Learning to Fish

Article by Ivan Zoot

I am 62 years old and just now learning to fish.

I have been fishing for 52 years and I am just now learning to fish.

Or so it feels. Let me explain.

My wife and I relocated to suburban Cincinnati, Ohio this spring to live closer to our children and grandchildren. I have spent all 62 of my years living in the greater Chicago metropolitan area in the Northwest suburbs in southern Lake County. It is called Lake County for a reason. There is water everywhere. Every subdivision has a flood control pond. Every industrial park has a retention basin. The rail and highway corridors are lined with borrow pits. Most all are publicly accessible. All are loaded with bluegill, the Illinois state fish, and plenty of small largemouth bass.

For the past few years I have fished nearly daily. My preferred target is bluegill. My preferred weapon is a tenkara rod. My preferred location is standing on the bank. I tie my own flies and carry a limited selection of confidence patterns that never let me down. This had become a routine and a habit I much enjoyed. One of my favorite residential development ponds was 150 feet from my truck parked in my own driveway. You can’t beat that fishing opportunity.

Welcome to Southern Ohio. It is a fish world away. Upon arriving here, I rapidly became aware that there are virtually no ponds in Cincinnati. The entire city slopes aggressively south towards the Ohio river. Virtually no standing water exists inside the interstate 275 loop. This is the land of moving water. Everything is busy draining away.

This is an entirely different way to fish.

I spent most of the summer fighting the local opportunities. I have found some ponds on the outskirts of Cincinnati to fish in the manner I am most accustomed to and most skilled at. The water is warmer here. The tenkara-accessible fish are smaller. It is not the same. I use Google Maps to scout ponds and have driven farther than I have had to in the past in pursuit of lesser opportunities.

The game here is moving water. All of the water is moving. I am learning to river, stream and creek fish. This is an entirely different activity. A wholly different skill set. A completely different knowledge base is needed to understand fishing situations and opportunities. I can look at a pond on Google Maps and know exactly where fish will hold and how to target them. Not so much so on a river.

This summer there have been quite a few significant rain events in our area. As a result, the rivers have been high, fast and the color of melted double fudge ice cream. Not a safe fishing opportunity for even an experienced river wader. Definitely not a good idea for me.

I joined the Buckeye United Fly Fishing Club where I regularly attend meetings and have stepped up to some volunteer opportunities. I have met some great people and I am making new friends through the group. The learning curve is steep but I am climbing it aggressively.

One big upside is that I can fish here twelve months of the year. In Northern Illinois I spent four months looking out my window at my frozen pond. Another plus is that I am two hours away in any direction from some amazing fishing. Brookville in Indiana is a 12 -month trout stream. The Dainel Boone National Forest, just to the southeast in Kentucky, is loaded with amazing opportunities. Central Ohio has the Mad River, the Scioto, the Miami, the Olentangy, Upper Darby Creek and more.

There is not much of a tenkara community here. Perhaps that represents an opportunity for me to build something. Every angler I have come in contact with is enthusiastic to share anything they know. There seems to be no culture of keeping spots, flies or techniques a secret.

Another positive are the fish. Fish are fish. The fish here are not smarter or better or differently educated. I am still the apex predator. I just need to learn to adapt to this new environment and its conditions. Fishing here is not necessarily harder than it was in Northern Illinois. It is just different, a lot different and I just need to learn to fish differently.

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Ivan Zoot is a tenkara angler recently relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio. He is learning to fish moving water as he has departed the ponds and lakes of Lake County, Illinois.

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