Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife celebrated Ohio’s incredible inland fishing during the Governor’s Inland Fish Ohio Day.
This year’s event was held at Indian Lake State Park in Logan County.
DeWine says there is something special about Indian Lake and the people who come here and live here.
Indian Lake and Indian Lake State Park are popular destinations for fishing, camping, boating, hunting, birding, and more.
It has more than 5,100 acres of water and is considered the top location in the state to catch a Fish Ohio qualifying saugeye (longer than 21 inches), with 170 reported from this location in 2024.
Indian Lake’s shallow waters are an ideal habitat for saugeye and support strong abundances and sizes of bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, largemouth bass, and white bass.
Travis Runnels is a fisheries biologist with ODNR and says there are some good, bad, and ugly things to say about the weeds currently affecting Indian Lake.
“The Division of Wildlife will stock approximately 2.5 million saugeye in Indian Lake this year to contribute to the future of this top-notch fishery,” said ODNR Division of Wildlife Chief Kendra Wecker. “Saugeye are the most stocked fish in Ohio, with around 15 million stocked across the state. Last year, the Division of Wildlife’s six state fish hatcheries stocked 46 million fish of 11 different species statewide.”
For the First Lady of Ohio, Fran DeWine, this was her favorite part of the Fish Ohio event.
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Anglers who travel to inland waters such as Indian Lake support the economies in those regions.
Anglers generated $5.5 billion in economic spending in Ohio in 2022, according to a report released by the Wildlife Management Institute, Responsive Management, and Southwick Associates.
The research found that 18% of Ohio’s adults, about 1.7 million individuals, participate in fishing.
Governor’s Inland Fish Ohio Day was coordinated by ODNR’s Division of Wildlife and its Ohio State Parks and Watercraft division.
