Leesville Lake fishing: Muskellunge, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

Target species: Muskellunge, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Channel Catfish
Boat: 3 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Petersburg Marina.

The reservoir

Leesville Lake covers 945 acres in Ohio, across Carroll County. It is a reservoir: 90.7% of it is 30 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is 42 feet (12.8 m). Our records hold 5 species for this water.

Depth: down to 42 ft at the deepest measured point

Deepest measured point: 42 ft (12.8 m). 90.7% of the water is 30 feet or shallower. We hold 67 depth contours for this water, drawn from 78,596 soundings.

  • 0–3 ft: 5.7% of the water
  • 3–6 ft: 7.1% of the water
  • 6–9 ft: 9.7% of the water
  • 9–12 ft: 13.2% of the water
  • 12–15 ft: 12.1% of the water
  • 15–18 ft: 11.9% of the water
  • 18–21 ft: 7.6% of the water
  • 21–24 ft: 7.9% of the water
  • 24–27 ft: 7.6% of the water
  • 27–30 ft: 7.9% of the water
  • 30–33 ft: 5.7% of the water
  • 33–36 ft: 3.4% of the water
  • 36–39 ft: 0.1% of the water

4 target fish, led by Muskellunge

  • Muskellunge — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.

Also recorded here: Sauger.

Leesville Lake (Ohio).jpg
Roseohioresident · Public domain

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 2.9–6.2 feet on our readings, averaging 4.7 feet, from 72 readings. Our water temperature readings average 77°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 7.6. 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: 4,423,770 fish, 1993–2022

Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife records list 4,423,770 fish released into this water from 1993 to 2022. The latest stocking on record is from 2022, more than three years ago.

  • Walleye: 120,880 in 1970–1983
  • Muskellunge: 114,939 in 2002–2021
  • Channel Catfish: 89,809 in 1974–2021
  • Largemouth Bass: 11,039 in 1970–1971

One more species on the stocking list.

3 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 3 boat ramps.

  • Petersburg Marina — Carrollton, Petersburg Marina. 2126 Azalea Road Southwest, Carrollton 44615- · phone (330) 627-4270 · website petersburgmarina.com
  • South Fork — Bowerston, Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. 4131 Deer Rd. Southwest (on the left just before the Marina ), Bowerston 44695- · phone (330) 343-6647 · website mwcd.org
  • South Fork Marina — Bowerston, South Fork Marina. 4131 Deer Drive Southwest (Drive to the lake), Bowerston 44695- · phone (740) 269-5371

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 3 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

Only 3 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.
  • 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.