← Ohio fishing maps

Best saugeye lakes in Ohio

74 Ohio waters list saugeye (official records or labelled estimates), 72 mapped with survey or official-chart depth data. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality, leading with the waters in our reviewed search catalog — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Walleye × sauger hybrid stocked across midwestern reservoirs. Loves stained water, wind-blown mud lines and dam riprap — bites better in daylight than a walleye.

1. Salt Fork Lake — 36 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #1: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 8 public access sites
2. Muskingum River — 30 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, SaugeyeWhy #2: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 26 public access sites, 9 carry-in or shore-oriented
3. Grand Lake St. Marys — 14 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 7 public access sites
4. Piedmont Lake — 32 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Saugeye, CrappieWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
5. Alum Creek Lake — 63 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Saugeye, CrappieWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 8 public access sites, 3 carry-in or shore-oriented
6. Seneca Lake — 22 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
7. Tappan Lake — 28 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Saugeye, CrappieWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
8. Paint Creek Lake — 42 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 4 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
9. Caesar Creek Lake — 119 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 6 public access sites
10. Clendening Lake — 36 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
11. Indian Lake — 13 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, White Bass, Saugeye, CrappieWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 6 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
12. Buckeye Lake — 16 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #12: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 7 public access sites
13. Hoover Reservoir — 69 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #13: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 5 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
14. East Fork Lake (Harsha Lake) — 105 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Saugeye, CrappieWhy #14: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 7 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
15. Scioto River — 25 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Saugeye, Channel CatfishWhy #15: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 12 public access sites, 8 carry-in or shore-oriented
16. Dillon Lake — 32 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #16: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 5 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
17. Atwood Lake — 33 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #17: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
18. Lake Loramie — 8 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #18: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 6 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
19. O'Shaughnessy Reservoir — 49 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #19: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 4 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
20. Rocky Fork Lake — 43 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #20: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 6 public access sites
21. Delaware Lake — 33 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #21: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 4 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
22. Portage Lakes (Turkeyfoot) — 61 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Saugeye, CrappieWhy #22: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
23. Deer Creek Lake — 39 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #23: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
24. Charles Mill Lake — 28 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #24: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
25. Pleasant Hill Lake — 40 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Saugeye, CrappieWhy #25: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site

…plus 49 more Ohio waters holding saugeye.

Find the closest saugeye waters to you →

When to fish saugeye in Ohio

• Spring 3–12 ft — Stack below dams, on riprap and gravel shoals as water warms; muddy water is your friend.
• Summer 8–22 ft — Shallower than walleye all summer — fish the first breakline and wind-blown points.
• Fall 8–28 ft — Creek-channel edges and dam faces; the colder it gets, the better the daytime bite.
• Winter 12–30 ft — The premier winter bite in saugeye reservoirs — deep channel bends and tailwaters.

Also in Ohio: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best sauger lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish 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

Saugeye elsewhere: Nebraska · Oklahoma · Colorado · Illinois · Kansas