[In the player above, watch previous FOX 8 News coverage on Ohio as a tourism destination.]
(WJW) — Looking for the best fishing spot in Ohio for walleye, bass, crappie or other sport fish? Two online data-driven tools new this year can help anglers in Ohio reel them in.
The new Where to Fish tool helps anglers find a spot near them where the fish of their choice is the most abundant, or the biggest. The new Sport Fish Report tool shows the relative abundance of several species of sport fish like walleye and bass.
“The best places to fish are usually kept secret, but not in Ohio,” Lt. Gov. Jon Husted is quoted in a news release. “Now anglers can find out where the fish are through the DataOhio Portal that provides data-driven guidance on the best fishing opportunities across the state. This tool is designed to take you where the fishing is the best, but figuring out how to catch them is still on you.”
Anglers can also submit an Angler Survey on the water bodies they fish and the types of fish they’re looking to catch, and see how fish populations have changed over time at their favorite fishing spot using the Waterbody Report tool.
Here are the most recent statewide averages of the number of fish caught for each species:
- Black crappie: 7.7 caught per net set
- Hybrid-striped bass: 0.9 caught per net hour
- Largemouth bass: 100.2 caught per hour
- Saugeye: 2.7 caught per net hour
- Smallmouth bass: 11.3 caught per hour
- Walleye: 1.1 caught per hour
- White bass: 1.1 caught per hour
- White crappie: 7.3 caught per net set
No data was available in Northeast Ohio’s wildlife district for sauger, spotted bass or yellow perch.
Read on for a breakdown of the fish you’re most likely to catch in the dozens of state fishing spots in Northeast Ohio, ranked by the number of fish caught during surveys in the last two years using the Sport Fish Report tool.
You can also see which fish were the largest and most abundant in each spot in the most recent survey — ranging from “fair” to “excellent” — using the Where to Fish tool.
Aquilla Lake, Geauga County
Size and abundance
- Largemouth bass: Fair size and abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 44 caught per hour in 2022
Atwood Lake, Carroll and Tuscarawas counties
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Good size and abundance
- Saugeye: Fair size, excellent abundance
- Smallmouth bass: Excellent size, fair abundance
- White bass: Fair size and abundance
- White crappie: Fair size, good abundance
Average fish caught
- Saugeye: 7.47 caught per net hour in 2021
- White crappie: 4.53 caught per net set in 2021
- Black crappie: 4.23 caught per net set in 2021
- White bass: 0.4 caught per hour in 2021
Berlin Lake, Mahoning, Portage and Stark counties
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Good size and abundance
- Hybrid-striped bass: Excellent size, fair abundance
- Largemouth bass: Fair size and abundance
- Smallmouth bass: Fair size, excellent abundance
- Walleye: Fair size, excellent abundance
- White bass: Good size and abundance
- White crappie: Good size, excellent abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 27.11 caught per hour in 2022; 24.67 in 2021
- White crappie: 13.03 caught per net set in 2022; 18.68 in 2021
- Black crappie: 8.18 caught per net set in 2022; 22.68 in 2021
- Smallmouth bass: 5.78 caught per hour in 2022; 3.11 in 2021
- White bass: 1.06 caught per hour in 2022; 0.54 in 2021
- Walleye: 0.88 caught per hour in 2022; 0.79 in 2021
- Hybrid-striped bass: 0.42 caught per net hour in 2022; 0.2 in 2021
Chippewa Lake, Medina County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Fair size, excellent abundance
- Largemouth bass: Fair size and abundance
- Saugeye: Good size, excellent abundance
- White crappie: Fair size, excellent abundance
Average fish caught
- Saugeye: 5.13 caught per net hour in 2022
Clendening Lake, Harrison County
Size and abundance
- Largemouth bass: Fair size and abundance
- Saugeye: Fair size, excellent abundance
- White bass: Fair size and abundance
- Good size, excellent abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 39.56 caught per hour in 2022
- White crappie: 10.13 caught per net set in 2022
- Saugeye: 2.39 caught per net hour in 2021
- White bass: 0.32 caught per hour in 2021
Dale Walborn Reservoir, Stark County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Fair size, excellent abundance
- Largemouth bass: Excellent size, fair abundance
- White crappie: Fair size, good abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 25.33 caught per hour in 2021
- Black crappie: 15.1 caught per net set in 2021
- White crappie: 6.15 caught per net set in 2021
Deer Creek Reservoir, Stark County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Fair size, excellent abundance
- Largemouth bass: Good size, fair abundance
- White crappie: Fair size and abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 55.33 caught per hour in 2021
- Black crappie: 12.9 caught per net set in 2021
- White crappie: 3.2 caught per net set in 2021
Guilford Lake, Columbiana County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Fair size, excellent abundance
- Hybrid-striped bass: Fair size, excellent abundance
- Largemouth bass: Fair size and abundance
- White crappie: Fair size and abundance
Average fish caught
- Hybrid-striped bass: 4.64 caught per net hour in 2022
Kirwan Reservoir (West Branch), Portage County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Good size, fair abundance
- Largemouth bass: Fair size and abundance
- Smallmouth bass: Good size, excellent abundance
- Walleye: Fair size, good abundance
- White bass: Fair size, excellent abundance
- White crappie: Good size and abundance
Average fish caught
- White crappie: 3.53 caught per net set in 2022
- Black crappie: 0.93 caught per net set in 2022
LaDue Reservoir, Geauga County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Fair size, excellent abundance
- Largemouth bass: Excellent size, fair abundance
- Saugeye: Excellent size, fair abundance
- Smallmouth bass: Excellent size, fair abundance
- Walleye: Fair size, good abundance
- White crappie: Good size, fair abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 18.22 caught per hour in 2021
- Smallmouth bass: 0.22 caught per hour in 2021
Lake Milton, Mahoning County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Excellent size, good abundance
- Largemouth bass: Good size, fair abundance
- Smallmouth bass: Fair size, excellent abundance
- Walleye: Fair size, excellent abundance
- White bass: Fair size, excellent abundance
- White crappie: Fair size, good abundance
Average fish caught
- Black crappie: 7.07 caught per net set in 2022
- White crappie: 5.37 caught per net set in 2022
Leesville Lake, Carroll County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Excellent size, good abundance
- Largemouth bass: Fair size, good abundance
- Saugeye: Fair size and abundance
- Smallmouth bass: Good size, fair abundance
- White bass: Excellent size, fair abundance
- White crappie: Excellent size, fair abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 89.11 caught per hour in 2022
- Smallmouth bass: 1.56 caught per hour in 2022
Mosquito Creek Lake, Trumbull County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Good size, fair abundance
- Largemouth bass: Good size, fair abundance
- Walleye: Excellent size and abundance
- White bass: Fair size and abundance
- White crappie: Fair size and abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 46.22 caught per hour in 2021
- Black crappie: 2.98 caught per net set in 2021
- White crappie: 2.28 caught per net set in 2021
- Walleye: 1.31 caught per hour in 2022
New Lyme Lake, Ashtabula County
Size and abundance
- Largemouth bass: Fair size, good abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 88 caught per hour in 2021
Ohio River New Cumberland Pool, Ohio-West Virginia border
Average fish caught
- Walleye: 8.09 caught per hour in 2022
Ohio River Pike Island Pool, Ohio-West Virginia border
Average fish caught
- Walleye: 5.15 caught per hour in 2022; 10.29 in 2021
Portage Lakes East Reservoir, Summit County
Size and abundance
- Largemouth bass: Excellent size, good abundance
Portage Lakes Long Lake Channel, Summit County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Fair size, good abundance
- Largemouth bass: Good size and abundance
- White crappie: Excellent size, fair abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 100 caught per hour in 2022
Portage Lakes North Reservoir, Summit County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Fair size, good abundance
- Largemouth bass: Good size and abundance
- White crappie: Fair size, good abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 72.98 caught per hour in 2021
Portage Lakes Turkeyfoot Lake, Summit County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Excellent size, fair abundance
- Largemouth bass: Good size and abundance
- Saugeye: Excellent size, fair abundance
- Walleye: Excellent size, good abundance
- White crappie: Excellent size, fair abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 108.67 caught per hour in 2022
Portage Lakes West Reservoir, Summit County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Excellent size, fair abundance
- Largemouth bass: Excellent size, good abundance
- White crappie: Excellent size, fair abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 112.67 caught per hour in 2022
Punderson Lake, Geauga County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Fair size and abundance
- Largemouth bass: Fair size, excellent abundance
- White crappie: Fair size and abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 201 caught per hour in 2021
Pymatuning Creek, Ashtabula and Trumbull counties
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 26.03 caught per hour in 2021
Pymatuning Lake, Ashtabula County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Good size, fair abundance
- Hybrid-striped bass: Excellent size, fair abundance
- Largemouth bass: Excellent size, fair abundance
- Saugeye: Excellent size, fair abundance
- Smallmouth bass: Fair size, excellent abundance
- Walleye: Fair size, excellent abundance
- White bass: Excellent size, fair abundance
- White crappie: Fair size and abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 20.22 caught per hour in 2022
- Smallmouth bass: 8.89 caught per hour in 2022
- Walleye: 2.42 caught per hour in 2021
- Black crappie: 0.73 caught per net set in 2022
- White crappie: 0.18 caught per net set in 2022
- White bass: 0.07 caught per hour in 2021
- Saugeye: 0.02 caught per net hour in 2021
Spencer Lake, Medina County
Size and abundance
- Largemouth bass: Excellent size, fair abundance
- White crappie: Good size, excellent abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 65 caught per hour in 2021
Tappan Lake, Harrison County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Fair size and abundance
- Largemouth bass: Fair size and abundance
- Saugeye: Good size and abundance
- Smallmouth bass: Good size and abundance
- Walleye: Excellent size, fair abundance
- White bass: Good size and abundance
- White crappie: Good size, excellent abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 59.11 caught per hour in 2021
- Smallmouth bass: 2.67 caught per hour in 2021
- Saugeye: 1.7 caught per net hour in 2022
- White bass: 0.87 caught per hour in 2022
Wellington Upground Reservoir, Lorain County
Size and abundance
- Black crappie: Excellent size, fair abundance
- Smallmouth bass: Fair size, excellent abundance
Wellington Reservoir South, Lorain County
Size and abundance
- Largemouth bass: Fair size and abundance
Average fish caught
- Largemouth bass: 24 caught per hour in 2022