Fishing Report For Buckeye Lake, OH

By Rick Seaman

February 13, 2025

Popular Fish Species Reports
Buckeye Lake Fishing Video
Available Fish Species
Today's Weather & Forecast
Fishing Boat Rentals
Marinas
Boat Launch Ramps
Fishing License
Map
Contact Info

Fishing Report Buckeye Lake, OH

Fishing Reports

Popular Fish Species Buckeye Lake, OH

Saugeye

Uncle Buck's Panfish Creatures Curly Tail Minnow Rigged

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Very Good To Excellent

Buckeye Lake is considered the top producing lake in Ohio for quality saugeye. They prefer cold water and primarily feed close to the bottom on baitfish and small sunfish. Locals report using live minnows on jig heads with good success, especially when ice fishing. The flats around Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve are a good place to start your search for quality saugeye, over 20 inches long. Spoons, deep-diving crankbaits, and worm harness spinners are also catching saugeye while trolling.

Hybrid Striped Bass

Current Report: Fair To Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good

The primary food source for hybrid stripers here at Buckeye Lake is gizzard shad. Using live bait or lures that imitate the shad have been producing decent catches lately. Swimbaits, jerkbaits, crankbaits, spoons, nightcrawlers and cut bait are all effective here. The deeper regions of this shallow lake are reported to produce the most consist ant results. Use electronics and fish finders to locate both bait and wipers.

Largemouth Bass

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good

Boat docks and rip-rap shoreline are favorite hangouts for bass here. Vegetation also draws largemouth bass as baitfish also like the shade and hiding places there. A good number of bass tournaments are held here annually, and bag weights are typically smaller than other lakes in the state, as the average bass run small. Tournament anglers report good success with crankbaits on tip-rap and stick worms around docks and vegetation.

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, black crappie, white crappie, bluegill, white bass, hybrid striped bass and saugeye at Buckeye Lake in Ohio.

Buckeye Lake is a 2,800-acre lake, in the central part of the state. Much of the lake is shallow (use caution), yet it yields nice stringers of bass, saugeye, crappie, catfish, white bass and hybrid stripers. Rip rap rock lines much of the 37 miles of shoreline. Saugeye and bluegill are popular targets when ice fishing in winter.

Primary fish species to catch

Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.

Today's Weather & Forecast

Fishing Boat Rentals

Click here for fishing boat rentals available at this lake.

Public Boat Launch Ramps & Landings

Click here for boat ramps available at this lake.

Marinas

Click here for marinas available at this lake.

Fishing License

Click here for a Ohio Fishing License.

Map - Fishing & Access

Rick Seaman is a fishing enthusiast with over five decades of fishing experience, a retired tournament fisherman, author of numerous published articles on fishing, and co-author of the book "Bass Fishing - It's not WHAT you throw, It's WHERE you throw it".