Wildlife & Fishing

We have a lot of bluebirds because we have meadows and a lot of hollow nesting trees. The last two years we have seen a big increase in mockingbirds and enjoy their long imitating concert.

You will also see numerous wild turkeys.

There has been a nesting pair of bald eagles at the lake the last three years.

Other birds we've seen are orioles, hummingbirds, yellow warblers, indigo buntings, ruffled grouse, pileated woodpeckers, woodcocks, red-tailed hawks, and turkey vultures.

Animals

The white-tailed deer population is healthy and you're sure to see some in the morning and evening browsing near the cabins.

This past winter, there were more bobcat sightings then anyone can remember. You may hear one scream at night. Coyotes are also heard at night but seldom seen. Hiking our woods you will most likely see gray, fox and red squirrels.

The most exciting new animals that we saw this winter are the fishers. They are in the weasel family, but are about the size of a fox, are mostly jet black, and are very beautiful. A mating pair was first seen in February of '04, and the male has been seen numerous times hunting alone. We hope they have some kits in a den tree. Fishers were extirpated in Ohio in the 1850's due to over-hunting and loss of habitat, so we're glad they are back as a native predator species. Fishers were re-introduced to West Virginia with Canadian breeding stock in 1969 and in Pennsylvania in the 1990's so ours may have come west across the Ohio River. Welcome back!

None of the above animals are dangerous to humans and will do everything to avoid contact with you.

Fishing

Fishing is excellent at Seneca Lake. You can expect to catch largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, perch, blugill, walleye, saugeye, pike, several kinds of catfish, and even striped bass. Seneca has a 299 hp. limit on boats. Boat & jet ski rentals are available at the Marina (740) 685-5831. A State Fish Hatchery is just below the dam and may have a lot to do with the great fishing here.

We often see striped bass in the 14-20 lb. range caught during the season, and we have monster catfish. Shovelheads of 50 lb. plus are caught here every summer. (Tip: spiderwire and chicken livers.)

View a fishing map of Seneca Lake courtesy of the State of Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

This year so far has been very good fishing for saugeye, walleye, crappie and largemouth bass. Check with the MWCD Rangers, Seneca Bait Store or The Dam Bait Store for the latest reports.

Salt Fork Lake is 20 minutes away and also has excellent walleye and record muskies.

Wolf Run Lake is 15 minutes south, has a 10 hp. limit, is very deep and stocked every spring with rainbow trout. Bring your canoe and flyrod.