See every public fishing venue in Ohio on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
Scioto River is a public river in Ross County, Hardin County, Pickaway County, Franklin County, Pike County and Marion County, Ohio, managed by State of Ohio (public-trust water). You can fish it on an Ohio licence, but bank access is only at road crossings, parks, ODNR access sites and other public land; riparian owners control the bank on non-navigable reaches. Public access confirmed via marquee water.
Central Ohio's big river — smallmouth and largemouth bass, channel and flathead catfish, sauger and hybrid striped bass in the lower river below Columbus, and a spring saugeye/white-bass run below the O'Shaughnessy and Griggs dams.
It runs roughly 218 miles through the Southeast Ohio region. Anglers here mostly fish for smallmouth bass, rock bass, channel catfish, sauger; muskellunge, flathead catfish, largemouth bass are also on record. Live flow and gauge height come from the Scioto River at Chillicothe OH USGS station shown below. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Spring Lake and Wellington Upground Reservoir.
Species from Ohio DNR fish-management and public-access data.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in Ohio. Some state-park lakes, city reservoirs and MWCD lakes have posted hours or seasonal closures, and a few beaches close at dusk — check the property rules for this water.
Boats: Horsepower and speed limits are set per lake in Ohio — many are 10 hp, electric-motor-only or no-wake, while the big Corps and border reservoirs are unlimited. MWCD lakes need their own launch permit. Check the ODNR listing for this water.
Bank & bivvy camping: Camp at Ohio state parks (reserve ahead), the MWCD lake campgrounds, Corps campgrounds and AEP ReCreation Land (free permit). Dispersed bank camping is not permitted on ODNR wildlife areas — they are day-use for fishing.
Tackle: Statewide daily limits: 6 black bass, 6 walleye/saugeye (4 on Lake Erie in most zones), 30 crappie, 4 muskellunge (1) — many lakes have their own bass slot or length limits. Lake Erie has its own regulation booklet. Check the current Ohio fishing regulations for this water.
Boat ramps: 12 mapped — Boat ramp, Kayak Launch, Boat ramp, Boat ramp, Boat ramp, Boat ramp and others nearby.
Camping: 3 sites mapped nearby — Rockwater Campground, Campsite, Bear Creek Campground.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors.
Loading live flow & gauge height…
Live from USGS gauge 03231500 — Scioto River at Chillicothe OH. Full gauge data →
Anyone 16 or older needs an Ohio fishing licence — resident annual is about $25, non-resident annual about $51, and 1-day and 3-day licences are also sold. There is no separate trout stamp. Buy online or in the HuntFish OH app from the Ohio Division of Wildlife. An Ohio fishing licence covers public rivers and the whole Ohio side of the Ohio River. Bank access is only at road crossings, parks, and public land — Ohio's riparian owners control the bank on non-navigable stretches.
Every water carries species, bank & boat access, current regulations and live water conditions — and members get Swim Mapper, Catch Logger and Trip Planner. It's the only US map with a dedicated carp-water layer.
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