The Best Fishing Spots in Ohio
Ohio offers diverse recreational fishing across Lake Erie, the Ohio River, reservoirs and trout streams, with top catches including walleye, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, yellow perch, crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, and trophy species like muskie and northern pike. In coastal Lake Erie areas anglers chase spring and fall runs of steelhead and lake‑run salmon (chinook and coho), while inland rivers and streams hold brown trout and stocked trout. Fishing is productive from shore, by boat, or during winter ice fishing, making Ohio a year‑round recreational destination for many anglers.
Top Cities For Fishing
River Fishing
Lake Fishing
Lake Erie
Top Freshwater Fishing Spots
Buckeye Lake
Rejuvenated Buckeye Lake offers strong numbers of saugeye, crappie, and largemouth bass, with productive trolling lanes along the main ditches, crappie on docks and riprap, and bass around restored habitat near Fairfield Beach and Lieb’s Island .
Senecaville Lake
Senecaville Lake offers a steady bite for crappie, saugeye, and largemouth bass, with productive brush, creek mouths, and channel edges; evening and night fishing can be excellent along lit docks and riprap near Senecaville .
Indian Lake
Indian Lake is a shallow, vegetation-rich reservoir famous for yellow perch, saugeye, and crappie, plus accessible bluegill and largemouth bass; ditches, bridges, and weed edges near Russells Point and Lakeview are perennial producers.
Alum Creek Lake
Alum Creek Lake north of Columbus offers a balanced fishery of smallmouth and largemouth bass, strong crappie schools, and bonus muskellunge, with rocky points, standing timber, and deep breaks around the main basin and the lower end producing year-round.
Berlin Lake
Berlin Lake offers quality crappie, roaming walleye, and good largemouth bass, with spring action in creek arms and summer fish relating to mid-lake humps, submerged timber, and wind-driven points between Deerfield and North Benton .
Conneaut Creek
Conneaut Creek is a clear, well-structured tributary famed for steelhead runs, with productive pocket water, long pools, and lower-river holes near Conneaut ; summer brings light-tackle action for smallmouth bass in rocky riffles and runs.
Lake Erie
The southern shore of Lake Erie is Ohio’s marquee fishery, famous for trophy walleye, abundant yellow perch, and hard-fighting smallmouth bass; spring and fall see peak walleye action from reefs near Port Clinton to deep structure off Geneva-on-the-Lake , while summer trolling and casting shine around the islands near Put-in-Bay and shore casting is popular along piers in Cleveland and Huron .
Grand River
Northeast Ohio’s Grand River draws anglers for migrating steelhead in fall through spring and offers solid summer smallmouth bass; focus on deep bends, gravel runs, and tributary confluences near Painesville and Fairport Harbor .
Hoover Reservoir
Known for excellent crappie and blue catfish plus solid largemouth and smallmouth bass, Hoover Reservoir near Westerville fishes well around timbered coves, drop-offs, and creek channels, with early spring crappie and summer catfish drawing heavy attention.
Leesville Lake
Clear and deep, Leesville Lake is a premier muskellunge fishery with solid crappie and largemouth bass; target steep banks, timbered coves, and main-lake points, with big muskies shadowing bait along breaks near Leesville .
Maumee River
Ohio’s famed Maumee River hosts the celebrated spring walleye run, drawing anglers to wadable gravel bars and deeper seams from Maumee to Perrysburg ; summer brings smallmouth bass and catfish, with productive current breaks, tributary mouths, and eddies downstream toward Toledo .
Mosquito Creek Lake
Northeast Ohio’s Mosquito Creek Lake is renowned for quality walleye and crappie, plus strong largemouth bass and yellow perch populations; target spring crappie in coves and timber, summer walleye on humps and breaks, and fall perch along edges near Cortland .
Piedmont Lake
Scenic Piedmont Lake is known for big muskellunge, solid crappie, and largemouth bass, with clear water and ample wood cover; target creek-channel swings, flooded timber, and rocky banks near Freeport and the lower basin.
Rocky River
The Rocky River near Cleveland is a signature Lake Erie tributary for fall–spring steelhead, with productive pools, riffles, and lower-river holes; summer brings opportunities for smallmouth bass around current seams and rocky stretches.
Salt Fork Lake
Salt Fork Lake features diverse habitat for largemouth bass, crappie, saugeye, and trophy muskellunge; spring crappie stack in coves and timber, while summer bass and muskies work points, weedlines, and offshore structure near Cambridge .
Sandusky Bay
Sandusky Bay is a warm, fertile hotspot for channel catfish, sheepshead, white bass, and seasonal walleye, with spring and early summer producing fast action around grass flats, bridges, and channel edges near Sandusky and Marblehead .
Pymatuning Reservoir
Spanning the Ohio–Pennsylvania line, Pymatuning Reservoir is celebrated for walleye, slab crappie, and plentiful yellow perch; target spring shallows, summer weedlines and humps, and fall breaklines, with good access from the Ohio side near Andover .