MIDWEST & OHIO VALLEY LAKES FISHING MAP

Fishing Hot Spots

Walleye on the plains, crappie and muskie in the Corn Belt, and stripers, trout and smallmouth from Kentucky to West Virginia. Tap any star or dot to see what it is and what to fish there.

More map layers

Fishing & access

Marine chart layers

Parks & rules

Data rule: Lake stars are the OpenStreetMap center of the named lake, and the river stars are OpenStreetMap town positions; these are general positions, not pinpoints, and each star says so. Boat ramps and marinas come from OpenStreetMap, and the parks and wildlife areas come from the World Database on Protected Areas, shown in dashed red. Every star shows its source when you tap it. BigJoe does not invent coordinates.
Select a Fishing Hot Spot on the map or from the list below.
★ Fishing Hot SpotBoat rampMarinaWreckObstructionRock (yellow = awash)Coral / rock bottomCanyonWeather/tide stationNo-fishing zone (solid red)Protected area, fishing with rules (dashed red)

Safety: these are planning references. Use current official charts, weather and marine alerts and proper safety equipment before heading out.

Lake guides for this map

Month-by-month patterns, fish, ramps and rules for each water:

📘 Ohio River & Cumberland River📘 Cumberland River Tailwater (Wolf Creek Dam, Kentucky)

All fishing guides →

Fishing Hot Spots by area

Lakes and rivers. Tap one to fly to it on the map.

Walleye, crappie and tailwater trout

Out on the plains, the big reservoirs, like McConaughy in Nebraska, Lewis and Clark on the Missouri, and Milford in Kansas, are walleye and white bass water, and Iowa's glacial Okoboji lakes add smallmouth and muskie.

In Illinois and Indiana, Shelbyville, Rend and Monroe are crappie and bass lakes, and the Illinois River at Peoria has walleye and sauger. Further east, Lake Cumberland has striped bass, the Cumberland River below Wolf Creek Dam holds trophy trout, and the New River Gorge is famous for smallmouth.

Rules: each state sells its own license. Check the state rules before you go.

BigJoe’s gear for Midwest & Ohio Valley Lakes

What BigJoe would bring to fish these waters.

Rod7 ft medium-heavy spinning rodShop on Amazon ↗Reel5000 sealed saltwater spinning reelShop on Amazon ↗Line30 lb braidShop on Amazon ↗TrollingSkirted trolling lures for mahi & wahooShop on Amazon ↗Jigs1 oz bucktail jigs for the reefShop on Amazon ↗RigSnapper bottom rigsShop on Amazon ↗TopwaterSaltwater poppers for jacks & barracudaShop on Amazon ↗SunglassesPolarized fishing sunglassesShop on Amazon ↗

As an Amazon Associate, BigJoe earns from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra and helps keep these maps free.

Species GuidesFish found in these waters.Weather & TidesCheck the ocean before you go.All Hot Spots mapsThe Caribbean, the U.S., Canada, South America and the Pacific.