky lake, but we bass fish and we kill 'em. Nothing huge...biggest fish has been in the mid-5's...but tons of fun fish.

Do you hunt? Deer hunting in SW and SE Ohio can be dynamite if you can find the right land.

But i sure as hell wouldn't move here for the fishing! http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/Laugh.gif Like someone said above...if you can learn to catch fish here, you can catch fish anywhere!