Fishing in Ohio - The Clear Fork River

The Clear Fork River

The Clear Fork River is located near the town of Loudonville, OH, about one hour north of the city of Columbus, OH. It is divided into two parts, the Upper and the Lower branches. It was first stocked in the early 1980s by local fishing clubs, and the ODNR began in 1992 to stock it annually with 6"-8" brown trout. Two of its tributaries, Cedar Fork on the Upper branch and Pine Run on the Lower branch, are also stocked. The Upper branch has limited accessibility and runs from the Clear Fork Reservoir East to Pleasant Hill Lake. The Lower Branch runs East from the Pleasant Hill Dam through Mohican State Park where it ends at the Mohican River.

Fishermen who wish to visit this stream should go to the covered bridge at Mohican State Park. There is plenty of parking, a playground for the kids, a primitive campground just downstream, and easy access to the stream. Fly fishing is excellent as there are many open areas to cast and several nice holes with hemlock trees holding their branches over them waiting for the fisherman to drift a dry fly or a nymph under them. The stream has a great annual hatch of mayflies, including sulphers, light cahills, drakes, and lots of caddisflies, as well. Other popular methods include the use of in-line spinners and live bait.

This is a very scenic river with great accessibility. The downfall is that in the late spring and summer months many other visitors are attracted to the stream such as rafters, tubers, and swimmers, which can negatively affect fishing as the water gets too disturbed. Other than that, this is a great place to fish for trout in Ohio. The daily catch limit is two fish and a minimum keep size of 12" is in effect. note=most of the swimmers,tubers,and rafters use the state park camping area for this activity,the best trout fishing for large browns is up stream from the covered bridge.