Deepest lakes in Ohio: 6 lakes ranked by depth

Deepest first

1. Alum Creek Lake

At 3,390 acres, Alum Creek Lake is a good-sized lake. You will find it about 15 miles south of Columbus. It is the Alum Creek behind Alum Creek Dam. Like most lakes its size in Ohio, it should hold largemouth bass, walleye, crappie and bluegill. It goes down to about 68 ft. Its bed shows three point drop-offs and two sheltered coves worth a first look. Alum Creek Lake near Columbus is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood-control reservoir completed in 1974.

Alum Creek Lake today: water temperature, bite times and the 3-D lake bed

2. Lake Erie (western basin)

Lake Erie (western basin) covers about 1,052,000 acres. Walleye, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and catfish are the draw. The deepest water is around 62 ft.

Lake Erie (western basin) today: water temperature, bite times and the 3-D lake bed

3. Clear Fork Reservoir

Clear Fork Reservoir spreads over 1,000 acres. The lake is near Lexington. Like most lakes its size in Ohio, it should hold largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish. At about 40 ft at its deepest, it warms quickly in spring. Its bed shows three point drop-offs and two sheltered coves worth a first look. Clear Fork Reservoir, built in 1949, serves as the main drinking-water supply for the city of Mansfield, Ohio.

Clear Fork Reservoir today: water temperature, bite times and the 3-D lake bed

4. Piedmont Lake

Piedmont Lake is a reservoir of 2,270 acres of water. You will find it about 7.3 miles southeast of Bethesda. The usual Ohio mix applies: largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish. It goes down to about 38 ft. The lake bed gives you three point drop-offs and two sheltered coves to work.

Piedmont Lake today: water temperature, bite times and the 3-D lake bed

5. Pleasant Hill Lake

Pleasant Hill Lake is a reservoir of 780 acres of water. The lake is about 4.7 miles east of Loudonville. Pleasant Hill Dam holds it on the Clear Fork of the Mohican River. The usual Ohio mix applies: largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish. At about 35 ft at its deepest, it warms quickly in spring. Its bed shows three point drop-offs worth a first look. Pleasant Hill Lake was formed by a 113-foot earth-fill dam completed in 1936 on the Clear Fork of the Mohican River, between Ashland and Richland counties.

Pleasant Hill Lake today: water temperature, bite times and the 3-D lake bed

6. Mosquito Creek Lake

Mosquito Creek Lake spreads over some 7,850 acres. It lies within an easy drive of Youngstown (about 15 miles). The fish here are catfish, bluegill, crappie and largemouth bass. The deepest water is around 25 ft. On the 3-D map the bed has three point drop-offs and a sheltered cove: good places to start. Mosquito Creek Lake, Ohio's second-largest inland lake, was built in 1944 for flood control, with its northern end set aside as a state wildlife refuge.

Mosquito Creek Lake today: water temperature, bite times and the 3-D lake bed

Fishing deep water

Deep lakes reward slow, vertical fishing: drop a jig or a spoon to the depth where fish show on the sonar and work it right there. In spring and fall the fish come shallow and any method works.