If you are looking for a cure for cabin fever, look no further than trout season at Lake Isabella. No sooner than the ice clears from the lake, the live fish trucks will roll in to stock thousands of pounds of beautiful rainbow trout. They average about one pound each, but three and even four pounders are not uncommon. Most of these fish are caught from the shoreline, which is nice for anglers who are less comfortable in a boat.

The best rule of thumb when setting up your gear for trout is to keep things light weight, a 6’medium light spinning rod loaded with eight pound test monofilament is perfect. There is a nice variety of artificial lures that will work for folks who enjoy casting for these fish. Try 1/16 ounce in-line spinners such as Mepp’s and Rooster Tails. Chartreuse is a good color to begin with; also try white, black and brown. Little Cleo spoons are also popular baits at Lake Isabella. Make long 45 degree angle casts from the shore and use a steady retrieve to work the bait in 4’ of water and less back to you. Make multiple casts at slightly different angles and vary your retrieve rate to allow the lure to run at different depths. Take your time as you work your way around the shoreline.

If you are looking for a little less work and a little more line watching, live bait might be the way to go. Use the same rod, reel and line, but rig it for a wax worm or live minnow. A #8 Aberdeen gold hook will work perfect. Use a small BB size split shot and you are ready to catch fish. You can present the bait on the bottom, or use a small bobber to suspend you bait below the surface. There is no right or wrong presentation; however you will find that these fish can be finicky. One day every bite you get is on the bottom, the next day they want it suspended.

There is also a large variety of Berkley Power Trout Baits that produce some fine catches at Lake Isabella. Rig this dough style bait on the same gear that you use for live bait. The chartreuse color is an old favorite, but again you have many options. All of the baits that you will need are available at Lake Isabella; simply ask what most of the trout are being caught on. Also look for weekly fishing reports on the “Fish n’ Line” at GreatParks.org.

Your trout season at Lake Isabella begins in February and is over by the end of March. This is winter fishing. Pay close attention to dress appropriately and plan to keep your outings shorter than normal. Fish slowly, be patient and enjoy a break from the cabin!

Neal Ramsey
Recreation Manager

One of the most fun and exciting styles of fishing is Panfishing. Panfish are the most easily caught of all sport fish, and therefore it is the perfect form of fishing for beginners and kids. Kids could catch their first fish and have a new favorite hobby for life. You may ask “what is a Panfish?” They are known as Panfish because they easily fit in a normal size frying pan. The species of Panfish that live in the Hamilton County Park District lakes are sunfish, blue gill, perch and crappie.

In panfishing, you don’t need to spend a bunch of money on the latest or most expensive gear out there. To start your adventure you need a 5’ light action rod. The light action rod is important because panfish can often make subtle bites and you want to be sure you can feel those nibbles with your rod tip. You will also need some sort of small reel with eight pound monofilament line or less. The reel can be open bail or closed, it just depends on how advanced you or your child is. The most common way to set-up your line is with a sliding slip bobber rig. (Figure below) Use a number 8 Aberdeen light wire hook, slip bobber and a small (size BB) removable split-shot sinker. The advantage of the light wire hook is it will bend if you snag a piece of fish structure. This means you won’t have to retie each time you get snagged on something. You can simply just bend the hook back.

Slip Bobber Rig

After you get all rigged up, you are ready to go fishing. The best baits to use for beginners are live baits such as night crawlers, red worms, wax worms and minnows.

The fishing pattern varies with the season. Spring fishing starts when the ice melts off the lake from winter and ends in May. The water temperature at this time varies from 32 degrees to 55 degrees. During the spring time the Panfish are in deeper water than they would be in the summer time. The Blue Gill and Crappie will be in about 5’ to 10’ of water in brush piles, off points and under docks. You just need to find some sort of structure and there will be panfish. When the water warms up into the 60’s, about mid to late May, the panfish will be moving into the shallows for spawning. At that time you want to start using the summer pattern by fishing near the banks in about 1’ to 2’ of water. Try to find a fallen tree, stake beds and submerge objects. By trial and error you will find the hotspots. When you find it, hold on to that rod tight, you can fill your boat with Panfish in just a few hours! From September until about December the fall pattern is in full effect. At this time the Panfish will gorge on minnows and insect due to the cold harsh winter arriving soon. They will be in a state of mind that they want to eat everything and anything. This is certainly a beautiful time to be on the water with the colorful woods surrounding you.

Read weekly fishing reports on our “Fish n’ Line” at GreatParks.org, and talk to the folks who work at our lakes for good tips. Once you master live bait fishing, you can move on to jig fishing for panfish. There is an abundance of Panfish in the Hamilton County Park District lakes so have fun and enjoy the wildlife.

Mike Brech, Harbor Manager

Thanks to consistent stocking programs dating back to the early 1970s, Hamilton County Park District lakes have solid populations of channel catfish. These fish get considerably less fishing pressure than the big blue cats and shovelheads, and are excellent to eat if there is a fish fry in your near future.

Channel cats are found in shallower water, often in heavy structure. The proper gear set-up will be a 6’ medium action rod, spinning gear works great. Line your reel with 15 – 20 pound test monofilament to assure that you can fight these strong fish out of cover that would break off lighter lines. Bronze bait holder hooks and #6 treble hooks will suit the different baits that you will be using. Use small split shot sinkers. You will be fishing on the bottom and suspended with a bobber, so bring along a nice variety of stick floats.

Part of the fun in fishing for channel cats is the huge variety of baits, many of which come in the form of “secret home made recipes.” You can hardly go wrong starting with live bait, with the night crawler topping the list. Channel cats are also caught on red worms, minnows and goldfish. The night crawler and red worm can be fished deadline on the bottom, or suspended from a float. There are many pre-packaged stink baits to chose from, each of the Hamilton County Park District boathouses carry a nice variety. Perhaps the most popular bait for channel cats is chicken liver. You will rig a golf ball size chunk on a treble hook and fish it deadline. Most successful channel cat fishermen bring a variety of different baits; move from spot to spot, trying different baits, different depths, and different ranges from the shoreline until they figure out the pattern. It will not only differ from season to season, but often times from day to day.

A good rule of thumb is to begin your search shallow, right against the bank. Anchor your boat within casting distance of the bank and cast your bait into 6” of water. Fish it deadline, slowly dragging it across the lake bottom every few minutes. Cast into stake beds, under over hanging tree limbs, alongside laydown trees and behind stumps. Channel cats will stage in very thick dense cover to ambush their prey. Try a variety of baits in these shallow areas. Slowly work baits deeper and further off shore. Try live minnows suspended below a bobber over a sunken brush pile, or off the end of a laydown tree over deeper water. Spend 30 minutes or less in each spot until you begin getting bites. After you figure out where the fish are, and the type of bait they prefer, you will fill a fish basket with these beautiful two to five pound catfish.

Read fish reports on the “Fish n’ Line” at GreatParks.org, and ask the folks that work at the lake for advice. A little research will get you headed in the right direction. Make sure you know the creel limits at each location before taking fish from the lake. Fresh channel catfish is one of the best tasting freshwater fish in southwest Ohio…so enjoy!

Neal Ramsey
Recreation Manager

Interested in catching a giant freshwater fish? How about a fish that could measure more than four feet long and tip the scales at 60 pounds or larger? There are two species of catfish living in Miami Whitewater Forest Lake and Lake Isabella that commonly grow to that size, the blue catfish and the shovelhead catfish. Check out the bragging boards at either of those boathouses and you will find pictures of very happy anglers with giant catfish. There are several big advantages to the angler chasing big cats at the park lakes: annual stocking programs, strict catch and release only policies on fish 15 pounds and larger, and these lakes are both less than 80 acres in size, so the fish are readily found.

The gear used to land these huge fish is very different than that used for all other fish living in our lakes. Fishermen use heavy action rods as long as 10’, outfitted with big bait runner reels and heavy duty big game fishing line. Big circle hooks, egg sinkers and stick floats hold the wide variety of baits used to lure these giant fish. Fishing techniques vary according to the time of year.

Fishermen begin catching big cats as soon as the ice thaws from our lakes. With water temperatures hovering in the mid 30 degree range, big cats are not covering a lot of water. They are only feeding one or two times per week, and they are looking for easy meals that don’t require a lot of exertion. This is a perfect time to fish cut bait deadline on the bottom. Common choices are cut bluegill, gizzard shad, skipjack, or rainbow trout. Rig the cut bait on a 5/0 circle hook, with a one ounce egg sinker, cast it and allow it sink onto the bottom of the lake. The big cats will smell the fresh bait and come to investigate.

Action picks up with warming water in the spring. Big cats begin covering more water in search of food and spawning areas. Live bait such as bluegill, goldfish, shiners and shad work well. Use the same hook, but less weight and a large foam stick float to suspend your bait off the bottom. Spend less time fishing each spot. Ohio allows each angler to have two lines in the water at a time, take advantage of that. Set out two different rigs, with different baits. Experiment by setting your baits at different depths. Anchor your boat offshore and cast toward the bank. Look for wind blown points or old creek channels. Every lake is filled with structure like rock and wood, ledges and channels, big flats and long points. Realize that these big cats are on the move looking for food. Spend less than an hour on each spot, until you cross paths with one of these giants. When you do catch one, consider that it was feeding in that area for a reason. It isn’t uncommon to catch three or four in the same location.

The dog days of summer offer a whole new world of exciting big cat action…night fishing. Bluecats and shovelhead roam shallow flats and the mouths of feeder creeks on nighttime feeding frenzies. Live bait like bluegills, goldfish and shiners are excellent choices. Fish them suspending below a big float. Attach a glow stick to your float to easily monitor bites. Set out two rigs, lean back and enjoy the star filled sky. It is a complete different experience; an exciting world of night creatures comes to life. Feel the hair stand up on the back of your neck when that giant fish strains your rod, and shatters the silence of the night rolling up on the surface and boiling the water with it’s powerful tail. The fish wasn’t the only thing hooked; you are now armed with a great fish story for the ages.

After Labor Day the water temperatures dips below 80 degrees, and continues a steady decline into the 50 degree range by November. With shorter days and cooler water, big catfish are likely to be caught anytime of the day. They go on a fall feeding binge, putting on much needed weight for a long winter of icy cold water. A wide variety of baits and techniques will catch these big fish in the fall. It isn’t uncommon to see a bass fisherman catch one on a crankbait, or even a crappie fisherman to land one on very light gear and a tiny panfish tube. In other words, get a bait in the water and you have a chance. Follow the schools of shad and you will find the fish. Concentrate on windblown banks, and structure that is near deep water.

Get set-up with heavy gear, and use sources like the “Fish n’ Line” at GreatParks.org and word of mouth tips from folks that are at these lakes everyday. Make sure that you bring a camera to capture your catch, and of course…a big dip net!

Neal Ramsey
Recreation Manager

Largemouth Bass are the number one sport fish in southwest Ohio. They are smart, strong and good angling skills are definitely required to trick them with artificial lures. Luckily, the well prepared fisherman has some built in advantages when chasing these fun fish on the Hamilton County Park District lakes. Thanks to a strict catch and release policy, aggressive stocking, and good lake management practices, these fish are plentiful.

The fishing gear used to catch bass can be very specialized. Anglers will use 7’ – 6” heavy action flipp’n sticks, 5’ pistol grip rods, and everything in between. For the beginner, keep it simple. Start with a 6’ medium action rod. A bait casting reel will give you more casting accuracy and better fighting leverage, but you can also use spinning gear. Line the reel with 12 pound test monofilament, and you are ready to get on the lake.

Take a stroll through your local tackle shop and it will become quickly evident that your lure options are limitless. Let the bass direct you where to begin. Largemouth Bass have very predictable seasonal patterns and habits. They follow things like the length of daylight, moon stages, water temperatures and spawning seasons. You are going to use very different baits on early spring pre-spawn days, than you will during the dog days of summer.

To simplify things, here are tips that will help you catch Bass in spring, summer, fall and winter. Springtime Bass fishing in southwest Ohio occurs in April and May. Most Largemouth Bass will spawn during the full moon in May. Many factors play into that, like water temperature, length of daylight hours, and lake conditions. A good understanding of when these fish spawn is a big advantage to catching them. Bass will eat aggressively prior to spawning. They move to shallow structure and have two primary food sources, crawfish and shad. The park lakes are shallow water impoundments, and most structure is visible to the angler. Structure includes things like stumps, laydown trees and rock. The water temperature this time of year will range between 45 and 55 degrees. At that temperature bass strategically position themselves along the edges of structure waiting for prey to swim within their reach. These entire details factor into angling methods used to catch bass in the spring. A slow presentation will work best. The bait should be strategically placed into tight cover, and that will require good strong gear to land the fish. This is the most common time of the year to use flipping techniques. You can get close to the fish, flip or pitch a plastic creature bait right along a laydown tree or behind an old stump. Allow the bait to settle to the bottom and be a good line watcher. Sometimes the fish will swim off with the lure, but more often they will suck the bait in and hold it. When the bait feels heavy, or if you see your line twitch, then set hook. Remember that the fish are shallow, concentrate on water less than three feet deep, and don’t be surprised when you catch bass in as little as 6” of water. Lures like Sweet Beavers, tubes, Brush Hogs and jigs are excellent choices. Keep your color options simple; black and blue, and green pumpkin both work very good in this region.

Summer patterns occur in June, July and August. The bass have finished spawning and the water temperatures will spike into the 90 degree range. Bass will commonly leave the super shallow structure in search for good water quality and easy food sources. Sophisticated electronics are not required in the park lakes to find these areas. Look for schools of shad on big flats and off defined points. Bass will feed several times everyday in this hot water. They will roam open water chasing baitfish. Throw chase baits like spinnerbaits, crankbaits and surface plugs. Be sure to fish more quickly by fan casting large areas with fast retrieves. Square bill crankbaits like the Strike King 1.5, and the Bandit model 100 are excellent choices. Shad colors with a little chartreuse mixed in work good. Throw ¼ ounce spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. Surface plugs like the Pop-R and Rapalas produce exiting strikes. If you can find matted weeds, then bass are easily tricked with a plastic frog. Don’t get caught up in the old tale of first and last hours of daylight, sometimes the best action happens right in the heat of the day.

Fall bass patterns occur from September through the end of November. It is an awesome time of the year to spend on the water. You will discover there are fewer people using the lakes, and the changing colors of the surrounding forests are amazing. Cool nights and sunny warm afternoons send bass on a feeding frenzy. They will gorge themselves for several weeks, putting on much needed weight in preparation of a long cold winter. Shad are their number one food source in the fall. They will push schools of shad into creek arms, little pockets and against wind blown banks. A fast lure presentation, ran within a foot of the surface, will produce aggressive strikes. An excellent lure choice is a ¼ ounce Rattle Trap. Throw chrome with a blue back on sunny days and red on cloudy days.

Winter patterns are a little more difficult. The water will plunge to freezing temperatures and the fish will slow their feeding habits. A large mouth bass may only feed one or two times a week during cold winter months. They will stage in a little deeper water. Anglers must slow their bait presentations to a craw in hopes of catching bass this time of the year. Lures like suspending jerkbaits, drop-shot rigs and shaky head finesse worms will work. Look for banks with rock that catch long hours of afternoon sunlight. Use a reel with a slow retrieve, and when in doubt…slow down. Don’t expect big numbers of fish, but don’t be surprised if you catch your biggest bass of the year. This is an excellent season to catch a real trophy sized bass, six pounds or larger!

Largemouth bass are our most popular freshwater sport fish. Knowledge of seasonal patterns will give you a good advantage in your chase. Read weekly fishing reports of our “Fish n’ Line” at GreatParks.org, and talk to the folks who work at our lakes for good tips. Remember to bring your camera to get a great photo and quickly release that bass so that somebody else might experience the thrill of catching it on another day.

Neal Ramsey
Recreation Manager