About Fish Ohio

 
How the Fish Ohio program works

In 2000, the Fish Ohio program celebrated it's 20th anniversary with a commemorative pin.

Each angler with a qualifying catch receives a collectable Fish Ohio lapel pin. The pin that the angler receives won’t necessarily have the same fish on it as the qualifying fish caught.  Each year’s pin has a different species of fish on it, along with the year.  For example, the 2005 pins featured a freshwater drum, and the 2006 pin had a yellow perch, 2007 a largemouth bass.

There is also a Master Angler category for anglers who catch four different Fish Ohio qualifying species in a single year. The Master Angler pin is the same as the Fish Ohio pin except it is gold in color.
 

How to enter your notable catch

To receive a collectable pin and certificate, anglers will need to register online at www.fishohio.org.  For those anglers without Internet access, options are still available. Ask a friend, relative or neighbor with internet access for help in registering your catch. You can also visit a public library that offers internet access for public use. Questions about the procedure can be addressed by calling 614-265-6317 or 614-265-6325.
 

History of the Fish Ohio program

The Fish Ohio program was designed to recognize anglers for noteworthy catches of Ohio’s fish.  Since 1976, over 400,000 anglers have been recognized for catches in one of 20 fish species categories.

The Division of Wildlife began distributing Fish Ohio pins in 1980.

Program started in 1976. Pins were first issued in 1979 (Largemouth Bass). In 1980, the Division of Wildlife took over the program’s management.

First Master angler pins were issued in 1982 (Black Crappie).

In 1987, the species list was narrowed to 17 categories:
Brown trout, Carp, Channel Catfish, Crappie, Flathead Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Hybrid Striped Bass, Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Rainbow Trout, Saugeye, Smallmouth Bass, Steelhead Trout, Sunfish, Walleye, White Bass and Yellow Perch.

In 1997, Northern Pike was added to the list and Rainbow and Steelhead Trout were combined.

In 2000, Sauger and Rock Bass were added to the list to bring it to 19 species.

In 2010, Blue Catfish was added to the list bringing the number of species to 20.
 

Fish Ohio pin year and species depicted  

1979 – Largemouth Bass
1980 – Smallmouth Bass
1981 – Walleye
1982 – Crappie

Each year, a new fish species is represented on the Fish Ohio pin.

1983 – Largemouth Bass
1984 – Muskie
1985 – Sunfish (Bluegill)
1986 – Yellow Perch
1987 – Channel Catfish
1988 – Rock Bass
1989 – Trout (Steelhead)
1990 – Smallmouth Bass
1991 – Walleye
1992 – Crappie
1993 – Largemouth Bass
1994 – Muskie
1995 – Sunfish (Bluegill)
1996 – Yellow Perch
1997 – Channel Catfish
1998 – Rock Bass
1999 – Trout (Steelhead)
2000 – Smallmouth Bass
2001 – Hybrid Striped Bass
2002 – Saugeye
2003 – Flathead Catfish
2004 – Walleye
2005 – Freshwater Drum
2006 – Yellow Perch
2007 – Largemouth Bass
2008 – Sauger
2009 – Sunfish (Bluegill)
2010 – Walleye
2011 - White Bass