Nothing has changed. Fishing is still one of or the most beloved outdoor sports with our numerous outdoorsmen.
The Ohio River would be the most obvious place to fish within Clermont County or along her borders and then there is the East Fork of the Little Miami River and creeks such as Bullskin, O’Bannon, and Stonelick just to name a few of many flowing waterways, then there are the state parks (Harsha Lake at East Fork and Stonelick Lake) and and the many privately-owned lakes and ponds.
Starling Lake, like the Ohio River and the East Fork of the Little Miami River, touches upon more than one county. It is along Starling Road at the Clermont and Brown County border.
It is a five and one-half acre man-made lake built on 38 acres by then residents Bluford and Harriet Hackworth, former Kentuckians, in 1959. They sold the lake in 1993 to Rick and Joyce Zurmehly of Williamsburg.
“We bought the lake in 1993 when our son, Rick, saw that the lake was for sale when he was driving by here one day while on his way to driving to college when he was going to Morehead (Kentucky, State University),” said Rick Sr. “We looked into it and found out it was a pay lake and we bought it from the Hackworths and we made sure to let it stay a pay lake.”
Rick Sr. and his wife, Joyce, agree on why fishing continues to remain to be so incredibly popular in the Clermont County area.
“There is excitement about fishing. The fish on the line and pulling on it and watching the reel go back and forth and watching the line peel off the reel. It’s so exciting at night seeing the glow sticks go up and down.
“This area has a lot of good lakes and big money is paid at many of the places where the big fish is caught.”
The couple agrees that fishing is not only for men, but many women and children enjoy the sport and the activity, too.
The Zurmehlys have been a picturesque couple for more than 50 years. They went to school together, dated at Williamsburg High School, he was a standout football player, and she was the homecoming queen her senior year. Their son Rick continued the family tradition of great sports participation. He was a Clermont County League and Southern Buckeye Conference all-star in football at Williamsburg High School from where he graduated in 1988.
Several of the county’s leading and most devoted fishermen pointed out some of the fish that can be caught in the county – spoon bill, drum walleye, mud puppie, perch, gar, saugheye, shad, large mouth and Kentucky spot bass, cat, channel blue, shovelhead, blue gill, crappie white and black, white bass, and small mouth bass.
The Zurmehlys completely enjoy the atmosphere of the sport and the surrounding environs.
“People feel safe and secure at pay lakes where they feel so comfortable and relaxed. At our lake, and I’m sure at others, no foul words are allowed and no drinking alcohol or carrying on either. This lake is family-oriented,” Mrs. Zurmehly said.
Her husband said, “It’s relaxing for everybody and the families can watch their children grow up and come here and stay off the street.”
He laughs, “I just sit back and take it easy and Joyce does all the work, cleaning and cooking and other things. She runs the business like the (fish) weigh-ins and the cash register and shooting the pictures of the people and their catch.”
There are numerous public fishing lakes within the borders of the county including Arrowhead Lake (Batavia area), Bell Lakes (Withamsville area), Bethel Reservoir, Better Lake (Bethel area), Beulah Lake (Withamsville area), Cedar Lake (Goshen area), Cincinnati Gas and Electric Lake (New Richmond area), Greater Cincinnati Nature Center Lake (Union Township), Clermont Northeastern School Lake (Owensville area at the CNE High School), Crescent Isle Lake (Newtonsville area), Damms Lake (Batavia area), Dela Palma Lake (Williamsburg area), Fairacres Lake (Goshen area), Glen Ridge Lake (Withamsville area), Glen Willow Lake (Withamsville area), Goldman Pond (Laurel area), Hamilton County Anglers Club Lake (Batavia area), Heritage Lake (Goshen area), Hidden Hill Lake (Laurel area). Hill Lakes (Goshen area), Hilltop Lakes (Batavia area), Jackson’s Lake (Glen Este area), Kate’s Lake (Batavia area), Lake Allyn (Olive Branch area), Lake Monterey (Monterey area), Lake o’ the Woods (Williamsburg area), Locust Lake (Amelia area), Meadow Lake (Laurel area), Mims Lake (Williamsburg area), Mueller Lake (Goshen area), Orchard Lake (Goshen area), Owensville Lake (Owensville area), Price Lakes (Laurel area), Red R Lake (Goshen area), Roberts Lake (Laurel area), Royal Oaks Golf Course Pond Number One (Withamsville area), Royal Oaks Golf Course Pond Number Two (Withamsville area), Sherry’s Lake (Amelia area), Spanaway Lake (Laurel area), Starling Lake (Bethel area), Sumner Pond (Goshen area), Sunset Lake (Batavia area), Terra Aqua Lakes (Newtonsville area), Warrenton Farms Pond (Withamsville area), White Gables Lake (Belfast area), Wiemeyer Pond (Goshen area), and Wuerdeman Lakes (Withamsville area).