Tappan Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Flathead Catfish
Target species: Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Flathead Catfish, Channel Catfish
Boat: 4 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Tappan Fire Station Ramps.
The reservoir
Tappan Lake covers 2,257 acres in Ohio, across Harrison County. It is a reservoir: 93.9% of it is 24 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is 27.8 feet (8.5 m). Our records hold 6 species for this water.
Depth: down to 27.8 ft at the deepest measured point
Deepest measured point: 27.8 ft (8.5 m). 93.9% of the water is 24 feet or shallower. We hold 107 depth contours for this water, drawn from 49,802 soundings.
- 0–2 ft: 7.2% of the water
- 2–4 ft: 6% of the water
- 4–6 ft: 10.7% of the water
- 6–8 ft: 10.2% of the water
- 8–10 ft: 7.6% of the water
- 10–12 ft: 7.9% of the water
- 12–14 ft: 8.5% of the water
- 14–16 ft: 9.9% of the water
- 16–18 ft: 7.2% of the water
- 18–20 ft: 5.3% of the water
- 20–22 ft: 7.5% of the water
- 22–24 ft: 5.9% of the water
- 24–26 ft: 4.9% of the water
- 26–27 ft: 1.4% of the water
4 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass
- Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
- Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
- Flathead Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
- Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
Also recorded here: Sauger, Goldfish.
Water and conditions
Water clarity runs 1.6–2.2 feet on our readings, averaging 1.9 feet, from 54 readings. Our water temperature readings average 77°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 7.9. These readings span 2017–2022. The latest reading is from 2022, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.
Stocking: 17,286,458 fish, 1993–2022
Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife records list 17,286,458 fish released into this water from 1993 to 2022. The latest stocking on record is from 2022, more than three years ago.
- Walleye: 6,270,009 in 1970–1989
- Channel Catfish: 25,000 in 1971–1973
- Flathead Catfish: 10,000 in 1973
- Largemouth Bass: 5,000 in 1973
One more species on the stocking list.
4 ramps and launches on this water
On this water we hold 4 boat ramps.
- Tappan Fire Station Ramps — Scio, Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. 33300 Dennison-Cadiz Road, Scio 43988- · phone (330) 343-6647 · website mwcd.org
- Tappan Lake Park Launch Ramp — Deersville, Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. 8400 Mallernee Rd, Deersville 44693- · phone (740) 922-3649 · website mwcd.org
- Tappan Marina — Scio, Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. 33315 Cadiz-Dennison Road, Scio 43988- · phone (740) 269-2031 · website mwcd.org
- Tappan Route 250 Launch Ramp — Franklin, Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. State Route 250, by Twp Hwy 215, Franklin 43988- · phone (330) 343-6647 · website mwcd.org
Fee and opening hours are blank for all 4 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 4 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.
- 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.
