Mad River Outfitters

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Smith Optics- Lens Types and Colors

The Smith Optics Polarized fishing collection was designed to overcome the grueling glare and ever-changing light conditions faced by professional guides. Like the men and women who spend their days in the most challenging visual environments in the world, Smith Optics is unflinchingly committed to excellence, every step of the way.

Techlite Polarized Glass

* Premium Optics- Tapered lens technology (TLT) engineered into every lens to provide crystal clear vision

* Lightweight- Absolutely minimized lens thickness provides a 20% weight reduction over standard glass lenses

* Scratch Resistance- 12x anti-scratch performance over "plastic" lenses

* Optical Perfection- Created through a finishing process with controls maintaining 1/2000th of a milimeter tolerance

* Anti-Reflection- Vacuum applied Anti-Reflective (A/R) coating absorbs unwanted backlight on all Techlite Glass lenses

* Polarized- 99.9% polarization filter. It's like noise-canceling headphones for your eyes!

ChromaPOP and ChromaPOP +

* Clarity Redefined- Proprietary lenses crafted with science and art to blend color and clarity like no other

* Speed of Sight- Improves speed of visual processing. See truer color, faster

* Ultra Lightweight- 10% Lighter than polycarbonate, 15% lighter than CR-39 and 75% lighter than glass

* High Impact Resistance- Ideal for all activities from casual to competitive

* Polarized- NEW film-free polarization eliminates glues and haze. Creates unmatched visual clarity

* Anti-Reflection- Vacuum applied Anti-Reflective (A/R) coating on the backside of all Chroma POP lenses eliminates bothersome side reflections

* Perfect Vision- Tapered Lens Technology (TLT) corrects light distortion for true optical clarity

* Scratch Resistance- 4-5x anti-scratch performance over "plastic lenses"

* Hydroleophobic Coating- Repels moisture, grease and grime

* ChromaPOP +- provides even more clarity and 10% Lighter than standard ChromaPOP- available in the revolutioinary Polarchromic Ignitor lens!

Tactical- Carbonic

* Premium Optics- Tapered Lens Technology (TLT) engineered into every lens to provide crystal clear vision

* Impact Resistance- Optical performance standards meeting ANSI Z87.1. Ideal for sport or casual use.

* MIL Spec- refers to the ballistic portion of the US Military's standard for protective eyewear.

* MIL-PRF 32432 is the most stringent ballistic standard in the world

* Performance Coatings- Hydroleophobic coatings release sweat and moisture to run off the lens and keep vision clear

* Polarized- 99.9% polarization filter. It's like noise cancelling headphones for your eyes.

Polarchromic Ignitor- Chroma POP +

Polarchromic Ignitor maximizes colors and depth perception while reducing glare. Suited for all day use in high altitudes or open water environments. The Poloarchromic lens tint automatically darkens to adapt your vision in bright conditions. Anti-Reflective (A/R) mirror coating eliminates back glare. Hydroleophobic coating repels water, dirt and grease. Provides 100% protection fro harmful UVA/B/C rays. For many reasons, this may well become the best selling lens in the history of Smith! They are that good!

Polarized Brown- ChromaPOP

The ChromaPOP Polarized Brown lens experience is one of crisp optical clarity with enhanced contrast and amplified colorations. Perfect for a varitety of fishing conditions. Anti-Reflective (A/R) mirror coating eliminates back glare. Hydroleophobic coating repels water, dirt and grease. Provides 100% protection from harmful UVA/B/C rays. These lenses are probably the most universal in the Smith line and of course we are BIG fans of the ChromaPOP lenses like many in our industry.

Polarized Green Mirror- Techlite Glass

A high contrast Polarized Brown lens with multi-layer Green Mirror. Absorbs stray "blue light" and provides strong contrast in bright conditions. Anti-Reflective (A/R) mirror coating eliminates back glare. Hydroleophobic coating repels water, dirt and grease. Provides 100% protection from harmful UVA/B/C rays. Our best selling lens for saltwater flats fishing but works great anywhere when conditions are expected to be the brightest.

Polarized Low Light Ignitor- Techlite Glass

The mile yellow tint allows depleting light in, and brightens as the light passes thru. The Low Light Ignitor lens excels in hazy, cloudy, rainy, early and late conditions. A must-have lens for every serious sight fisherman on flats and streams. Anti-Reflective (A/R) mirror coating eliminates back glare. Hydroleophobic coating repels water, dirt, and grease. Provides 100% protection from harmful UVA/B/C rays. These lenses are always in our "kit" for rainy, cloudy, or low light days. A MUST!

Check out the full line of Smith Sunglasses featued at Mad River Outfitters

Mad River Outfitters

Proud vendor of Smith Sunglasses featuring the revolutionary ChromaPOP lenses.

www.madriveroutfitters.com

Friday, May 6, 2016

F3t Proceeds to Reel Recovery

We finally had a chance to get together with Joe Scaletta from the Ohio Chapter of Reel Recovery to present the proceeds check from the Fly Fishing Film Tour back in March. Joe lives in Florida during the Winter and was traveling through Columbus on his way to the Summer haunt along Lake Erie.

He and Brian Flechsig got together and Brian presented the check. $3621.81 was donated to go towards a Reel Recovery retreat here in Central Ohio. They also mapped out the initial plans on putting this retreat together.

We' like to again THANK everyone who came out to enjoy the evening back in March and to help this wonderful cause. It was due to your generosity that made this donation possible.

Brian presents the proceeds check to Joe Scaletta- Ohio Chapter Reel Recovery

Way to go MRO Friends- we couldn't have done this without YOU!

As soon as the details arise on the retreat, we'll surely be posting here and on Social Media. In the meantime, we are keeping a list of folks who have expressed interest in volunteering. If you are, just shoot us an e-mail and we'll forward on to Joe.

In the meantime, you can learn more about Reel Recovery and the Retreats that they put on by clicking HERE.

THANKS AGAIN friends! This donation is due to your support and generosity. We truly appreciate all that you do for us......allowing us to give back to the community.

Mad River Outfitters

Ohio's Fly Fishing Professionals

www.madriveroutfitters.com

admin@madriveroutfitters.com

Fishing Reports- 5/6/16

* 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

Mad River

USGS Gauge- Urbana

USGS Gauge- St. Paris Pike

Mad River Map

The Mad has been pretty good this week with the flows staying on the upper side of things but totally fishable. It is looking to be a good to excellent weekend of fishing. Should be a nice mixed bag of bugs and techniques.

The strange news this week has been the prolific Hendrickson hatches and spinner falls that many anglers have reported from the upper parts of the river. Strange because it should be winding down to say the least, but also strange due to the cool temps we have been experiencing. It could be that they just had to go and did it. Several anglers reported EPIC spinner falls on Tuesday and Wednesday nights with bugs blanketing the surface starting around 7:30 to 7:45 p.m. They said fish were rising up like birds! Also alot of caddis starting to show up in the standard #14 tan and the #16 olive varieties.

Will be interesting to see what happens this weekend. For sure we will be looking for the 1st of the Sulphers here in the next few weeks, especially if the temps keep creeping up. Let us know if you see any out there. Look for them lower on the river and more towards the evening but a cloudy, overcast day can see them hatch all day!

In the meantime:

Tim Brennan called in with a report on 4/29/16- "Fished streamers down low with little success. Then moved to above 36 and found Hendricksons, BWOs and Craneflies with many fish rising. Did not see a spinner fall but it was a little breezy."

Tim Greiner sent this e-mail and pics on Saturday- 4/30/16-
"Hey guys, decided to get out in front of the rain today on the Mad. Fishing was slow until mid morning when the rain came in. Then it exploded. Moved a half a dozen fish without hooking up and landed another half dozen including this missile. Saw a few other anglers but most stayed by the access points. Tight lines guys!"

Tim Greiner has been having a GREAT Spring!

Bryan O'Maley wrote in- "Finally got back on the Mad today. Was doing some nymping when I noticed a good amount of risers. I had not tried dries before but had some Elk Hair Caddis in the box so what the heck! Gave it a go and boom! Attached is a pic of my 1st brown on a dry, not a monster but very satisfying. Love it....."

Congrats Bryan on your 1st trout on a dry fly!

Clearfork River

USGS- Upper Clearfork

USGS- Lower/Mohican State Park

Clearfork Map

Not too many reports from the Clearfork here this week as it has been on the high side and not many folks out. It should be coming in nicely though in the Upper and should fish well this weekend. Just like the Mad, it should be a nice mixed bag of bugs and techniques.

We did have a gal in the shop today who fished yesterday but nothing to report other than the water was a bit high for her liking. We do have a guide out there today and hoping to get a report (and pics) later this evening. We'll let you know with an update when we do.

The Lower stretch is still a bit high and hard to say when they will drop it to more fishable levels. We'll keep our eyes on it and do an update as we see them drop it.

Let us know if you do get out this weekend! Should be good! Have plenty of Caddis!!!!

Clear Creek

USGS Gauge

Clear Creek Map

Clear Creek is looking good and should fish very well this weekend. We have been hearing of good results on dries, nymphs and streamers. Almost seems like you can't go wrong right now. Also seems like the caddis are really turning on and the Hendricksons are slowing down, which is to be expected.

Our own Ryan Ratliff got out this morning for an hour before work:

"Hit the creek at 1st light this morning. With the cool temps nothing really happening hatch wise, but the streamer bite was the ticket. Nothing big, but many fish were chasing them down. Had to move to a bigger streamer to keep the stockers away! Ended up with one smallie and one nice holdover. Not bad for an hour.....but gotta get to work on time"

Fishing is a viable excuse for being late to work at MRO!

Erie Steelhead

Gauge Links and Maps

Not many reports this week as things are just now coming down and fishable in most spots. We did have guide trips earlier in the week that had to be put off due to the high and dirty water. We are hoping to get some eyes and flies out here the next few days and get a solid diagnosis.

What we do know is that it seems that the high water and cooler temps did bring some steelhead into the streams, especially out East. The Conneaut and Ashtabula have been fishing well for a couple of days here and the reports have gone back the steelhead direction...at least for a few days. We'll see what the weekend brings but we have heard of some fresh fish being caught out east.

The Rocky and Chagrin are just coming in and the Grand maybe tomorrow or Sunday. It will be very interesting to see what folks find. Chrome or Bronze?

It does seem that the hot smallmouth action has slowed up a bit with the cooler temps but that may change in a heartbeat here over the weekend. The Vermilion is still a bit high but may fish tomorrow afternoon and into Sunday. Chances are there we will be looking at good numbers of huge smallmouth but hard to say.

We'll get out there and let you know what we find and let us know what you are seeing. Could be an interesting weekend of fishing along the lake!!!

Mad River Outfitters

Fly Shop, Guides, Schools and more!

813 Bethel Rd.

Columbus, Ohio 43214

www.madriveroutfitters.com
www.midwestflyfishingschools.com

614-451-0363

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.

Click Here to check out the Impact Fly Rods by TFO

Mad River Outfitters

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

813 Bethel Rd.

Columbus, Ohio 43214

614-451-0363

www.madriveroutfitters.com

Fishing Reports- 4/28/16

"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

USGS Gauge- Urbana

USGS Gauge- St. Paris Pike

Mad River Map

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

USGS- Upper Clearfork

USGS- Lower/Mohican State Park

Clearfork Map

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

USGS Gauge

Clear Creek Map

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

Gauge Links and Maps

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."