Chippewa Lake has a lot to offer despite its small size

For 100 years, the tiny village of Chippewa Lake in Medina County was the place to be during the summer, with an amusement park, which opened in 1878, attracting visitors from far and wide.

But, time caught up with the park, and the owners closed it down in 1978 when a lack of attendance made it impossible to make a go of it anymore. While the amusement park is gone, the lake is still there, just as it has been for 14,000 years, and through a lot of work, it has turned into a nice little fishing destination.

Chippewa Lake is a 325-acre body of water just north of the truck stops at the intersection of I-71 and U.S. Route 224. Considered one of the largest natural inland lakes in Ohio, it was formed when glacial ice melted thousands of years ago. And while those who live in the small village have always enjoyed boating and fishing on Chippewa Lake, it wasn't easily accessible to the public until the Medina County Parks District acquired ownership of the lake in 2007 (then the amusement park land in 2020), and later put in the boat launch on Westfield Landing Road.

I was one of those boaters who took advantage of the new ramp at Chippewa Lake and tried fishing it back in the day. Earlier this month, I was back there again, and I have to say either I'm a better fisherman now, or the fishing has gotten better (I think a little of both).

Easy catchings: Largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie, and white perch, too

While there are reports of all kinds of fish swimming in Chippewa Lake, including bowfin, pike, channel catfish and yellow perch, I can safely say that without much effort, one can easily catch largemouth bass, bluegill and crappie. Another fish in abundance is perch, but not yellow perch. Instead, Chippewa Lake is loaded with white perch, and they're easily caught on a worm under a bobber just about anywhere on the lake.

For the day, I caught the four species mentioned on six different presentations (worm and bobber, drop shot, weedless Senko, crankbait, jig and twister tail and Ned Rig).

Chippewa Lake also has a pair of some of the most photogenic bald eagles that you'll see in Ohio, as they can be seen flying overhead often, and hang out on dead branches close to the water where they don't seem to be spooked by passing fishermen.

Lake is known for skiing, with slalom course on west side

There's probably a good reason for that, because Chippewa Lake is known as a ski lake, and in fact has a slalom course set up on the west side of the lake. The eagles are used to speeding boat traffic, and for that reason, summer weekends and evenings may not be the best time to fish Chippewa Lake or get in your daily paddle. Instead, try weekdays and early mornings as they are usually a safer bet.

On my recent trip to Chippewa Lake, it started with a doe and her two fawns grazing on the grass as I pulled into the boat launch, and included plenty of good bird sightings, including eagles, osprey, great blue and green herons, belted kingfisher, eastern kingbirds, purple martins and swallows and a lot of the other usual suspects.

The deepest part of Chippewa Lake is 24-feet, but most of the lake is between 12-15 feet. On the eastern shore of Chippewa Lake is the small village and a fair number of community docks. It's shallow and weedy there, and it’s a good place to fish for bluegill and white perch. The rest of the lake is pretty much lined with thick lily pads. If you're good a flipping and pitching, you'll be able to pull some quality largemouth bass out of the pads, but come prepared with some heavy equipment as the edges have been beat up pretty good, and you'll need to go back into the thick stuff for the best success.

Growing number of saugeye fishermen

What I discovered about the rest of the lake is that it's easy to catch white perch and crappie anywhere. In fact, on a summer morning you'll find several boats out in the middle wetting a line. Most are crappie fishing, but there's also a growing number of saugeye fishermen since the Ohio Division of Wildlife began stocking the sauger-walleye hybrid in Chippewa Lake.

In 2011, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources entered into an agreement with the Medina County Park District to take over fish management duties on Chippewa Lake, and one of the first things the state did was to begin stocking saugeye.

Because Chippewa Lake is a destination for ski boats and jet skis, it's no problem putting a bass boat with a 250-HP engine on the lake, but at 325 acres, there is certainly no need for such a setup. The lake is perfect for kayaks and canoes, boats with 9.9-HP engines or just electric trolling motors. I fished the entire lake without ever firing up my boat engine. But, just know there is a horsepower limit on the lake as no boat is allowed with more than a 399-HP engine.

So, if you're looking for a place to fish for the morning or only a few hours, and don't want to make the long haul to Lake Erie or some of Ohio's other famous inland fishing destinations, Chippewa Lake just might be the perfect location. It might be small in size, but it has a lot to offer.

Outdoor correspondent Art Holden can be reached at letsplabal@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Medina County's Chippewa Lake a smallish option for big fishing