DISTRICT ONE
“Our sampling results for largemouth bass indicate that in general, we have really good bass populations in District One,” said Rich Carter.

“Knox Lake in Knox County has catch rates that are consistently among the highest in the state.”

Knox Lake covers 495 acres and is northeast of Fredericktown in Knox County off state Route 95. Created in the 1950s by impounding the Kokosing River, the standing trees and brush in the upper lake basin make ideal bass habitat.

“Knox Lake has an 18-inch length limit on bass,” Carter noted. “This resulted in a marked increase in the numbers and size of bass.”

Another excellent central Ohio bass lake is O’Shaughnessy Reservoir. Covering over 1,300 acres in Delaware County, this lake has good numbers of bass in keeper-sized range (12 inches) and an abundance of fish in the 2 1/2- to 3-pound range. This has helped O’Shaughnessy’s anglers to report the highest tournament catch rate of any reservoir in the state.

As for new management projects within this central Ohio region, Carter noted how the ODOW is in the process of working with the Ohio BASS Federation Nation on the Indian Lake Blackbird Basin More Fish Project, and with the Ohio Bass Federation, and their member club the Ohio Valley Bassmasters, on a Spawning Habitat Improvement Partnership (SHIP) at Lake Loramie.

The Lake Loramie SHIP project, being conducted in conjunction with the ODOW’s Wildlife District Five office, involves placement of nesting boxes in the lake to improve spawning habitat for largemouths.

For additional information on the bass-fishing opportunities in the central Ohio region, contact the Wildlife District One office, 1500 Dublin Road, Columbus, OH 43215; or call (614) 644-3925.

DISTRICT TWO
“In the small, warmwater lakes of Lake La Su An, we have some of the highest densities of largemouth bass per acre in the state,” said Larry Goedde, a district fish management supervisor for Ohio’s Division of Wildlife District Two. “It’s not unusual to catch 50 or 60 bass in a day, thanks to an extremely high density of fish.”

Lake La Su An, in the northwest corner of Williams County, is one of several lakes available to bass anglers in the 1,161-acre Lake La Su An Wildlife Area. Additional lakes within this area include Lakes La Vere, Sue, Mel, Us as well as others. These lakes provide top quality bass-fishing opportunities, with several special regulations in effect.

In order to fish the six largest lakes of Lake Lu Su An Wildlife Area, you must make a reservation by calling (419) 636-6189 one week in advance. Reservations are taken on Monday of each week, from 8 a.m. till 12 noon for the following Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

All of the lakes are closed to fishing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and on Mondays that fall on a holiday.