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Alum Creek Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Columbus’ striper lake: Alum Creek holds saugeye, hybrid stripers and bass north of the city.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
41 cfs
Air / High
82 / 84 F
Wind
ESE 6 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03228750, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Alum Creek Lake stays in its summer rhythm: early magic, midday siesta, evening reprieve. The river is running 41 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind ESE around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 84. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassGood

Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 82 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Alum Creek near Kilbourne (inflow).

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03228750.

11632353041 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp82 F
High / Low84 / 70 F
WindESE 6-7 mph
Pressure1013.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain12% cloud, 22%
Sunrise / Sunset07:02 / 19:59
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 84/70 F, wind 14 mph, rain 22%

Fair or better. A 14 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Alum Creek Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

When to come: the Alum Creek Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Alum Creek Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 94 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 92 F, wind to 10 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 88 F, wind to 14 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Ohio requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Ohio license. Saugeye, hybrid striped bass and bass limits per current ODNR regulations.

Access

Corps and Alum Creek State Park ramps, campgrounds, beaches and shoreline access.

About this water

A 3,300-acre Corps flood-control reservoir on Alum Creek north of Columbus, Delaware County, Ohio.

Fishing Alum Creek Lake: the full guide

A Corps lake near the capital

Alum Creek Lake covers about 3,300 acres on Alum Creek north of Columbus, a Corps flood-control reservoir that has become central Ohio’s busiest fishing water. Ohio stocks it heavily: saugeye and hybrid striped bass join largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, channel catfish and bluegill in water that runs moderately clear over clay and rock.

Saugeye and hybrids

Saugeye hold the riprap, points and channel edges: jerkbaits and jigs at dusk from fall through spring, with the cold months producing best. Hybrid striped bass school over the open water chasing shad, providing surface action at dawn in summer and fall on slabs and swimbaits. Both fisheries depend on stocking and are actively managed.

Bass and crappie

Largemouth relate to the timber, brush and shoreline cover, smallmouth to the rockier points and riprap. Crappie stack the brush and marina structure, best in spring. The lake is heavily fished given the Columbus proximity, so dawn, dusk and weekdays produce noticeably better than summer weekend afternoons.

Delaware County logistics

Corps and state park ramps, campgrounds and beaches ring the lake, with extensive shoreline and trail access. Horsepower is unrestricted, and summer brings heavy recreational traffic including sailing and skiing. Columbus is 20 minutes south, and Delaware and Westerville provide services.

Common questions

What is a saugeye?

A walleye-sauger hybrid stocked widely in Ohio reservoirs: it bites well in cold water and thrives in stained lakes.

When is the saugeye bite?

Fall through spring at dusk on the riprap and points: the colder months are clearly better.

How busy is it?

Very, in summer: it is central Ohio’s main recreation lake. Dawn, dusk and weekdays are far better for fishing.

Is fishing good at Alum Creek Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Hoover Reservoir7 miBuckeye Lake33 miDeer Creek Lake42 miIndian Lake52 miCaesar Creek Lake75 miHuron River80 mi
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