Kiser Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, Walleye

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, Walleye, Channel Catfish, Yellow Perch, Sunshine Bass
Boat: 6 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Kiser Lake State Park - Grandview Heights.

The reservoir

Kiser Lake covers 393 acres in Ohio, across Champaign County. It is a reservoir: 98.2% of it is 10 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is 12.4 feet (3.8 m); at the dam, USGS RESSED gives 17 feet (5.2 m) at full pool. Our records hold 8 species for this water.

6 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Striped Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.
  • Sunshine Bass — Feeding water: 70–80°F. Nonnative.

Also recorded here: Sauger, Common Carp.

Kiser Lake from the south.jpg
Nyttend · Public domain

Depth: down to 12.4 ft at the deepest measured point

Deepest measured point: 12.4 ft (3.8 m). USGS RESSED gives 17 ft (5.2 m) at the dam at full pool: a measured figure, not a survey map. 98.2% of the water is 10 feet or shallower. We hold 27 depth contours for this water, drawn from 5,548 soundings.

  • 0–2 ft: 8.6% of the water
  • 2–3 ft: 7.6% of the water
  • 3–4 ft: 9.1% of the water
  • 4–5 ft: 9.9% of the water
  • 5–6 ft: 10.6% of the water
  • 6–7 ft: 11.9% of the water
  • 7–8 ft: 13.5% of the water
  • 8–9 ft: 17.5% of the water
  • 9–10 ft: 9.5% of the water
  • 10–11 ft: 1.9% of the water

Stocking: 1,382,546 fish, 1992–2022

Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife records list 1,382,546 fish released into this water from 1992 to 2022. The latest stocking on record is from 2022, more than three years ago.

  • Yellow Perch: 563,934 in 2019–2022
  • Channel Catfish: 151,971 in 1971–2021
  • Striped Bass: 128,033 in 2005–2009
  • Walleye: 125,370 in 1970–1983
  • Largemouth Bass: 8,618 in 1971–1973

3 more species on the stocking list.

6 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 6 boat ramps.

  • Kiser Lake State Park - Grandview Heights — Saint Paris, ODNR Division of Parks and Recreation. off Park Street / High, Saint Paris 43072- · phone (937) 322-5284 · website parks.ohiodnr.gov
  • Kiser Lake State Park - Launch Ramp — Conover, ODNR Division of Parks & Recreation. 4889 N. State Route 235, Conover 45317- · phone (937) 322-5284 · website parks.ohiodnr.gov
  • Kiser Lake State Park - Nature Center Ramp — Rosewood, Ohio Division of Parks and Recreation. Kiser Lake Rd (County Road 19), Rosewood 43070- · phone (937) 322-5284 · website parks.ohiodnr.gov
  • Kiser Lake State Park - Sailing Club — Rosewood, Ohio Division of Parks and Recreation. off State Route 235, Rosewood 43070- · phone (937) 322-5284 · website parks.ohiodnr.gov
  • Kiser Lake State Park Marina — Saint Paris, ODNR Division of Parks & Recreation. Kiser Lake Road (County Road 19), Saint Paris 43072- · phone (937) 322-5284 · website parks.ohiodnr.gov
  • North of Campground/ Nature Center — Saint Paris, ODNR Division of Parks Recreation. Kiser Lake Road, Saint Paris 43072- · phone (937) 322-5284 · website parks.ohiodnr.gov

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 6 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.

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 69°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 7.9. These readings span 2017. The latest reading is from 2017, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.

What is hard here

With 98.2% of the water 10 feet or less, low level turns the flats into hazards.

Where this data comes from

  • Ohio DNR — Ohio DNR: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • USGS RESSED — USGS RESSED reservoir sedimentation database: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
  • EPA NLA — EPA National Lakes Assessment: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map, 2007.
  • 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.