Indian Lake, at 5,800 acres, has what many anglers would call the best saugeye fishing in all of Ohio.

Use of the AEP's land and waters are open to the public by permit only. Permits to access AEP lands may be obtained at any AEP office by logging onto the AEP's Web site or by contacting the ODOW's District Four office at (740) 594-2211.

The AEP lands lie in Morgan, Muskingum and Noble counties nine miles northeast of McConnelsville on state routes 78 and 83.

Ohio River
The District Four section of the Ohio River provides excellent angling for numerous species throughout the winter months.

The best fishing is around warmwater discharges, which attract bass, crappies, bluegills, stripers, white bass, saugers, walleyes and catfish.

The discharges also attract thousands of baitfish in a variety of species. This makes these discharges a prime feeding area for predatory fish.

Ironically, some anglers have excellent success in targeting catfish, both channels and flatheads, in winter on this section of the Ohio and its tributaries. Live bait is necessary for flatheads, while channel catfish may be caught on cut bait, chicken livers, stinkbaits and live bait.

For more information on fishing the Ohio River this winter, contact the ODOW's District Four office at (740) 594-2211.

DISTRICT FIVE
District Five is certainly the hardest portion of the state in which to identify the top ice-fishing hotspots. After interviewing numerous biologists, the general consensus was the same: The majority of winter fishing is done on open water. In the past 10 years, the only two lakes that have had safe ice to fish have been Grand Lake St. Marys and Lake Loramie.

The best winter fishing opportunities that anglers can count on will be found in the following top-rated winter lakes: