Charles Mill Lake fishing: Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Walleye
Target species: Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Walleye, Sauger, Flathead Catfish, Sunshine Bass
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Charles Mill Boat Ramp.
The reservoir
Charles Mill Lake covers 1,359 acres in Ohio, across 2 counties: Richland and Ashland. It is a reservoir: 96.8% of it is 8 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is 27.6 feet (8.4 m); at the dam, USGS RESSED gives 40 feet (12.2 m) at full pool. Our records hold 8 species for this water.
6 target fish, led by Muskellunge
- Muskellunge — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
- Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
- Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
- Sauger — Feeding water: 45–65°F.
- Flathead Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
- Sunshine Bass — Feeding water: 70–80°F. Nonnative.
Also recorded here: White Bass, Common Carp.
Depth: down to 27.6 ft at the deepest measured point
Deepest measured point: 27.6 ft (8.4 m). USGS RESSED gives 40 ft (12.2 m) at the dam at full pool: a measured figure, not a survey map. 96.8% of the water is 8 feet or shallower. We hold 50 depth contours for this water, drawn from 19,523 soundings.
- 0–2 ft: 24.2% of the water
- 2–4 ft: 28.4% of the water
- 4–6 ft: 27.7% of the water
- 6–8 ft: 16.5% of the water
- 8–10 ft: 1.3% of the water
- 10–12 ft: 0.6% of the water
- 12–14 ft: 0.4% of the water
- 14–16 ft: 0.2% of the water
- 16–18 ft: 0.2% of the water
- 18–20 ft: 0.2% of the water
- 20–22 ft: 0.2% of the water
- 22–24 ft: 0.2% of the water
Water and conditions
Water clarity runs 0.7–2.5 feet on our readings, averaging 1.6 feet, from 128 readings. Our water temperature readings average 75°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 48°F and the warmest is 92°F; the warmest monthly average is 78°F. These readings span 2016–2021. The latest reading is from 2021, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.
Stocking: 8,671,129 fish, 1993–2022
Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife records list 8,671,129 fish released into this water from 1993 to 2022. The latest stocking on record is from 2022, more than three years ago.
- Northern Pike: 757,968 in 1971–1978
- Sauger: 196,796 in 1975–1983
- Walleye: 60,000 in 1972–1973
- Flathead Catfish: 15,000 in 1972–1973
- Muskellunge: 1,300 in 1970–1972
4 more species on the stocking list.
2 ramps and launches on this water
On this water we hold 2 boat ramps.
- Charles Mill Boat Ramp — Mansfield, Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. 1277 St Rt 430, Mansfield 44805- · phone (419) 368-4912 · website mwcd.org
- Charles Mill Lake Marina and Ramp — Mansfield, Charles Mill Marina. 1271 State Route 430, Mansfield 44903- · phone (419) 368-6885 · website charlesmillmarina.com
Fee and opening hours are blank for all 2 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.
What is hard here
With 96.8% of the water 8 feet or less, low level turns the flats into hazards. Clarity swings from 0.7 to 2.5 feet between our readings — the water you meet is not the water someone photographed. Only 2 public ramps are on file, so the launch decides where you fish.
Where this data comes from
- Ohio DNR — Ohio DNR: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
- USACE CWMS — USACE CWMS elevation-area curves: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
- USGS RESSED — USGS RESSED reservoir sedimentation database: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
- Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
