Thursday, April 28, 2016

TFO Impact Fly Rods- by Rick Pope




TFO Impact Fly Rods
Casting, Fishing, Fighting

by Rick Pope- Chairman- Temple Fork Outfitters


Finally … it is time to get out on the water!  Those of you who have seen, heard of or even cast our new Impact Series of rods can likely appreciate that they are unique among all the different series of TFO rods.  The combination of engineering and materials resulted in a long action with a very small diameter blank and lightning fast recovery.  While these are great marketing attributes, we want you to know exactly what they will do for you to enhance your success and enjoyment in fishing them.

Why a long action rod? - Unlike most TFO fast or medium fast actions which load and bend primarily towards the tip, Impact rods will bend much deeper for a given amount of resistance.  This shortens the effective length of the lever which can greatly reduce the fatigue of repetitively casting a fast action rod.  Think about it this way … if you put an ounce of weight on the end of a ruler, your lever is simply 12” and it is easy to hold horizontal.  Put that same ounce on a yard stick – making the lever 36” and it becomes a challenge to hold for any period of time. 

Recovery speed - In our rod action terms, a fast action rod is a longer lever and our Impact action is a shorter lever.  Faster action rods mitigate some of the stabilization issues when a blank is engineered with lower modulus materials as there is simply less blank load to stabilize.  Traditional lower modulus materials, when engineered as a longer action rod, typically suffer in recovery (think glass).  The higher weight to stiffness of lower modulus blanks wastes stored energy, or load, as some energy must be retained in order to stabilize the blank.  Higher modulus, or lower weight to stiffness, discharges a much greater amount of stored energy and stabilizes much faster which is exactly what the Impact Series does.  

Casting – “Let the rod do the work” Your job is to bend the rod and the rod’s job is to straighten (thanks Ed Jaworowski).  Store more energy by bending the rod more.  Bend the rod more by extending your stroke length for longer casts (a hint for George Anderson).  If your stroke is short, as in the old school 10 o’clock – 2 o’clock length, you’ll see tailing loops start to form as you attempt more distance.  Just lengthen your stroke and again “let the rod do the work”.  You’ll be amazed at the ease with which distance casts can be made.

Further, one of the most important practical fishing casts is a roll cast.  Even outside trout environments with limited back cast room, a roll cast pick-up is an asset.  Impact rods are superb roll casting tools. Just form your d-loop with an appropriate anchor point (end of the fly line about a rod length away).   You will find that the Impact long action design bends deeper through your delivery stroke and better discharges this stored energy when you stop.

Fishing & Fighting – or better stated, now that your Impact rod has delivered the fly, hooking fish with a long action rod will be easy. Big hooks and hard mouthed fish need a butt angle nearer zero.  A “strip strike” works best – just set the hook with your hauling hand.  Small hooks and light tippet are easily set with higher angles, and a very long shock absorber helps prevent light tippet break – offs … a great benefit.

Fighting bigger fish with heavy tippet will be easy as well.  While the shorter leverage is an advantage, you’ll still need to further manage lever length with fighting angle (rod butt to fish).  As an example, if your rod butt/reel seat is pointed straight up, you’re at 90 degrees.  Appropriate fighting angles for Impact rods decline as tippet strengths go up, so apply more pressure to a fish with heavier tippet by using fighting angles less than 45 degrees.  A 15 degree fighting angle with 20# tippet is about right.  Protect lighter tippets with fighting angles greater than 45 degrees.

In summary – we are particularly proud of this family of rods as they are easy to load, very efficient at discharging stored energy, and overall, a delight to fish.  We believe you’ll agree that the versatility of an Impact rod as a fishing and as a fish fighting tool are the great benefits of this type of action.  If you need help making a rod decision, just call us or email us.  For more on casting stroke length and fish fighting angles, check out Ed and Lefty’s “Complete Cast” DVD and whatever tool you select, we hope you enjoy what should be a great fishing season.   





Mad River Outfitters
Fly Shop, Online Store, Guides, Education, Trips and more!

813 Bethel Rd.
Columbus, Ohio 43214

614-451-0363



Fishing Reports- 4/28/16


* Please remember to call us for more up-to-date or detailed information! These reports are not meant to be your one and only, daily source of information. They are typically general, even seasonal type reports and we currently don't have a set schedule as to when we update. Please, just because we don't update as often as we like, it doesn't mean that we don't care.

There are many different approaches you should take in order to get a good game plan for a trip or a day of fishing. Also remember that things change and these reports are what we know at the time of posting only. Keep in mind that we do express opinions and personal preferences from time-to-time which may be different from yours or what you may read elsewhere. Thanks for checking and don't forget to call us if you need any further information or a more up-to-date report. 614-451-0363




"Thanks again MRO for donating the Scott G2 at the F3t (Fly Fishing Film Tour back in March) - I put it to good use this weekend"- Brian Reed



Mad River

5/2/16 Update- The Mad did get a bump in flows but not as much as you would think. The Upper river is looking pretty fishable and the lower river is a bit up and off color today but will make for great streamer water the next few days.

Did have a few reports this morning of fantastic dry fly fishing yesterday and an excellent Hendrickson spinner fall last night right before dark in the upper parts of the river. Some reported catching fish on Hendricksons and some on Caddis. Both anglers reported fish rising everywhere!!!

We'll get those reports and pics up later in the week. In the meantime, streamer anglers should call in sick today or tomorrow!

4/28/16- The Mad is looking good for the weekend and has been fishing good to excellent this week. The off-and-on rains this past week have not really had much of an impact and what is predicted tonight won't hurt at all...will probably help. It's been a mixed bag of bugs and techniques this week with a little bit of everything working.

Still have decent reports of Hendricksons coming from the upper parts of the river. They have been hatching typically between 1 and 3 p.m. and the spinners have been falling right before dark. A few anglers doing especially well on the spinner falls. Also a few outrageous reports on anglers swinging soft hackle type emerger patterns. If we stated publically how they did we would for sure be called liars so we won't. There have also been good reports of caddisflies flitting around in the afternoons and evenings as well as some of the "red butt" ants we typically get this time of year. Although dry fly fishing has been good to incredible for some, others have struggled with finding bugs and with finding fish rising to them. Not surprising with the up-and-down weather we have been having. Also, as we stated last week, we are still hearing of folks getting on the river at 8:00 a.m. and fishing till noon and wondering why they aren't seeing Hendricksons (see our last report).

With May coming in like a lion next week we will surely be on Sulpher watch!!!! Might also start seeing some March Browns here before long as well. Keep your eyes out.

Meanwhile- thanks as always to our "staff of reporters" out there. We really appreciate and so do the 500+ people that read this Blog every day.

Tim Greiner- 4/22/16-

"Hey MRO- got out this morning and had a pretty good 3 hours. Moved around 10 fish and landed 5. Nothing that would frighten children but I did land one at 17" which is my personal best on the Mad. All on streamers, violent hits. Many thanks for all the help in learning ohio on the fly!"



Congrats Tim! Personal best on the Mad!

Clay Sommerfelt- 4/24/16- 

"My friends at MRO- Once again the river was in excellent shape this weekend. I was happy to get out and spend some quality time with my Dad. We had a total of 4 browns on the day but probably could have had more if there was no plans later in the day. Fish were rising, ALOT!!! The fly that seemed to primarily work was an Adams size 14-16. And before I forget, I forgot my waders at home and just decided to wing it in my shorts and sperrys.....Not the smartest choice. Anyways, thanks again for all you guys do. You're the best!



Hey Clay....don't forget your waders next time!!!

NOTICE:

The Madmen Chapter of Trout Unlimited will be holding their Annual Membership Meeting on Saturday April 30, 2016 at the Champaign County Historical Museum. The museum is located at 809 East Lawn Ave, Urbana, OH 43078. The meeting will be from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

The doors open at 9:00 AM for registration, sign-up for activities and raffle ticket sales. The meeting will then proceed to start at 9:30 AM.


Schedule will be posted once it is finalized

Click Here for more information!



Clearfork River



5/2/16 Update- The Clearfork did shoot up pretty well with the rains and may be out for a few days. The Upper may fish with streamers tomorrow or late tomorrow but the lower is headed straight up and not sure where it will crest.

We'll keep our eyes on things and let you know later in the week how it's looking.

4/2/816- Not as many reports this week from the Clearfork. Seems that the up-and-down weather has kept the crowds away. Hoping we hear some good reports from the weekend though as it looks to be good. Maybe some rain on Saturday but the fish won't get any wetter.

Did have a few folks cover the lower stretch pretty well and they did ok. Nothing to write home about but they were mostly dry fly fishing. We are still waiting for a report of a monster on a streamer down in the park here. Somebody needs to do this!!!! They said they saw a mixed bag of bugs including a few Hendricksons, midges, caddisflies and terrestrials. Most of the fish caught were on small dries. They have raised the lower water a bit here the past couple of days but it is still fishable and not really enough rain in the forecast to expect them to raise it any more for the weekend.

The Upper is in fine shape for the weekend and has, just like the Mad, been a mixed bag of bugs and techniques. A couple of days this week did see good Hendrickson hatches but the past few have been slim. Hard to say whether the hatch is winding down or not. Hopefully we'll learn more this weekend. The good news is that the Caddis have come on pretty strong. Have some caddis larva and soft hackles for below the surface and Elk Hairs or Galloup's Butch Caddis for the surface. Ants have also been doing pretty well and by far our favorite pattern is Galloup's Ant Acid. Killer Fly!

Always a good bet to chuck a big streamer around too as you have seen so far this Spring. Some hogs have been caught and released as you have seen. Try the big stuff 1st and if that doesn't do it, go with a sculpin or bugger pattern. White Wooly Buggers have always been a favorite  on the CF, especially as the season progresses.

Get out there and let us know how you are doing!!!



Clear Creek


5/2/16- Clear Creek has shot up with the rains and it's gonna be a few days before we get back out there. Sunday was a great day for most that we have seen and good fishing should pick right back up once the water drops. Tomorrow and mid-week could be good to excellent streamer fishing for those willing to brave the higher water.

We'll check in later in the week and let you know how things are looking.

4/28/16- Clear Creek did bump up just a pinch with the rains but is right back down to "low and clear". We could actually use a bit of rain here. Despite that, anglers have been doing pretty well especially on the surface. Not a ton of activity, but just enough to be fun!!! Still a few Hendricksons around as well as Caddis and Terrestrials. Ants in particular have been good and of course we wouldn't go down there without Galloup's Ant Acid (one of the best dry flies of all-time). If the dry fly game isn't working for you, try nymphs and soft hackles in the deeper holes and slots and you should pick up fish.

Got this note this week via e-mail (best way to report) fro Patrick Haren-

"I'm not sure this is the best way to submit a report but I figured it would get the information across. Overall it was a beautiful day before the storms rolled in. Clear Creek was still low and clear but managed to catch fish. They were all in deeper runs and an olive dubbing soft hackle seemed to be what they wanted. Some rising fish but not many. Thanks- Patrick"


Probably the "Prettiest" Trout Water in Ohio! Clear Creek


****Patrick- olive or green bodied soft hackle type flies are a must for the Clear Creek. If you had to pick only 1 fly for this creek....you nailed it. Thanks for the report and you can keep them coming to admin@madriveroutfitters.com.




Erie Steelhead

5/2/16- All steelhead/smallmouth streams shot straight up with the rains and most not crested yet. We'll keep our eyes on things and let you know. 

The BIG QUESTION is whether this rain will bring fresh steelhead into the streams or whether it will be mostly smallmouth. The Calendar says steelhead, 2016 season says smallmouth.

We'll get on the water asap and let you know what we find. We do have guide trips booked for tomorrow and mid week and they are fully planning on smallmouth fishing....but you never know. We have caught steelhead in June many-a-season.

Stay tuned!!

4/28/16- A challenging week here of steelhead fishing and for most, it's pretty much over. Unless we get a push of water with a side of cold front, we may not see any more fresh fish.

Don't get us wrong, you can still get out and find some fish, but they are mostly pretty spawned out and eager to get back to the lake.

The big news is that the smallmouth fishing is picking up and should be on fire the next 3-4 weeks and even more! Pretty cool fishing right now when you can pull a smallmouth out of one hole and a steelhead out of the next!!!

NGSKI (that's all he signed as) sent us this report this week-

"Fishing the Grand this weekend was tuff to manage to catch some steelhead. Had to move around from one spot to another. Spots below Helen Park all the way down to Rec park in Painesville."


"NGSKI" this week on the Grand

MRO Guide Patrick Campbell sent us this note after a "decent" guide trip over the weekend-

"We're getting a nice early push of LR smallies and it should only get better with the next few rain events. I have had clients catching them on all of the tribs and have specifically been targeting them with streamers fished deep. The V and the Rocky have been great this week. Water temps are still a bit cool for the aggressive streamer bite, but it's coming.

I'd say we can start running smallmouth trips NOW with the rains coming later this week. Hopefully they will stay around through June. Just like the steelhead this year though, they may depart a little earlier as well.

As for steelhead, the water temps everywhere are right at 60....so it's pretty much time to shut that down. There are fish in the lower river systems but the upper parts are definitely thinning out, and quickly. As you saw from yesterday's guide trip, the fish are getting pretty beat up. Time to give them a break so we can ensure they return next season."


Guides have been doing very well on Smallies here the past week or more!



Connor Kannaly with a nice one on a guide trip with Josh McQueen last weekend!



Get out there and let us know how you are doing! Send a pic and a report and we'll send you out one of the new MRO "Fly Fish Ohio" stickers!!!!!


We'll let you know what we do and always feel free to call the shop for an "up-to-the-minute" report!

Mad River Outfitters
Fly Shop, Guides, Schools and more!

813 Bethel Rd.
Columbus, Ohio 43214

614-451-0363

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

MRO Price Match Guarantee


Did you know?

Mad River Outfitters cannot be beat on price?

That's right. Shop our competition and find a better price.....we'll beat it!

We also accept all competitors coupons in the shop or the online store. Bring it in, scan and send or take a photo and send. We'll take it!!!!


Place your order online, send us the coupon, and we'll reduce the total when we ring you up. 



Nobody beats or service.....period!



Nobody beats our price....period!

Now how can we help you?


Mad River Outfitters

Fly Shop, Online Store, Guides, Classes, Trips and more!

813 Bethel Rd.
Columbus, Ohio 43214
614-451-0363


Fishing Reports- 4/20/16

* Please remember to call us for more up-to-date or detailed information! These reports are not meant to be your one and only, daily source of information. They are typically general, even seasonal type reports and we currently don't have a set schedule as to when we update. Please, just because we don't update as often as we like, it doesn't mean that we don't care.

There are many different approaches you should take in order to get a good game plan for a trip or a day of fishing. Also remember that things change and these reports are what we know at the time of posting only. Keep in mind that we do express opinions and personal preferences from time-to-time which may be different from yours or what you may read elsewhere. Thanks for checking and don't forget to call us if you need any further information or a more up-to-date report. 614-451-0363



Thanks for all of the reports this past weekend friends! We are all helping to make these happen!



Mad River

4-22-16 Weekend Update- The rains didn't budge the river. It's looking GREAT for the weekend and looks like the weather will be spectacular.

Good reports of Hendricksons the past few days and they have been starting around 1:00 and lasting for about an hour. Earlier as we expected with the warm weather and later in the hatch. They have been best for sure from 36 upstream and will continue to move North as we go here.

The spinner falls have been happening around 7:45 or 8:00 although that could get later as well here the next few nights. Remember that the most concentrated feeding of the day will be on the spinners so don't be afraid to stay late....and look up. 

Can't wait to hear what the weekend brings!

4-20-16- The Mad is in absolutely gorgeous shape! Great flow and for most great fishing!

The Hendricksons have been a bit sporadic as expected. Some seeing good numbers and feeding fish and some not finding them at all. We can tell you that we have had a bunch of reports of folks fishing from 8 a.m. to Noon and wondering why they didn't see bugs. Just to be clear, the Hendricksons are always an afternoon hatch and have been popping around 1:00- 1:30 the past few days. Earlier in the hatch they were coming off between 3 and 5 p.m. Not going to see them in the morning. We did get out over the weekend and saw decent spinner falls about 30-45 minutes before dark. The fish were feeding well. For those willing to stay late, the spinners appear to be the way to go right now.

It is likely that we will see the bugs slow-up here over the next week. They have been hatching now for almost a month, and sporadically. We have probably seen the best of it but who knows???? We have also seen some caddis flitting around in the late afternoons and evenings and you surely want to have some wet and dry in your box.

Thanks again for all of the reports and pics. Your "Fly Fish Ohio" stickers are on the way to you! Here are some of the highlights:

Bill Rice 4-19-16
"Fished the lower river yesterday from 1:00 p.m. to 7:30 yesterday. Water was clear although quite a bit of tree blossoms etc. in the drift. Modest numbers of insects noted, small stuff an occasional caddis. Did not see any Hendrickson duns, alhtough did see numerous shucks in the drift later in the day. No risers were noted, but fish were found in feeding lanes. Nymphs were the order of the day with most caught on my "go-to" Trophy Nymph.  I did land a 20" fish in an unexpected spot (soft water near shallow riffle) where I had only caught small stuff in the past. I guess you have to be open minded about where these larger fish can be. All in all a good outing."




Frequent Reporter Bill Rice and a beauty on a nymph!


Benjamin Soltis 4-17-16
"Fished from 0700 to 1100 this morning downstream from Lippincott Road. Caught 8 browns and 1 rainbow (see pic). All on nymphs (#14 frenchies and #14 pheasant tail soft hackles). Midges were around in the morning, no Hendricksons observed. After the sun got higher the bite slowed down.

I fished last Friday afternoon downstream of Dallas road until about 4:00 p.m. Water was high but clear. I nymphed up a couple small browns. Didn't see any mayflies."


Benjamin Soltis with a nice Mad River Rainbow from Sunday


Clay Sommerfelt- 4/17/16
"The river was absolutely gorgeous today, a little fast, but that didn't seem to bother the fish's appetite. Caught a few fish on some nymphs and dry flies. Overall the day was a success."

Justin Shiflett- 4/15/16
"Picked up this guy on the lower river yesterday morning. Lunch at Crabill's and dry fly fishing with a friend in the afternoon. Doesn't get much better than that! Big thanks to some new friends I met on the river, Tim and Dan, for being net men and helping me with the grip and grin."




Ann Heurman- 4/18/16
A couple friends and I went out to the upper Mad Sunday. Started with dries and got a few hits but nothing consistently and no fish. Switched around alot until I got a fish on the pink squirrel. We caught 4 total, all 4 on the the pink squirrel oddly enough. Including my first ever trout on the Mad! Great weather and great day to be out! Thanks for the reports, I love reading them"




Thank You Ann for following along and congrats on your 1st Mad River Brown!


***Again friends, alot of folks fishing the mornings and expecting to see Hendricksons. Not going to happen. They are a sun loving, afternoon hatch. If you are looking for dry fly fishing, no reason to get to the river before NOON! Also, since we are now pretty late in the hatch, it is very unlikely that you would find Hendricksons in the lower river. Hatches move up a river and more likely to find them in the upper reaches now. We will begin looking for Sulphers here in the lower river over the next few weeks while there still may be some Hennys hatching way up North.

Keep the reports coming friends. We'll check-in with a "Weekend Update" on Friday.


****Please make note of the ODNR "Creel Survey" that is going on now...runs April 1st- November 1st. It is very important that we help these guys out by completing the Survey Cards and sending them in after outings. You can read more on our Blog from 4/2 and we'll post it again periodically throughout the season.

The Survey cards are available in the shop and we can also send them out to you if you can't make it in the shop. We'll be happy to drop some in the mail to you free of charge. Once completed they are postage paid so all you have to do is drop them in the mail.

This is a great chance for those of us that fish the Mad to help the ODNR to help the river!


Clearfork River



4-22-16 Weekend Update- Not a budge here either so we are looking good for the weekend. Have had good to great reports of bugs, especially in the Upper River. Hendricksons, Caddis, Midges and even some terrestrial type stuff. Seems that they dry fly bite has really picked up and the streamer bite may slow down.

Not many reports at all from the lower stretch but it's only been a few days fishable here so we'll hope to get a first-hand report here from the weekend.

4-20-16- The Big News on the Clearfork is that they have finally dropped the water level on the lower stretch and it should be fishing well. Hard to say exactly what is happening down there as it has been a few weeks since anyone has fished there due to the high water. For sure the nymph fishing should be good to excellent. Probably a good idea to chuck a big streamer around as well. 

We would expect that there will be some Hendricksons hatching down there. Especially in the next few days. Also likely to see midges and caddis as well. Look for the caddis in the late afternoons and evenings. 

Just like on the Mad, the best fishing on both streches will be late afternoons and into the evenings. Keep your eyes out for Hendrickson spinners and caddis about an hour before dark. The river can come alive with risers!

Meanwhile, the Upper Clearfork continues to amaze! Here is a report from frequent contributor Bryan Clem:

"Fished the UCF yesterday and the water was terrific.  It was flowing hard, but was clear.  I was looking for a change of pace, so i was high-stick nymphing most of the day and picked up a few small fish on hare's ear nymphs and midge larva.  The hendricksons really started coming off around 530, but i never saw any risers.  With no fish rising I figured i'd finish the day streamer fishing and I was not disappointed."


Bryan Clem with yet another Clearfork beauty!


Sam Hojnacki- 4/18/16
"Howdy MRO- I spent the evening on the Upper Clearfork trying my luck. The river was in great shape. Started out with wet flies and caught a nice little brown (my 1st Ohio brown trout) on a beadhead pheasant tail. A little before 7 there were some risers, couldn't tell exactly what they were rising to. I hooked one on a nondescript brown dry fly, but it got off. Attached is a picture of the nymph eating brown. It was a grand ol' time. Thanks."



Sam Hojnacki's 1st Ohio Brown Trout- Congrats and Thanks for the report!


***Sam- when you see fish feeding but can't see what they are feeding on...think either midges or emergers. If you can't see any other bugs flying around (emerging)....think midges, especially on the Clearfork

Chris Schalz- 4/17/16
"Wish I could give you a good trout report from the upper fork but couldn't get any to the net. Hit the water at around 9:30 a.m. with approx. 24 inches of clarity. Started with streamers, but as the sun got higher switched to tandem nymphs (PTs, hares ears, prince nymphs). Lost one shortly after an awkward hook set around 11 a.m. Switched back to big streamers pounding the banks and the bigger creek chubs were happy to whack them, but couldn't get any browns to play. Saw the occasional mayfly, but no active hatches and no obvious feeding behavior between 9:30 and approx 2 p.m. Didn't see anyone else bring any to the net during that time either."

***Thanks for the report Chris. As stated above for the Mad, if you only fished until 2:00 p.m., you probaby missed the fun! The Hennys have been popping up there around 2:30 - 3:00 and lasting for about an hour. Although the dry fly fishing has not been stellar, just as we stated above for the Mad, it is definitely a late afternoon to evening game right now. Better luck next time and keep fishing.

Keep the reports coming friends. We are shipping stickers today!!!!



Clear Creek


4-22-16 Weekend Update- Same story here. Should be a great weekend and with the trees and flowers in full bloom this will be the place to be this weekend....no matter how the fishing is. We are expecting a strong Hendrickson hatch down here but you may need to go a bit upstream to find them. Nymphs and streamers in the lower parts of the creek and caddis throughout. Have heard of some ants and beetles starting to produce a few fish on the surface as well.

Let us know how you do this weekend!

4-20-16- The Clear Creek fished pretty well over the weekend. A good mix of dry fly activity, nymph fishing and streamer fishing was reported. There seems to be a pretty good mix of bugs but the Hendricksons and Caddis are what the fish seem to be focused on. The water is in good shape right now and with this rain coming in the next few days, it should make for a great weekend of nymph and streamer fishing.

Our good friend Elliot Cantwell sent this report and pics:

"Fished at varying times of the day the past few days, Sunday evening bwo and caddis hatching with few fish rising. Monday and Tuesday I saw not hatches and caught all fish on caddis and hares ear nymphs. Lots of ants, beetles, and moths around. An attractor pattern as an indicator is a good bet, a few fish Tuesday morning took the attractor."



Beautiful Clear Creek in South Central Ohio


Nice Brown from Clear Creek courtesy of Elliot Cantwell




Erie Steelhead

4-22-16 Weekend Update- Despite the low and clear water, things did seem to pick up the past few days. We have seen some fresher fish around and catches were better later in the week than earlier. Regardless, with as low and clear as the tribs are getting, it will still remain pretty tough until we get some more water. Best we can hope for is a little cold snap and some rain to keep things going another few weeks?

The Grand has been the hot ticket the past few days and this is where most of the guides in the region are hanging out. At least those looking for steelhead. It is starting to get on the low side though and may get tougher as the weekend goes. Still fish to be caught though.

We have had guides out on the West side the past few days searching for smallmouth....and they are finding them!! Mostly in the lower parts of the rivers but it won't be long before they are throughout the system. Seems right now that the further West you are, the more smallmouth you'll find and the further East you go the bettter chance of steelhead. We'll hope to get some good reports/pics from the weekend and let you know early next week. We do have guides on the water looking for steelhead this weekend so watch Social Media for updates. In the meantime, here's guide Pat Kelly with a pig smallmouth from earlier today:



4-20-16- As good as we expected the fishing to be last weekend and the past few days.....it seems that mother nature has thrown us a curve here.......in the form of heat.

Although there are fish in the streams, most appear to be drop backs and are headed back to the lake. Guide trips over the weekend were pretty tough with only a handful of fish to the net. They were making a beeline to lake Erie. Seems that the water warmed up to the point that they want out. 

The big news is that the Grand is fishable and does have plenty of fish in it. If you were to go the next few days, that's the place to be. Although, most of the fish we are seeing and hearing of are definitely drop backs. Also hearing of quite a few walleye and smallmouth so we may well be nearing the end. Hard to believe.

If we happen to get a good push of water with the rain expected, along with some cooler temps, things might pick back up again, but right now it's not looking great.

All of the other streams outside of the Grand are getting very low and very clear. Probably going to get very tough here until we get some rain, clouds and cooler temps.

The good news is that we are starting to see....and catch.....some of the Lake Run Smallies. The V was full of them a few days ago. More smallmouth than steelhead, especially down low. Anyone interested in booking a smallmouth trip let us know, it seems they have arrived.

Here is a report from guide friend Troy Shirley from Avon Lake, Ohio:

"So us up here at Backpackers shop guides are seeing a decline in steelhead. Unless you want to rake the beds. Unfortunately a lot of fish pushed out, but fresh fish came low, really low. Dropbacks even started pushing out. We did also have a small first push of smallies, but nothing to write home about yet. As for the Grand, there is still a healthy bit of dropback steelies and lake run walleye to Bates Rd."


Friend and customer Kevin Lang out with MRO Guide Josh on the V the other day. Lots of Smallies!


Guide Patrick Campbell still finding fish but mostly dropbacks. We didn't get the push of chrome that we expected with the last high water event. Hard to say what the next few weeks will bring?


Get out there and let us know how you are doing! Send a pic and a report and we'll send you out one of the new MRO "Fly Fish Ohio" stickers!!!!!


We'll let you know what we do and always feel free to call the shop for an "up-to-the-minute" report!

Mad River Outfitters
Fly Shop, Guides, Schools and more!

813 Bethel Rd.
Columbus, Ohio 43214

614-451-0363