Fishing Report For Deer Creek Lake, OH

By Rick Seaman

May 8, 2025

Popular Fish Species Reports
Deer Creek Lake Fishing Video
Available Fish Species
Today's Weather & Forecast
Boat Launch Ramps
Marinas
Fishing License
Map
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Fishing Report Deer Creek Lake, OH

Fishing Reports

Popular Fish Species Deer Creek Lake, OH

Black Crappie - White Crappie

Current Report: Very Good To Excellent
Outlook: Very Good

Crappie are finishing up their spawn cycle and moving a bit deeper as the shallows warm. There is a very healthy population of big crappie here, and catching a limit is often easy. Early Spring was the premiere time to be on the water as these crappie move shallow to spawn. They were nesting in 3 to 6 feet of water. Now, brush piles, wood and vegetation are the best place to cast small crappie jigs or live minnows, in 10' to 15' of water. Light tackle with 4 lb to 8 lb line is ideal. The lake level is low, which concentrates crappie in the main lake area. Local anglers are reporting good success using fish finders and forward facing sonar to locate schools of crappie, which tend to stack vertically around cover.

Largemouth Bass

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good

Largemouth are the dominant bass species here, but the smallmouth fishing is pretty good too. Nice largemouth bass are being caught around any rocky shorelines with a wide variety of lures. Texas-style worms and wacky-style stick worms are catching some nice fish, as are spinnerbaits. Jerkbaits were good through the winter, and still catch some nice fish over the top of deeper structure.

Bluegill

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good

Bluegill here will be spawning over the next six week or so, where you'll find them in shallow water nearby cover. They are one of the primary food sources for bass, catfish and saugeye in Deer Creek Lake. As a sport fish, they are fun for all ages, and make excellent table fare. Local anglers report good size bluegill being caught with some frequency. Small pieces of nightcrawlers make an ideal bait, on a small hook tied to light line. Add a bobber to set the depth and you're in business.

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, channel catfish, black crappie, white crappie, bluegill, white bass and saugeye at Deer Creek Lake in Ohio.

Fishing Video

Deer Creek Lake is a 1,300-acre lake with about 15 miles of shoreline. It is located in Deer Creek State Park and features great fishing for largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, saugeye, white bass and catfish.

Primary fish species to catch

Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.

Today's Weather & Forecast

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".