# AEP Float Tube Manifesto



## thedon255

Hey everyone, my names Don and Im an avid (read: obsessed) float tuber. Ive gotten multiple PMs from people about float tubing and the AEP Ponds so I figured Id list some thoughts and tips on the subject. Feel free to post comments and add anything else you think I mightve missed.

	Get a U-tube instead of a belly tube. Nothing against the belly tubes, Ive never even used one actually, but from what Ive read and seen of the two types, I vastly prefer the so-called U-tube. I use a Trout Unlimited Togiak. You set higher above the water (very useful) and you can paddle faster into the wind with a U-tube. Theres also more storage available and because your feet arent sticking as far into the water, you can go through much shallower water. Also, with a belly tube, you need to put your fins on while on land but with a U-tube, you can do it after youre in the water. However, belly tubes do generally run much cheaper than U-tubes, often $50 compared to $100+. Anyone with a belly tube, Id love to hear why you got one and what you like about it over a U-tube.
	Use breathable waders, even during midsummer. I prefer to keep all the weeds, sticks, and mud away from my bare legs and I like the convenience of just striping the waders off and jumping into the car without having to use a towel. Plus, youll be float tubing months earlier and later than those who only go wet wading with their float tubes.
	Dont overpack. You may feel tempted to try to take your entire tackle box. All fishermen feel that way. The idea of needing, but not having, that one specific lure that you _know _will instantly catch a hundred fish haunts us all. Just bring your favorites, perhaps a couple of each type, and youll be just fine. You dont need every single color and weight combination you own. Also, along with the lures and tackle, I always pack a bottle of water, a granola bar or apple, and sunscreen.
	Get fins specifically for float tubes. Ive heard (but havent tried) that diving or other swimming fins dont work as well. Float tube fins are generally stiffer and shorter for increased maneuverability.
	Have a PFD. Admittedly, I may not always wear mine, especially if Im backpacking to some small pond, but if youre fishing any body of water with boats or if its still in your first dozen trips with a float tube, use a PFD.
	I like to have two rods with me with the extra one lying in front of me. One of them is for heavier lures and the other is an UL, which Id highly recommend getting. An 8 inch bluegill on an UL while in a float tube is a lot of fun.
	Wind is evil! Even the lightest breeze is a continuous nuisance but when the forecast is 10-20 mph wind, consider fishing the morning, taking a siesta during the highest wind, and then get back on the water for the evening after its died down. Ive been on the water during bad 40 mph wind and all I could do was wrap my legs around some fallen timber and hold on for a few hours. But I did catch fish.
	When you catch a fish from a float tube, dont reel in too much line before you land it. You need to leave out enough line at least the length of your rod otherwise youre going to have a hard time grabbing the fish and unhooking it.
	Beware of hooks. A fishing hook stabbed into your float tube can end your day in a hurry. This has happened to me twice. The first time, I had a bass on and he jumped right in front of my float tube and caught a hook in it and thrashed around, puncturing it. Luckily, Id packed some duct tape in the car (never leave home without it!) so I got out of the pond, quickly patched the hole and continued fishing that day and the next without a problem. When I got home, I put on a more permanent patch and I havent had a problem with it since. The other time, through my own stupidity, I punched a hole in the bladder with a large crankbait but the puncture was small enough that I kept fishing. I only had to pull into shore after an hour or so, blow a few breaths back in the bladder, and then I was good to go until I got back home to fix it. 
	Choose your point of entry carefully. In some ponds there may be only one way in, but when there are options, the ideal choice is one that drops quickly to a little less than knee level. The exact angle and depth may vary depending on the person and float tube so take note of what works best for you.

Some advice specifically for AEP float tubing.

	Beware of black mud. Most of the ponds will have this stuff right where the water starts but some are worse than others. A few times Ive sunk up to my knees (another reason I like my waders.) Getting in can be difficult but getting out is even tougher. Ive found myself laying sticks in front of me and then literally crawling on my hands and knees to get out.
	Use the satellite view on either Google Maps or Bings maps to find ponds. I cannot stress this enough. Beyond a fishing pole, this is my most useful tool for fishing the AEP Lands. Look at the satellite view until you have it memorized, then study it some more. I always use Google Maps before a trip, to plan what I want to try, and then I look at again to match up what I found on the ground to what the map shows.
	Unweighted, t-rigged soft plastics are the most consistent, and often the best, lure for these ponds. I could leave my crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, and everything else at home, taking only a few offset 3/0 hooks and a bag of 5 inch green pumpkin senkos and have one of my best days ever fishing.
	Dont forget about the bluegill. If the bass are giving you problems and you have that UL setup with you, put on something like a small white roostertail or a shallow 1-2 inch long crankbait. Youll be catching fish again in no time and two great things about a setup like that are: one, you can catch bluegill without putting a new worm on the hook everytime and two, youre very likely to get a few bass as well.
	Camp when possible. It takes me about 50 minutes to drive to the AEP Lands, so I try to spend the night and maximize my fishing time to miles driven. I often go by myself and just sleep in the car. I wake up before dawn and Im on the road to a pond in less than 10 minutes.
	Get some alcohol hand wipes. I wear shorts under my waders (more comfortable and cooler that way) but that means when Im hiking to a pond, Im often going through poison ivy with bare legs. But as long as I remember to use the alcohol wipes when I get back to the car, Ive never gotten poison ivy. Theyre also great for the hands before you eat and especially after youve used one of the outhouses there.
	Speaking of the outhouses, always check that theres toilet paper available before hand. Also, Id advise checking on both the mens and womens sides and choosing the cleaner one. Its often the womens side. When determining the relative cleanliness, factor in the state of the toilet seat, the smell, and the number and species of the bugs. (OGF  where detailed outhouse discussion happens!)
	Pack a lot of fruit and grains with you. Theyre healthy, full of energy, and dont require any cooking. Grains (bread, granola bars, trail mix) are filling, and when youre done with the fruit, you can toss the core, pit, or peel into the weeds.

Some of you may be wondering which ponds you should fish because there are so many to choose from. The AEP site claims 400 ponds I believe, but thats outdated, with so much land now posted as no trespassing, and also overly optimistic because some of their ponds are little more than large puddles. Still, Id say there are anywhere from 40-60 fishable ponds but I havent actually tried counting them yet. 

As for which ones to fish, if you look at older posts on this site asking the same question, youll frequently read that the farther off the beaten path the better. That is absolutely true. If you have to backpack your float tube to get to it that already means no one with a boat or canoe can fish it and since the shore fishing is almost always limited at strip mine ponds, youre in prime position for some good fishing. So no, Im not going to list my favorite ponds on here (I might be willing to tell you in a PM though.) Just put in the effort finding your favorites, I guarantee youll have a fantastic time float tubing at the AEP Lands.


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## Snakecharmer

Don, nice Job on the primer for float tubes!


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## Jigging Jim

Wow, very informative ! Bausch & Lomb has Sight Savers lens cleaning tissues which are basically 5"x6" tissues saturated with rubbing alcohol. They may be larger than regular alcohol wipes and a little more practical for body use.


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## FishJunky

I have owned both u-tubes and belly and I prefer belly. Few reasons why, easier to hike with, you can get a tractor innertube for it (they do not get holes in them as easy) and I can maneuver better in the belly boat. Something I didn't see and I'm pretty sure you have is a pontoon tube which is two seperate tubes you inflate. These need registered. I used to own a Togiak and I got rid of it because of this. I fish with a few guys that have there's registered as a small water craft. Now a Uboat that is one single tube you do not have to do this. I'm heading down Thursday morning to AEP to Campsite K through Sunday. Can't wait. About 15 of us are going. Hopefully the weather holds up. That black mud is stinky and thick!!!!


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## Networthy

I have both, and prefer the u tube over the round. Something else that is very helpful, would be to buy a tube with a boston valve. By doing this you can pack your tube in, and while you are getting your stuff ready you can use a battery operated air pump(air mattress pump) to inflate your tube.


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## Wild One

While I have not Float Tubed @ AEP I have been down a couple times and huffed a three person canoe+prop+battery+gear up to 3/4 mile (with 2 other guys) I have to agree that my float tube would've been a MUCH better choice. I'm a fly fisherman and have been in float tubes for years out west. I kind of get nervous fishing from one here in ohio b/c most of the water is murky and you can't see what you're heading for...or what's heading for you. The AEP ponds _clearly_ don't have that issue .

A couple tips I have are:
--*Always *walk backwards when you have your fins on (don't ask me how I know this) & enter the water backwards. Once you get up to your knees, you can just sit down
--Bring a camelback or at least a water bladder. You can toss it in the upper pocket of your tube (if you have a single tube boat w/head pocket) & let the water tube hang down for easy access to stay hydrated
--If the wind is blowing, try to position yourself so that you enter on the side of the lake/pond that is upwind and let it drift you across to the opposite shore


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## thedon255

I hope people will find these reports useful. Every year, new users join this site and ask which AEP ponds they should fish. Hopefully, this report will give them a good starting point. I&#8217;ve listed every single pond I&#8217;ve fished, from the bad to the good to the great and even my personal Honey Hole. This is tailored to the float tuber targeting bass but I&#8217;ve tried to note when bank fishing is possible and if I believe you can get a canoe or boat in. Please understand that I&#8217;m nowhere near an expert fisherman. I&#8217;ve been fishing religiously for the past three years compared to twenty years and more for others on this site. I made my ratings a combination of my personal success (or lack thereof) and what I believe is a potential of that pond.

0/5 Senkos No bass at all. Stay away.

1/5 Senkos Bass are present but hardly worth the time. You can try it for yourself but you&#8217;ve been forewarned.

2/5 Senkos I have little hopes for this pond of producing a great fish or a hot day of fishing. However, that&#8217;s not to say the pond couldn&#8217;t become one of your favorites. I just consider it unlikely.

3/5 Senkos An average, run-of-the-mill pond. Nearly every AEP pond is going to have a lunker or three hiding in it and have the chance of giving you a day of 30 bass and more but for these ponds, you have to hit them at just the right time for that.

4/5 Senkos An exceptional pond. Either I have personally caught a big bass here, had a great day quantity wise, or believe that such a trip is imminent. I highly recommend any of these.

5/5 Senkos The best of the best. These are the ponds that keep me up at night and I have to try every time I go to the AEP Recreation Lands. Every cast has the potential for that trophy fish. 


I have also included GPS coordinates so that you can see exactly what pond I&#8217;m talking about. Just copy and paste them into Google maps and use the satellite view. I originally tried to like them on here but that didn't work out well. I figured this would be much easier than trying to use the numbering system on the AEP map. I have also numbered the ponds on here just so that if anyone has a question or comment about a pond they can use that number to reference. They have no other meaning than that. Also, the ponds are ordered going North to South and West to East so if you want to see if I mention a particular pond that should help.

Finally, I do mention ponds that are marked as no trespassing and off limits. I do fish those occasionally (I don&#8217;t like to generally &#8211; I always imagine there will be a police officer sitting on the hood of my car while I&#8217;m fishing) and I know others do as well. I am in no way advising anyone to do so.

I know this is awfully long but I hope you enjoy and again, feel free to post any questions or comments afterwards.



Pond 1: 39.734523,-81.801134 1/5 Senkos

Bass and bluegill are present but when I fished this, the water was crystal clear and I could see every inch of the water and there are no fish of significant size. Deepest part is perhaps 11 or 12 feet. Trail&#8217;s not difficult but if you have a car, you may have to slalom your way around deep holes and ruts in the road to get here. Would not advise fishing this pond. I could be wrong about the size of the fish, if you really wanted to check it out for yourself.

Pond 2: 39.730106,-81.796138 0/5 Senkos

No bass here. Only stunted bluegill. Pond&#8217;s shallow and weed-filled. Don&#8217;t even bother for the bluegill.

Pond 3: 39.727312,-81.782252 2/5 Senkos

Not a bad looking pond. Easy access, can drive right up to it. Shore fishing only at the dam. Bass and bluegill. Didn&#8217;t catch anything significant of either species but I&#8217;m sure there&#8217;s a few nice ones hiding here. Better ponds nearby.

Pond 4: 39.727427,-81.779419 3/5 Senkos

Looks like it could be a very good pond but I haven&#8217;t personally had much success. Hit it twice, second time was during a front that messed up the fishing for the entire weekend. Real short trip from where you park. There is a chain across the top of the hill that keeps people from actually driving to the pond. Couple points of shore access. Might be able to drag a canoe here. 
The little bay at the eastern end looks promising, bass wise, but it&#8217;s deceiving. If you&#8217;re after bass, go ahead and give it a shot but don&#8217;t spend too much time trying to pull a bass out of this area like I did. Stick to main stretch of the pond.

Pond 5: 39.721552,-81.77796 3/5 Senkos

I consider this the best AEP pond with a boat ramp. Gets far less pressure than the &#8220;Big 3&#8221; near Campsite C. Never had any real success here but it still gets 3/5 for its sheer size. Caught bass and bluegill, suspect there may be crappie and/or catfish as well. Has fantastic timber on the western shore. Very clear, find the weed line and fish just off the edge for bass. Also a good beaver lodge towards the back to target.

Pond 6: 39.716902,-81.772792 2/5 Senkos

Used to like it more before they put in a road to it just this year. Gets very weedy at the northern end and partway down the western shore. Has some depth to it, over 20 feet. Good shore access, along the dam and a few more spots on the eastern shore.

Pond 7: 39.713535,-81.770003 ?/5 Senkos

Have not found a path to this one yet. Looking at it from the top of the hill, it appears shallow (could see weeds growing in the middle). Not positive about this but I&#8217;m not bushwacking my way to this one any time soon.

Pond 8: 39.711225,-81.775212 3/5 Senkos

Caught some bass, bluegill, and one surprise 14 inch crappie on a t-rigged lizard. Really like the looks of it although my actual results have been subpar so far. Can&#8217;t drive here with a chain across the trail and it&#8217;s not too far to walk, about 15 minutes, but far enough to deter some people. Good shore access along the dam, maybe some more on the eastern shore if you make an effort.

Pond 9: 39.732279,-81.747984 ? Senkos

Cannot find the trail for this pond. Definitely not from the haul road to the east of the pond. Judging by the satellite map anyway, might be shallow and not worth the time.

Pond 10: 39.73287,-81.741748 3/5 Senkos

I like this pond, if just for the quick access. I suspect it gets less pressure than a lot of other ponds with easy access. Best bass here was 15 inches and I did catch a 10 inch bluegill as well.

Pond 11: 39.736319,-81.741555 3/5 Senkos

Looks like it should be a good pond at first glance and I did catch a 17 inch bass here, but I remember seeing weeds growing up from the bottom in the middle of the pond. Might not be as deep as you&#8217;d expect. Real pretty in the northern headwaters, with a little waterfall running down. Shore access along the dam only.

Pond 12: 39.733531,-81.738551 2/5 Senkos

Easy access here, can put a canoe/kayak in. Gets a bit of pressure I suspect. Bass seem to run smaller (I&#8217;m sure there are some good ones hiding in here) but the bluegill have some size. Shore access includes the dam and a goat path at the bottom of the high wall. Use at your own risk.

Pond 13: 39.715858,-81.732298 4/5 Senkos

The smallest of my &#8220;repeat&#8221; ponds (those that I fish more than once.) I caught my first ever big bass here, 19 inches and extremely fat, probably 4.5 or 5 lbs. It&#8217;s a very deep pond for its size, a little over 30 feet, and it gets deep really fast. I&#8217;ve done the best on the western end, especially in the NW corner where there&#8217;s a cove and a beaver lodge. The eastern shore seems to have more bluegill. Might be a good pond to use the drop shot &#8211; deep, clear, and vertical structure. There is some shore access on the southern bank and it&#8217;s possible to drive down to the pond &#8211; if you have a good off road vehicle and don&#8217;t mind driving past a no vehicles sign. Even if you don&#8217;t (like me), it takes less than 10 minutes to walk to it.
















Pond 14: 39.696097,-81.732491 2/5 Senkos

Difficult access, especially if you have a float tube on your back. You have to park on the other side of 78, hop the guardrail, go through the trees, and then climb down a ten foot sheer embankment. Someone was nice enough to tie a rope here years ago. USE IT. You may even consider bringing a new rope to replace it. It&#8217;s also not an easy pond to get in and out of with a float tube, either. It&#8217;s a steep dropoff at the shore with deep mud. I had a very tough time getting out. I was not able to fish the whole length of the pond (it&#8217;s quite long) because of a tree that had fallen across the water. There were a couple of other guys there when I left, one of whom said their brother had caught their biggest smallmouth (yes, smallmouth) ever, 6 or 7 lbs, from this pond. This was back in the 70&#8217;s and I highly doubt there&#8217;re any smallmouths left. Point is, this pond has potential for big bass even though I did poorly.

Pond 15: 39.736442,-81.733782 2/5 Senkos

This is the main pond at Campsite C. I&#8217;ve caught bass, bluegill, crappie, and catfish here. There&#8217;s some big fish hiding in the depths, but that&#8217;s only from what I&#8217;ve heard. Personally, I&#8217;ve never had success here. It&#8217;s probably the most heavily pressured of all the AEP ponds. This is the place you&#8217;d want to use live bait. The other strategy you can try is grab a camp spot along the lake and then go out at night when (presumably) the big ones come up and feed. I tried this once but didn&#8217;t do any good.

Pond 16: 39.763015,-81.741632 3/5 Senkos

Fished a couple of times. I did catch a 21 inch bass here but little else. Very slow fishing both times, once in March and the other time in June. I was actually shocked I did not do better, looks like a great pond. As much as I can guarantee without having seen them myself, there are bass in here 7 pounds and bigger. The middle part, where it narrows, is the only spot I had any repeated success. There&#8217;s shore access at the dam and there were a couple of people at the point where it narrows, so obviously there&#8217;s some sort of trail for that as well.

Pond 17: 39.755988,-81.732792 2/5 Senkos

I hit this pond once, during the dog days of summer and the fishing was tough. The water is extremely clear and the pond is filled with standing timber. I caught several dink bass that were cruising the tops of the weeds along the shore but nothing with any size. Judging by looks, I&#8217;d guess there are lunkers in there but unless you feel confident with your deep-water fishing (which I&#8217;m not), good luck catching them. There&#8217;s a very large beaver lodge to target and if you&#8217;re having trouble catching anything, check out the channel and large shallow area on the SW side of the pond. That&#8217;s where I caught the majority of my (small) fish. The shore access is actually more plentiful compared to most places, at least when the water&#8217;s extremely low like it was when I was there.
A note: beware of the mud. This pond has the worst mud I&#8217;ve ever encountered. Probably two feet deep. I had to place several pieces of wood in front of me and then get out on my hands and knees. Also, be careful coming down the trail to the pond, as it&#8217;s very steep.

Pond 18: 39.7564,-81.731268 4/5 Senkos

I like this pond even though I haven&#8217;t caught any hogs here. It&#8217;s almost two ponds but half of the dam is low enough for fish to cross over at will. The southern, smaller pond isn&#8217;t worth the time unless you want your fill of bluegill of dink bass. I think of this part more as a nursery for the other pond. There&#8217;s a great beaver lodge towards the northern end of the upper pond. It&#8217;s also in this narrow section, where the lodge, that I&#8217;ve caught the majority of my fish. Be sure to try some topwater especially if you land it as close to shore as possible. A senko or lizard tossed onto the bank and dragged into the water is also effective. There&#8217;s shore access at the dam between the two ponds and I think it might be possible to get to the northern end as well. While float tubing, I could see what looked like a path along the bank and I figure if you keep going along the hiking trail, there&#8217;s probably a way to get down to it.

Pond 19: 39.756499,-81.722664 2/5 Senkos

This is the long and winding pond you drive past when leaving Campground C and heading for Oak Grove Road. Fished it once with the float tube (first trip of the year) and was skunked except for a five inch bluegill. Also fished it a few times from shore years ago. Gets a lot of pressure. Has a ramp for canoes or small boats. I&#8217;m sure it has a few big bass but it&#8217;d be near impossible to get those. Does have some of best shore access you&#8217;ll find in the AEP lands.

Pond 20: 39.740694,-81.716033 4/5 Senkos

One of my favorites. Has bluegill, bass, and a few crappie. I&#8217;ve only caught two of the later and it wasn&#8217;t until my fourth trip that I first crappie there. I also caught my confirmed PB bass from there, at 5.5 lbs. (I caught another bass once that might&#8217;ve been bigger but I didn&#8217;t have my scales with me then.) 
A few pointers for this pond: The small cove directly across from where you put in is guaranteed for a few bass in the 10-14 inch range. Then, be sure to hit the beaver lodge on the eastern shore a couple times while you&#8217;re there. Again, guaranteed bass there. However, the bass don&#8217;t really seem to care for the long channel of this pond that stretches south. If you&#8217;re after bass, don&#8217;t spend too much time on this section if they&#8217;re not hitting right away. If you&#8217;re after bluegill though, you can get your fill of 7 inchers from that part. Also, it has no shore access other than the spot to put in. You might be able to bushwack your along the eastern shore but it&#8217;s doubtful. The only reason this pond doesn&#8217;t get a 5/5 is because I&#8217;ve never had repeated days of great success.
My biggest bass.









Pond 21: 39.732823,-81.714896 ?/5 Senkos

Have not found a trail for this pond yet. Tried to get to it coming from Oak Grove Lane but that was a bust. I suspect the trail may start on the haul road south of it that stretches between 83 and 284. However, I did have someone on this site tell me before that this pond is shallow and weed-filled. Sweat at your own risk trying to get to it.

Pond 22: 39.728549,-81.714123 1/5 Senkos

Fished once for about half an hour from shore and was not impressed. Admittedly, that was during a warm spell in early March so the fishing was going to be tough anyway. This is the pond with handicapped access to a dock that stretches out over the water. There were a few other people there who said that the pond has catfish in it. I&#8217;m sure it&#8217;d be good for the kids if you use worms or even better, chicken livers &#8211; best way to mature a kid is to make them handle the raw organs of a dead animal. But if you&#8217;re a dedicated float tuber, there are better ponds for you.

Pond 23: 39.728351,-81.708802 2/5 Senkos

Fished this pond once, has bass, bluegill, and warmouth, if there&#8217;s any warmouth fisherman out there (I can&#8217;t imagine there are.) I did catch a 14 inch bass here but nothing else of significance. Has no shore fishing, but you could a canoe or possibly a boat in.

Pond 24: 39.723504,-81.716359 0/5 Senkos

Shallow and weed-filled with only stunted bluegill and a surprised snapping turtle I accidently kicked while paddling. Don&#8217;t bother.

Pond 25: 39.694312,-81.715216 0/5 Senkos

I had high hopes when I first saw this pond but the great effort I spent crashing my way through the undergrowth was for naught. I fished it during the spawn and used all of my high percentage lures and did not catch a single bass. The pond looks great and seems to have acceptable depth to it but for whatever, there are no bass (or bluegill even, just a bunch of warmouth). Of any 0/5 rating I&#8217;ve given, I&#8217;m most hesitant about this one. If anyone has fished here before and caught a bass, please let me know.

Pond 26: 39.748421,-81.709192 4/5 Senkos

I fished here once and my bass results were below average but I think that was more of a result of the tough summer conditions than the population of bass. This is a very long pond, so you&#8217;d probably want to give yourself all day to fish it properly. Has bass and bluegill, as well as crappie. There are a couple of beaver lodges, one at the beginning and another at the end, where I caught most of my fish. I feel like this pond has the chance to yield an 8+ pound bass. There is no shore access except for a little along the headwater where you could get some bluegill and small bass.
The trail to the pond is at the bend before you reach the house on Oak Grove Road, if you&#8217;re headed north. (Google maps may say Grove Church Road but I&#8217;m sure it&#8217;s Oak Grove.) Be kind and do a little bit of work to improve the trail. I spent probably 30-40 minutes with a pair of clippers cutting all the briars. Also, this pond is not a part of the official AEP lands, so fish at your own risk.

Pond 27: 39.751027,-81.700652 3/5 Senkos

This is the main pond at what used to be Campsite Q. One of the biggest ponds there. I did not do well when I tried it, only got 8 dozen bass with the biggest at about 13 inches. I didn&#8217;t even come close to fishing the whole thing. I&#8217;m sure there are trophy bass here, from the sheer size of the pond and the time that Campsite Q has been closed. There has been a rumor on OGF that Q is open now but doesn&#8217;t seem to be the case. The no trespassing signs are still up and although the gate is closed, it is unlocked, whatever that means.

Pond 28: 39.744902,-81.699339 2/5 Senkos

Fished it once and was not impressed. There are bass and bluegill. It&#8217;s a small pond and although it may have a few fish around 5 pounds, I didn&#8217;t catch any of them. It&#8217;s also off limits.

Pond 29: 39.743975,-81.698522 0/5 Senkos

No bass here (that I found). There are decent bluegill but that&#8217;s all.

Pond 30: 39.743373,-81.70056 2/5 Senkos

I&#8217;m surprised I haven&#8217;t done better at this pond. It&#8217;s a great looking, fishy body of water and I wanted to give 3/5 for that alone but I&#8217;ve hit it 3 times now (twice in the evening-night and once early morning) with little success. Maybe it gets more pressure than I think despite being off-limits. There is no shore access except at the dam.

Pond 31: 39.736856,-81.703865 2/5 Senkos

You can fish nearly the entire pond from shore. There are bluegill and bass but they&#8217;re tough to catch because of the pressure. Try this one at night.

Pond 32: 39.732689,-81.702792 4/5 Senkos

I like this pond. Has A LOT of bass but most are 10-13 inches. I haven&#8217;t caught any bigger than 15 inches. It&#8217;s a great pond to try if you&#8217;re in a slump or have a new lure you want to test on the bass. There is no shore access and there&#8217;s a lot of weeds to push through at the beginning to get to the main pond. To get here, park along 83 like you would for the above pond and then hike through the tall grass and head for the gap in the trees up that&#8217;s about SE of where you park. If you&#8217;re going there first thing in the morning, make sure you have an extra pair of shoes and socks in the car (you always should, anyways) because your feet will be soaked by the dew on the grass.
The pond itself has a lot of great structure. As always make sure you spend an extra amount of time at the beaver lodge and I&#8217;ve found that the western/southern shore is generally better for bass than the other side. Especially try a jig and pig, as there&#8217;s a lot of great horizontal cover here. Again, don&#8217;t expect a lunker (there could be a few though) but a day of 20-30 bass around 12 inches is common and a lot of fun.

Pond 33: 39.728648,-81.695026 5/5 Senkos

I only fished this pond for the first time a few days ago but I&#8217;m still giving it a 5/5. It looks very fishy and the average size of the fish I did catch was fantastic even though I didn&#8217;t get any hogs. After a couple months of 10-bass days, at best, I hit this one and finished with 16 bass, all very fat and most 12-14 inches. Also, the bluegill were consistently the biggest I&#8217;ve ever found, with many 8 and 9 inchers and even one 10 inch bluegill. I did well with a black buzzbait first thing in the morning here and later spent several hours using a small Strike King crankbait, and caught the majority of my bluegill and bass with it. The northern arm was the most productive and bay at the end of it was filled with big bluegill. In the initial stretch, I found the eastern, woody shore to be much better than the western, rocky shore.
The walk is long and extremely difficult. I don&#8217;t want to give away the exact route, unless enough people ask, because it took me two separate hikes and a couple of hours each time to even find my way to the pond. I was caught at the top of a highwall looking down on several occasions. There is no shore access here except for a stretch at the beginning where the water is too shallow anyway. This pond is tailor-made for the float tube. It&#8217;s also in an off-limits area.

Pond 34: 39.768177,-81.67992 3/5 Senkos

A part of what used to be Camp S, I fished this pond once and found it to be fairly average. Looks like it could be good on the right day but I hit it during the heat of mid-summer and finished with about a dozen bass. One of those was 18 inches though, which I got towards the upper end of the pond by dragging a senko over a mat of weeds and scum. There&#8217;s a lot of standing timber and the pond is deep and clear until you get towards the headwater where it gets (relatively) dirtier. Shore access is plentiful, both at the SE side and the NW end, except you have to walk around a copse of trees to get to it. The area is gated and off limits but right before you to get to the gate, there&#8217;s a secondary dirt road to the right and almost immediately after the trees and bushes, there a shortcut to the left you can use to get around the gate and continue along the haul road to the other ponds of Campground S. Be careful because at both the beginning and end of the shortcut, there&#8217;s a very deep dip that you&#8217;ll need a vehicle with good clearance to get past.

Pond 35: 39.762817,-81.673311 3/5 Senkos

This pond is also a part of Camp S and is now off limits. Pretty average pond, caught some bass and bluegill and was surprised by a nice catfish, about 4 pounds. Gets weedy in the headwaters and I don&#8217;t remember any shore fishing except at the dam. A quick walk down the hill from the parking area.

Pond 36: 39.722837,-81.677805 2/5 Senkos

Not impressed by this pond. Rather small and I had hoped it would turn out to be a forgotten gem but it&#8217;s not. Has the typical bass and bluegill but I didn&#8217;t catch anything significant of either species. To get to the pond, you have to go a past the gate and around the trees and bushes. Not difficult to find. No shore fishing to speak of.

Pond 37: 39.713761,-81.674942 3/5 Senkos

I&#8217;ve caught a lot of good bluegill from this pond. There are bass as well but nothing with any size that I found. I caught most of my bass near the beaver lodge and in the channel that stretches north. The bay to the south looks fishy and it may be at the certain times, but when I tried on two separate occasions, the fishing was much slower in that area. Surprisingly, this is one of the few ponds I&#8217;m able to get cell phone reception while on the water. There is no shore access except for where you put in. But this area is wide and offers some bluegill fishing.

Pond 38: 39.720182,-81.664342 3/5 Senkos

An interesting pond. First of all, it&#8217;s almost two ponds, with a narrow chokepoint of large boulders. Too shallow to get a float tube through without standing up but the water is still shared and small fish can pass through and possibly bigger fish as well if the water&#8217;s higher. But what it&#8217;s interesting is I feel quite sure there are no bluegill here &#8211; all bass. First time I fished it, I used a Crème rubber worm, an absolute killer for bluegill and I never caught a single one in this pond with it &#8211; only bass, 35 or 40 of them in a single day. They were all small, most 10-12 inches and the biggest at 14 inches. I&#8217;d bet there are a few monstrous, cannibalistic hogs in here. I almost gave it 4/5 Senkos, because it looks so fishy, but I&#8217;d have to fish it again and have another hot streak like I did before. The second time I fished it, I didn&#8217;t do anywhere near as well, with only a dozen dinks and no bluegill again. 
I did far better in the northern section compared to the southern one. Also, I wouldn&#8217;t have thought there was any shore access but when I was there the first time, another guy showed up fishing from the bank. Surprised me a little. It looked like he came in from the southern end and was following the eastern bank. There are a few difficult spots to get past I believe but for the most part, you could hit a good portion of the pond following this route.

Pond 39: 39.728143,-81.661754 2/5 Senkos

Kind of small, pretty average. Did see an 18 inch (or so) bass cruise by but the biggest I caught was only 13 inches. You have to walk across a beaver dam to put in or do any shore fishing, which there is a little bit of.

Pond 40: 39.72938,-81.662226 3/5 Senkos

Separated from the above pond by said beaver dam. Gets very weedy come mid-summer. You can fish near the beaver dam or continue along the trail and fish at the bend where the pond turns north. It&#8217;s a long pond and again, looks like it should be good but the two times I&#8217;ve fished, I had just an average day with nothing big.

Pond 41: 39.734149,-81.662731 5/5 Senkos

This is my favorite pond, what I call my &#8220;Honey Hole&#8221;. I&#8217;ve been torn as to whether or not I should tell you about it but I finally decided to go ahead. There&#8217;s a haul road that passes nearby but I wouldn&#8217;t advise driving it &#8211; it&#8217;s still used quite frequently and you&#8217;d almost certainly be caught. The way I get to this pond is to park at Campground H and take the shortcut that starts just uphill of the bridge and crosses a small creek. This will take you up the hill to the Buckeye Trail. Follow this straight out and it will take you to the pond, called Pond 52 by AEP. (This is also the advised route for the two ponds listed above.) It&#8217;s a long hike at 45 minutes, especially with a float tube on your back, but I make it gladly. In a little over a year, I&#8217;ve gone to this pond probably two dozen times now. In those trips, I&#8217;ve caught three PB&#8217;s, all over five lbs, and lost five other fish that would have been four lbs and better. The average sized bass here is also the best I&#8217;ve found, with bass under 12 inches the exception rather than the rule, and bass in the 14-18 inch range quite plentiful. There is also fantastic crappie fishing. This spring, in two separate trips I caught 40-50 crappie each time with all but a handful between 11 and 13 inches. There&#8217;s also the possibly of catfish present but I&#8217;m surprised I haven&#8217;t caught one yet, even on artificial lures.
Some specific tips: this pond has the best frog fishing I&#8217;ve found. Lots of scum along the northern shore and in the headwaters, it&#8217;s topwater heaven. The cove on the northern shore is great, as is the point on the left hand side of the cove, which is where I caught about 3 dozen of my crappie in one trip. Also just before you reach the cove, there are a couple of trees fallen in the water and this is where two of PB bass came from, 22 inches and 23.5 inches respectively. But the southern shore is no slouch either with as much standing timber as you could want, along with a beaver lodge in another small cove thrown in for good measure. Jig and pig and senkos rule in this pond and the frog can&#8217;t be beat when conditions are right. In the first part of the year, when the water first reaches 50 degrees, I&#8217;ll use an X-rap and a small 2.5 inch lipless crankbait all day long, especially in the headwaters where the depth is 2-5 feet on average with weeds and grass the bass just love. There&#8217;s even some a few spots you can fish from shore on the southern bank but to truly get what you can out of this pond, you have to bring a float tube. Just beware because the wind seems to hit this pond especially hard.
Here's a few of the fish I've caught from here.






























Pond 42: 39.766017,-81.651746 1/5 Senkos

The first AEP pond I fished with my float tube. A waste of time. Got a couple of dink bass and small bluegill here. The best that can be said is that the shore access here is plentiful.

Pond 43: 39.814216,-81.662285 2/5 Senkos

Fished only a quarter of it before the wind chased me off. Did catch a few small bass here. I&#8217;m sure there&#8217;s a few hogs hiding here but I just never felt like trying again. There&#8217;s no structure to speak of and I don&#8217;t care for ponds out in the wide open grasslands like this one. I prefer the ponds with trees on the shore for whatever reason. Access is easy, you can put a canoe or small boat in, or fish from shore.

Pond 44: 39.799644,-81.654947 2/5 Senkos

Caught some bass and bluegill here. Similar report as the one above, with little structure to target, although this one does have a beaver lodge in it. You can fish the entire pond from shore or put a canoe or boat in.

Pond 45: 39.789632,-81.662582 0/5 Senkos

I put the GPS marker between two ponds because I fished both and it&#8217;s the same situation for both. No bass (I think) and just small bluegill. You can fish from shore easily if you want and if ever want to catch frogs for bait, this is the place to go.

Pond 46: 39.793605,-81.645137 5/5 Senkos

Great pond, really long. I lost a really big bass, 5+ lbs easy, when it jumped out of the water. During the post spawn, the bass were going crazy for a Lucky Craft Sammy (walk-the-dog topwater lure) in this pond. I did much better on the western/southern shore with the wood and vegetation compared to the opposite shore that consists of the high wall. Make sure you hit the beaver lodge at the beginning when you first get in and again when you leave. You can drive here but it&#8217;s not advisable, as there&#8217;s deep ruts and a no vehicle sign. It&#8217;s maybe a 3-4 minute walk if you park at the bottom of the hill, near the oil well (but not in front of it &#8211; that&#8217;s when you get in trouble.)

Pond 47: 39.790915,-81.646777 3/5 Senkos

I&#8217;m giving this pond 3/5 mainly because of how it looks and the relatively easy access, compared to any actual success I've had (which is next to nothing so far). There's some nice standing timber at the southern end and a nice little cove on the eastern side to pick apart. There's also a beaver lodge farther up the east bank and along the weed line in the headwaters is the only place I've consistently picked up any bass. There are two ways to get here, from the gravel road along the ridge (called Township Road 2, I believe) you can head straight down the hill, or along the overgrown road that continues past the pond lifted above.

Pond 48: 39.789269,-81.645137 ?/5 senkos

I have not been able to find a trail to this one. There are a couple of possibilities coming down from the old haul road but they are rutted and washed out and way too dangerous for my tastes.

Pond 49: 39.787175,-81.646124 3/5 Senkos

Have not done well here but it definitely has the look of holding some hogs. The cove in the SW corner (to the left) is where I&#8217;ve done the best by far. The northern shore and the beaver lodge on the eastern bank are the two other areas I&#8217;ve found any sort of pattern. You can drive here with a pickup or jeep, coming down from the township road on the ridge.

Pond 50: 39.785796,-81.642292 2/5 Senkos
Fished it once and it was absolutely weed-choked. I did catch a few bass so there&#8217;s some sort of breeding population here. If you tried it the spring or fall when the weeds were gone, you might have better luck but in my opinion, there are better ponds in the immediate area. I had to do some bushwacking just get here.

Pond 51: 39.779128,-81.643077 4/5 Senkos

A sneaky good pond. Top bass size may top out under six pounds but the average size is better than you&#8217;d think. There are also good bluegill here. Use the shortcut that starts at the last campsite of Campground K, which is uphill of the turnaround circle. The shortcut heads up the hill and runs into the Buckeye Trail. There is some shore fishing if you have good balance and tiny feet. Use senkos, small crankbaits, and buzzbaits in low light conditions here.

Pond 52: 39.780563,-81.644579 2/5 Senkos

Fished it once for maybe a couple of hours. Not impressed. Has bluegill and small bass. Very weedy at the northern end in the headwaters. You can get a boat or canoe in here. Best thing it has going for it is convenience and a some shore access.

Pond 53: 39.77522,-81.646467 2/5 Senkos

This is the main pond at Campground K. I have not personally fished it, way too many people here for my tastes. I&#8217;ve heard it has bass and bluegill, as well as catfish. Again, for the float tuber, there are far better ponds nearby if you&#8217;re willing to do a little walking. The only reason to fish this pond is if you&#8217;re camped here and want to get your feet in the water instead of just sitting around the campfire.

Pond 54: 39.773801,-81.639622 2/5 Senkos

Long pond, good for a small boat or canoe. No shore access except for at the dam. The bass are small but I did catch an 11 inch redear sunfish at this pond.

Pond 55: 39.77423,-81.633292 2/5 Senkos

Quick access here but the mud is bad. Best bass here was 14 inches and I caught several 8 inch bluegill as well. Some nice standing timber to target. Do not remember if there might be shore access past the area at the dam.

Pond 56: 39.76754,-81.639835 4/5 Senkos

I was shocked by this pond when I caught two big fish, 4.5 lbs and 5 lbs, in less than an hour. Both were on a black buzzbait. The second time I came here, it was completely weed-choked from shore to shore and nearly unfishable. There&#8217;s some shore access if you follow the western bank. The mud here is bad and the bottom quickly drops, making it tricky to get out in a float tube.
Here's the two big ones.


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## squid_1

Wow, you probably could have sold this. I read thru it and I applaude all the hard work you put in to this. I have read you post over the years and always wonder where you were fishing while down there. I fish totally different areas but a couple of your selections got close to several of mine. I hope beginners will appreciate this and once they venture out to find newer ones and run into some of the dead ends, high walls, briars, cliffs of shale on their own it will then hit them. Just think of how many ticks you have pulled off while compiling your manifesto. Great read and dont stop adventuring AEP.


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## KopperTop

Don all I have to say is thank you. My dad and I come down there once a year for the last 25 years. He is getting older now and doesn't want to hike 30-45 minutes to a pond that we don't know to have fish. This will considerably help in our adventures. Thank you thank you thank you. I will get more time to spend with my old man and have better stories to tell my little boy.


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## Buzzin

This should most deff be a sticky good job man! I was always wanted to make a trip up there and this will serve as a great map!!!


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## peach680

you really can not driver around this pond. I ended up geting my truck stuck on center on the way out , big rut and did not see it. There are some hogs in this pond we caught a few over 5lbs.


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## LongtimeAEP

I am sure I will get slammed for this but I think many of us who have our "special ponds" or whatever you might call them would appreciate a little more discretion in giving up productive lakes and ponds. Should everybody be able to fish them....absolutely.... but find em like we all did. Do the research, hike the trails it is all part of the sport, the aura of AEP. One other concern and several of have seen this.... people often take more than normal bag limits and under slot lengths when fishing AEP. due to the lack of enforcement. I do not advocate more enforcement.... I say respect the rules and let us all enjoy AEP. Being a catch and release guy and a believer in " eating a large mouth bass is like eating your pet dog" I have seen lakes / ponds get over fished by boneheads... my two cents...SLAM AWAY!


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## Header

If you have not noticed or compared the numbers, the map on Don's post does not reflect the pond numbers on the MAP. As for instance Don's pond 53 is not the main pond at campground K that is #43. I don't think he is giving away the location of honey hole ponds, as according to the AEP map.


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## LongtimeAEP

Any person with a GPS can find some of these spots... We have fished some of these good and bad... just my opinion. AEP is work that is part of the fun, finding ponds, using all tools he mentioned, dropping in to a newly discovered pond for yourself.... GPS coordinates make it all the easier, if you are at all technical, it is like getting answers to the test.


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## dacrawdaddy

I have used u-tubes and belly boats. I prefer my round belly boat. I always tether my extra rod. I made a 2lb. anchor by flattening one end of a short piece of 3/4inch EMT and filling it with lead, this comes in handy on windy days. My fravorite summertime bait would be a Snagproof frog or popping bugs on the flyrod. I make my own kick fins for forward movement. Belly boating is the most fun you can have fishing in my opinion. Nothing like having a big bass tow you around and splashing you in the face.


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## choman77034

*Easy Flot Tube Anchor:* Tie some line to a 2 lb. aerobic dumbbell. Done. And no sharp edges on the anchor to damage my tube.


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## claytonhaske

Nice write up.


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## coachfozz

This is the problem with this site. It became a brag about what I caught instead of sharing information. I am not saying to give exact information (10 paces towards the pine tree, turn right 15 paces towards the rock). Just saying this pond is nice and that pond is nice, what is the big deal? I am from Northeast Ohio, I plan on making a trip down there in the fall. Was coming this weekend, but my friend's dad had a stroke so we are going to wait a little now before coming. Now with this being said, I am not going to look at the exact ponds and trek 45 minutes to get to one pond. My friend and I already mapped out some of the ponds we want to hit. It is nice to see what a person thinks of them. Does that mean I won't fish them if he gave a 0/5 rating? NO, but it does mean we might not spend as much time on this one if they are not hitting. 

Great read...thanks for all the work.


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