Gone Fishin’ with Little Miami River Outfitters, LLC

Indiana Celebrates “Free Fishing Days” September 26, 2026

Travis Bauer, a certified river fishing guide. Photo provided.

There’s a Garth Brooks song with a lyric that says a dream is like a river. It could easily be the theme song for the dedicated fishing guides and clients of Little Miami River Outfitters.

A day of ‘Gone Fishin’ is often described as a spiritual experience, and it can be as focused or as relaxed as the people who pick up a pole and cast their hook into the water.

Owner/guide Drake Perry, fishing guide Travis Bauer, and fly-fishing guide Mark Davis are eager to bring beginners to the sport and to let seasoned anglers try new places and different styles of catch and release fishing.

Perry’s favorite hobby, besides fishing, is promoting the natural landscape and opportunities along the waterways that Indiana and Ohio share, “Bringing activities to the rivers brings income to local communities.”

With a guided fishing trip, much of the preparation is already taken care of. The guide monitors weather forecasts, water conditions, moon phases, currents and other factors that can affect the day. They provide the equipment, from rods and tackle to the boat, and on full-day or half-day trips, they even provide lunch and refreshments. You just bring your fishing license and sunglasses.

Most importantly, Perry and his team bring their knowledge of the river. Each knows how to read the water, hold a boat in position and navigate the places where fish are most likely to be found. They also have the patience to maneuver toward the tree line when a lure finds an overhead branch instead of a fish.

Each booking is limited to one or two people, allowing the guide to give his clients plenty of individual attention. They also know intuitively, when to let the fishing experience speak for itself.

The guides refer to the Whitewater River as their ‘bread and butter.’ Years spent on the river have given them an intimate knowledge of its changing character. They can tell when an island has shifted 100 yards downstream after the recent flood.

They know the sections that pass through private property and the quiet locations where eagles and other raptors soar overhead. They also know where the walleye are waiting.

Bauer points out that they are true ‘river people’ – they feel protective of the waterways, reporting pollution or problems, and they have even performed some rescues.

Besides the river, the guides can meet you at the hidden tailwaters behind the dam at Brookville Lake. They monitor when the dam is opened to allow cool lake water to flow into the two-mile stretch of tailwaters.

It’s a little-known spot where the Indiana Dept of Natural Resources stocks brown and brook trout but you can also catch bass, sunfish and other cool and warm water species.

For someone who has never tried fishing or for an experienced angler looking for a different kind of day on the water, a guided trip can take away much of the uncertainty and leave more time to enjoy the river.

The upcoming Free Fishing Day on September 26, 2026, sponsored by Indiana Department of Natural Resources, offers another incentive to give a day of fishing a try.

On Indiana's designated free fishing days, Indiana residents can fish the state's public waters without a fishing license or trout/salmon stamp.

So, grab a pole, make a splash, and see what stories the river has waiting.

Little Miami River Outfitters, LLC can be reached at (513)-720-3032. The website is Little Miami River Outfitters - Rafting Guide - Cincinnati, Ohio