Mid Ohio boating

[illMATTic]

I am new to ohio. im in pickerington. whos in the area? where are the hot spots? looks like i have two options, buckeye lake and alum creek res.

[ndaniels]

I've never been to either- but if your up for a drive Indian Lake is only 1.5hr away and St. Marys is 2hr from you. Both are great lakes:D. I live about 20 min from both. I would def drive to Indian and check it out, lots of fun. Welcome to Ohio!!:cheers

[merc245]

Maybe at the end of june you and some of your new boating buddies can take a road trip up to lake St.Clair for jobbienooner.That starflite will get u there.And maybe the NERD will make it with his new ride.U can stay right on the Island if you wish. Kinda like a home coming! Just a thought! :banana:

[zstevens]

those 2 are the best and closest to you matt ,that i know of anyway. hope the move went ok, i was wonderin what happened w/ it ? congrats

[Kip Combs]

Illmatic......Delaware Dam is just north of Alum Creek and your only 2 hours from Lake Erie ( Sandusky Bay ) Stop up @ the factory and see us ....right on the way to the Lake. I go to Delaware & Alum from time to time too ! Welcome to the BUCKEYE NATION !

[smallblockford]

welcome to ohio maybe se you at the poker run in the bay

[illMATTic]

kip, i will most deff. make it up to the factory soon. well it looks like i have many lakes to choose from. i guess ill have to hit them all this summer. :cheers

[TheNerd]

Ahh, count me in on the trip to the factory.

[zstevens]

me too i'm gonna make trip this year even have to call off wk to do it ! back to topic, i forgot the dam n thats where my grandmas @ delaware ,oh. so bonus points w/ family trip lol

[mboger]

mattic if you make it down south a little to ceaser creek let me know, if im in town i will meet you

[supergenius74]

my folks live in celina, Oh. and I have had my boat out on Grand lake many times, nice lake if you like to hull butt for like 10 straight miles! shallow but i have never ever had an issue hitting anything and they have cleaned the lake up a ton since i grew up there. Indian lake is another lake i grew up on, most of my extened family lives in and around bellfountain so lakeview was my dad's teenage hangout, lake isn't as clean as it was in the old days but still a good time, my uncle is always trying to get me to bring my boat over there to run with his. -shane

[doublechecker]

Illmatic,
I'm in Columbus and we usualy go to Alum Creek. Its not a bad lake (if you havnt been there yet) but it gets real busy on the nicer days. The north end of the lake has a sweet no wake zone for chillin out.
I wouldnt recomend Buckey Lake unless you like shallow and dirty water.
Ceasar Creek is a nice lake as well. Its similar to Alum.
Other than that its whats mentioned in above posts or Erie and the Ohio river.

[Needafunboat]

I'll be at Grand lake for Memorial day. It looks like all of the sites are taken at the camp ground, but my buddy says there are some hotels close by.

We went there last year - it is a big BIG shallow lake, but from what I've learned there aren't many shallow spots. It was a reservoir for the canal system and is man-made! Upside to the shallowness is that I'd guess it warms up pretty quickly.

My father-in-law will be out there with his 16' bass tracker - 40hp. I don't think he exactly understood what type of boat I bought - and that his maximum and my minumum crusing speeds probably just barely overlap. This is the same guy who suggested I take his V6 mustang auto to a race instead of my modified 911 with race tires... It could be worse though - he's a good guy.

Anyhow - look for the a starliner loaded down with kids if anyone is out there. I'd like to meet some of you in person.
- Anthony

[supergenius74]

I won't be there on memorial day, But I am always there for the lake fest weekend, usually the 3rd weekend in july. It's a great time, car show, parade, main street all blocked off with vendors and rides, jet ski races, and oh and not to forget, the poker run that starts at the eagles and the party continues that night at the moose lodge on the lake. I entered it 3 yrs in a row, you get to hop from bar to bar all around the lake and water balloons are usually involved. I may not make it to the poker run but I always put in to watch the fireworks on friday night and park at the sandbar on the north side on sat/sunday. Yeah it's shallow if you consdier 10-20ft shallow, I have never hit anything in all the years i have boated but my buddy once dinged his prop in on a stump long time ago, big bayliner with a 25 in mid outboard deep in the water. It's a great lake for going fast, I can let her rip for 8+ miles straight, really cleans out the engine. Let me know if anyone will be there july 25-27th, i will be the drunk one driving around town on a golf cart, shane.

[Needafunboat]

Hi Guys,

So like I mentioned, we're going to GL for Memorial day. A buddy decided to come and bring his little piggy (4winns horizon). He looked on some Ohio fishing sites and saw statements like "beware this lake has an appetite for outdrives". So now I'm a little paranoid. I ran the jetski's around there last year with no problems, but I'm drafting a bit more water now. I've seen the maps and they show that it is pretty shallow, but it doesn't really show stumps. Also, bottom maps aren't super reliable in my experience.

Anyhow, Shane and any of the other guys who have been there - can you give me some advice where to avoid, or where to run? The state park ranger said to basically stay away from shore (common sense) and you'd most likely be OK. I also know there is a stump-ridden nature refuge but again common sense. The ranger also mentioned that the lake was up a foot or so with all of the rain.

Any info you guys could give would be very much appreciated!!

[Kip Combs]

What's everbody in OH doing over the weekend...? If anyone is going to Lake Erie......i'll be up there all weekend got a camper staying in the bay taking my Red Evinrude Powered 2400 BR. Sand bar, Kelly's maybe have a few pops ! Whatever everyone is doing be safe & have fun! Weather is supposed to be B U tifull ! KC

[merc245]

Kip are you staying at the State Park or else wheres.And the sand bar-beach, Is that located at the mouth of the bay across from CedarPoint.

The ole' lady is out of town this weekend and just might find myself down that way this weekend. saturday - sunday. Jeff / merc245 734 552-2571 :D

[Kip Combs]

I'm leaving my camper at Castaway Harbor all summer......it's just east of Demsey State Park Ramp in the bay.....and yes sand bar is right across from cedar point.....bay side usually smoothest side. Hope to run into ya ! KC

[zstevens]

i'll be up in mackinaw sailing w/my dad, bringin the tartan 37' down to alpena .

[haftoo55]

I'm leaving my camper at Castaway Harbor all summer......it's just east of Demsey State Park Ramp in the bay.....and yes sand bar is right across from cedar point.....bay side usually smoothest side. Hope to run into ya ! KC

Kip
I used to stay there all the time. Thats where my grandparents used to stay.I remember getting hit in the nose with a baseball thier(41years ago). The first time that I was ever on waterski's we were staying thier, alot of good memories are from Castaway Harbor. Thats where Loyd stayed also. It used to be called Prestons Beach many moons ago. I made the sign thats out in front of Wilson's Beach just down the road from Castaway. That was almost 20 years ago. Alan