* 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!
"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"
****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.
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
