Grover Cleveland Enjoyed Fishing in Ohio

An often forgotten President, who is the subject of a recent book (available at the Sandusky Library), Grover Cleveland enjoyed fishing in several spots across the United States, during and after his terms as U.S. President. The Sandusky Star Journal of September 11, 1926 reported that during his administration, President Cleveland “sought refuge from the affairs of state by fishing in the streams fed by the cold waters from the mysterious ‘Blue Hole’ of Castalia,” as a member of the Castalia Trout Club.

A trout stream at the Blue Hole circa 1940

An article in the May 10, 1956 issue of the New York Times reported about a time that Ex-President Cleveland had arrived in Sandusky, Ohio to spend several days fishing at Middle Bass Island. Accompanying President Cleveland were Professor John Lloyd, Judson Harmon, and Charles Foster, former Secretary of the Treasury.

In 1906, the former President wrote a book called Fishing and Shooting Sketches; this book is available in full text at the Internet Archive.

One of the chapters in the book was “A Defense of Fishermen.”

To learn more about the history of Castalia, read Glenn Kuebeler’s book Castalia, Cold Creek, and the Blue Hole (Arcadia Publishing, 2007.)