The 7th annual Governor’s Inland Fish Ohio Day acknowledges Ohio’s fishing opportunities

MCARTHUR, Ohio – The state of Ohio has an annual tradition to celebrate Ohio’s inland fishing the continued today with the Governor’s Inland Fish Ohio Day.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) held the 7th annual Inland Fish Ohio Day at Hope Lake State Park. ODNR Director Mary Mertz says the event is a great way build support for Ohio’s parks.

“So we’re trying to accomplish a couple of things today. One, we want people to see that they can have fun at Ohio State Parks and they can have fun fishing. I mean it is terrific recreation because we believe when people have fun, they will fall in love with this place and once you fall in love with it, you understand it, and once you understand it, you want to keep it,” Mertz said. “And so we hope it follows that trajectory and people recognize and get excited about keeping places like this vibrant.”

Governor Mike DeWine created the Inland Fish Ohio Day event, which is a spin-off of the Governor’s Lake Erie Fish Ohio Day. The Great Lake tradition was started by Governor James A. Rhodes in 1979, but DeWine thought the concept needed to expand.

“That really came from that fact that when I was growing up, my fishing was not on Lake Erie,” DeWine said. “We lived a long ways from Lake Erie. We’re down near Dayton and so my fishing was for catfish, for blue gills, for croppies, for bass. And that’s what I, you know, grew up doing and you know we’re about to eat some of those fish right now. So it’s just a great, you know, it’s a great thing.”

The 2026 Governor’s Lake Erie Fish Ohio Day traditionally takes place in mid-July. You can follow the ODNR on their website and on their Facebook page to see when the official date is announced.