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Best channel catfish lakes in Ohio

120 Ohio waters hold channel catfish, 103 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Scent-driven bottom feeder. Holes, channels and inflows — best after dark.

1. Lake Erie — Central Basin West — 77 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Channel Catfish
2. Lake Erie — Central Basin East — 92 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Channel Catfish
3. Lake Erie — Western Basin — 48 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Channel Catfish
4. Great Miami River — 15 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish
5. Pymatuning Reservoir — 33 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie, Bluegill
6. Berlin Lake — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie, Bluegill
7. Salt Fork Lake — 36 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Bluegill
8. Grand Lake St. Marys — 14 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Bluegill
9. Muskingum River — 30 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Saugeye, Channel Catfish
10. Little Miami River — 12 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
11. Piedmont Lake — 32 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Bluegill
12. Alum Creek Lake — 63 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie
13. Maumee River — 20 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Channel Catfish, White Bass & Hybrids
14. Lake Erie — Sandusky Bay — 19 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Crappie
15. Seneca Lake — 22 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Bluegill
16. Tappan Lake — 28 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Bluegill
17. Paint Creek Lake — 42 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Bluegill
18. Caesar Creek Lake — 119 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Bluegill
19. Clendening Lake — 36 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Bluegill
20. Indian Lake — 13 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, White Bass, Saugeye, Crappie
21. Buckeye Lake — 16 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Bluegill
22. Mosquito Creek Lake — 26 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
23. Ohio River — Markland Pool — 60 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Sauger, Crappie
24. Hoover Reservoir — 69 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Bluegill
25. East Fork Lake (Harsha Lake) — 105 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie

…plus 95 more Ohio waters holding channel catfish.

When to fish channel catfish in Ohio

• Spring 3–12 ft — Warm inflows and shallow mud flats after rain.
• Summer 8–25 ft — Deep holes by day; cats roam shallow flats to feed at night.
• Fall 10–30 ft — Fish concentrate in river/creek channels and deeper holes.
• Winter 20–40 ft — Stacked in the deepest holes; slow natural baits.

Also in Ohio: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best saugeye lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best muskellunge lakes · best white bass & hybrids lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best flathead catfish lakes · best blue catfish lakes · best freshwater drum lakes · best common carp lakes · best steelhead lakes · best rock bass lakes

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