* 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 as always for reading our reports friends. As the weather gets more conducive we should be reporting more regularly....but we need your HELP!
Send any and all reports to admin@madriveroutfitters and we'll do our best to get them up.
8/12 UPDATE- The storms on Friday have raised the level of some of the local streams. The Scioto and Olentangy are holding as of early Saturday, but lake levels are slightly high. The smaller streams are elevated for the most part, but with the forecast should drop very fast. Make sure to check with us at the shop or take a look at the gauges before heading out.
Warmwater
Mad River
Thanks as always for reading our reports friends. As the weather gets more conducive we should be reporting more regularly....but we need your HELP!
Send any and all reports to admin@madriveroutfitters and we'll do our best to get them up.
8/12 UPDATE- The storms on Friday have raised the level of some of the local streams. The Scioto and Olentangy are holding as of early Saturday, but lake levels are slightly high. The smaller streams are elevated for the most part, but with the forecast should drop very fast. Make sure to check with us at the shop or take a look at the gauges before heading out.
Special congrats to our good friend Bob Bailey from Columbus, Ohio. He landed this 23 1/2" bruiser last week on the Madison River. Fish of the group for the Slide Inn Trip Shown here with one of our favorite guides anywhere....John McClure.
Should get some further pics and reports up from the Alaska Trip and the Slide Inn Trip this week as we get a few moments.
Got this note last week from our friend and customer Ann Heuerman:
Dear MRO,
Spent last week in Northern Michigan. Didn't get to do as much fishing as I hoped due to weather and other reasons, however still was a great trip.
Fished a hopper dropper with different attractor nymphs on bottom and picked off a few tiny smallies in the Crystal River near glen arbor. Got looks from trout but none committed. No big fish, but sight fishing for creek smallmouth was tons of fun.
Then headed further north to Petoskey. Fished round lake for pike but unfortunately didn't get any on the fly rod. My dad and I did get to fish the Boyne River for a couple hours and pulled out a rainbow on the black ant.
Additionally, before I left, got into some Ohio creek smallies as well. As always, thanks for the tips and flies!- Ann
Congrats also goes out to Rodney Zoyhofski from Canton, Ohio. He was out today (8/11/17) with MRO guide Pat Kelly and had an EPIC day of Ohio Pike fishing on the fly. He landed the 34" above and then 20 minutes later landed the 38" below. Pat said conditions are perfect for a change and he and Josh are looking to book trips.
Warmwater
The forecast looks great with only a slight chance of some popup thunderstorms from day to day. These rains will only mess up the rivers for a very short period of time if at all. Take advantage of the great flows and good temps!
The local Smallmouth Bass fishing has been fantastic. All the streams are currently fishing well. The Big Walnut and the lower Alum did bump up, but are clearing fast. The topwater popper bite has been great in the evenings and at first light. Boogle Bug Poppers and Bullets continue to be our go to flies for either personal fishing or on guide trips. The middle of the day we have been fishing streams with great success. The Murdich minnow in full size has been our go to on the Scioto along with the Peanut, Bottoms Up, and Dungeon. For the smaller streams we have been really liking the Mini Murdich, Skiddish Smolt, Little Swimmer, Clousers and Bug Eyed Buggers. Do not overlook fishing crawfish patterns as the water continues to drop and clear out.
Carp fishing also has been good, but with the smaller streams dropping you need to be on your game. Olentangy has been fishing well along with the Scioto. Delicate accurate casts to feeding fish is always a good way to burn those hours in the middle of the day when the bass fishing slows. Flies that have been producing are the Carpin Toad and the Wabbit Worm, but this game requires a very diverse fly box.
Pond/Lake fishing continues to be good if you are targeting Panfish. The Largemouth Bass are currently in their summer pattern and holding close to structure in deeper water. Utilize your Rio Lake Series Line, Orvis Depth Charge, Scientific Anglers Warm Sink 30, or SA Titan Clear Tip to keep your fly deep. Fish a Galloup style modern streamer, Super Worm, Reaper or J-Pig and your're all set.
The local Smallmouth Bass fishing has been fantastic. All the streams are currently fishing well. The Big Walnut and the lower Alum did bump up, but are clearing fast. The topwater popper bite has been great in the evenings and at first light. Boogle Bug Poppers and Bullets continue to be our go to flies for either personal fishing or on guide trips. The middle of the day we have been fishing streams with great success. The Murdich minnow in full size has been our go to on the Scioto along with the Peanut, Bottoms Up, and Dungeon. For the smaller streams we have been really liking the Mini Murdich, Skiddish Smolt, Little Swimmer, Clousers and Bug Eyed Buggers. Do not overlook fishing crawfish patterns as the water continues to drop and clear out.
Carp fishing also has been good, but with the smaller streams dropping you need to be on your game. Olentangy has been fishing well along with the Scioto. Delicate accurate casts to feeding fish is always a good way to burn those hours in the middle of the day when the bass fishing slows. Flies that have been producing are the Carpin Toad and the Wabbit Worm, but this game requires a very diverse fly box.
Pond/Lake fishing continues to be good if you are targeting Panfish. The Largemouth Bass are currently in their summer pattern and holding close to structure in deeper water. Utilize your Rio Lake Series Line, Orvis Depth Charge, Scientific Anglers Warm Sink 30, or SA Titan Clear Tip to keep your fly deep. Fish a Galloup style modern streamer, Super Worm, Reaper or J-Pig and your're all set.
"Warm water bass are killing the streamers. Thanks for giving me the right colors!!"- Martin Lindeboom
Mad River
8/12 UPDATE- The River did blow out pretty well with the rains last night. Shot straight up but is dropping like a rock. The very upper reaches may fish later this afternoon and by tomorrow we should be in pretty good shape. Actually should be some good streamer water here for a couple of days.
8/11- Fishing continues to be great for this time of year. There are a few out of the ordinary factors that attribute to this...the flows are a little higher than normal for this time of the year and we have been having cool nights for the last week or so. Tricos continue to be the ticket at first light into early morning. Dry fly fishing can be hit or miss after that. If you are looking to continue to dry fly fish make sure to have a few small caddis like the Henryville Special, Goddard Caddis, and Elk Hair Caddis. Having a few Griffiths Gnats and ICSI midges are always a good idea when they start keying in on the little stuff. Dry fly fishing fires back up later in the day when the breeze starts up. The evenings will consist of Ant and Beetle fishing. The Fur Ant, Power Ant, and Hi-Vis Para Ant are all great choices.
We have also heard a few reports of the White Miller Caddis showing up in the evenings as well and they should continue into September. They can provide some excellent evening fishing and be sure to have some #14 Green Soft Hackle flies for these. Not a bad idea to trail them behind and Elk Hair or a Galloup's Butch Caddis as well. We'll be out over the weekend looking for these "moth like" bugs and hopefully have a hot report for next week.
If you like to be prepared with some sub-surface tactics than make sure to have plenty of caddis or nymphs with soft hackle collars. The Trophy Nymph, Guides Choice Hare's Ear, and Swing Nymph are good generic choices. If you cant to take advantage of the caddis life cycle more closely than stock up on Holy Grails, Nitro Caddis, and Swinks Core caddis making sure you trail a Purple Haze or regular Soft Hackle behind. Cover lots of water mixing dead drift and swinging these flies.
Clearfork River
Clearfork Map
The Clear Fork is currently very low on either side of the Pleasant Hill Dam. Although the stream temps are doing very well for this time of the year these low flows can make it hard for fish to recover. If you do plan to fish this creek make sure you have a net to corral the fish in as it recovers from bing caught. The net allows you to keep the fish wet in the water while you grab the quick photo for these fishing reports and take out the hook. If you do need to handle these fish make sure to imply slip an open hand under their belly to support the entire body and then get them back into the water as soon as possible. Once they start kicking in the net slip them out into a slow flow and let them find some cover.
The name of the game in the middle of summer is Trico dries early in the day followed by midges and then switching to caddis. As the day progresses into the evening look for fish keying in on Ants and Beetles. Specific patterns consist of Trico thorax and A.K's Trico Dun with 6 & 7x tippet for the morning hatch, Griffith Gnats and ICSI Midges for the mid morning and then Goddard Caddis, Henryville Special, and Elk Hair Caddis. For Ants we like the Fur Ant, Power Ant, and HiVis Para Ants when we are on the water. Beetles need to be Rainys Foam Beetle, Flash Beetle, and even a small Humpy. Fish these into the evenings when the Thermals start pushing some wind around.
The name of the game in the middle of summer is Trico dries early in the day followed by midges and then switching to caddis. As the day progresses into the evening look for fish keying in on Ants and Beetles. Specific patterns consist of Trico thorax and A.K's Trico Dun with 6 & 7x tippet for the morning hatch, Griffith Gnats and ICSI Midges for the mid morning and then Goddard Caddis, Henryville Special, and Elk Hair Caddis. For Ants we like the Fur Ant, Power Ant, and HiVis Para Ants when we are on the water. Beetles need to be Rainys Foam Beetle, Flash Beetle, and even a small Humpy. Fish these into the evenings when the Thermals start pushing some wind around.
Clear Creek
Clear Creek Map
The creek is currently low, but still higher than normal. The big news for this creek in South Eastern Ohio is the water temps. We cannot remember the last time Clear Creek was in the 60s for the better part of the summer. With the temps coming next week things should continue to be good. We could use some rain though or the flows will start falling. If you head down that way make sure to have plenty of small caddis like 16-18 Elk Hair Caddis, Henryville Specials and Micro Stimulators. Tricos continue to be the main morning hatch though. Having a good mix of these tiny Mayflies in sizes 20-24 and plenty of Rio Suppleflex 5-7x tippet are a must if you are fishing in the morning. Those caddis flies mentioned earlier and a few added midges will keep the dry fly game going all day.
If nymphing is your game then fish a caddis larva or pupa like the Nitro or Swinks Core Caddis with either a Soft Hackle or tiny Pheasant Tail as the trailer. Although Caddis are King right now you can catch fish on midge larva, Swing Nymphs, and emergers like RS2's. Swinging Soft Hackles is also a great option any time. We like to start with a Bead Head Soft Hackle, Swing Nymph, Trophy Nymph or Guides Choice and then follow these with a smaller Soft Hackle or Purple Haze.
Keep your Stream Thermometer handy to check the water temps and enjoy this great Metro Park.
Mad River Outfitters
Fly Shop, Guides, Trips, Classes, Schools and more!
813 Bethel Rd.
Columbus, Ohio 43214
614-451-0363
