NEW Loon Ergo Fly Tying Tools

We just got finished uploading 47 new items from the Loon Company onto our website. Most exciting though is the new line of "Ergo" tools.

Loon Ergo Bobbin- destined to become a shop favorite!

Click Here to check out the new Loon Ergo Bobbin

Loon Ergo Bodkin- exceptional conrol and accuracy

Click Here to check out the new Loon Ergo Bodkin

Loon Ergo Dubbing Brush- just fits in the hand well and a pleasure to use!

Click Here to check out the new Loon Ergo Dubbing Brush

Loon Gator Grip Dubbing Spinner- one of the best on the market.

Click Here to check out the new Loon Gator Grip Dubbing Spinner

Loon Ergo Scissors- 3 standard sizes- great quality for the price

Click Here to check out the new Loon Ergo Arrow 3.5" Fly Tying Scissors

Click Here to check out the new Loon Ergo All-Purpose 4" Fly Tying Scissors

Click Here to check out the new Loon Ergo Hair 4.5" Fly Tying Scissors

Loon UV Clear Fly Finish- it's all the rage right now. We got them all in stock! 1/2 ounce and 2 ounce sizes.

Click Here for Loon UV Clear Fly Finish Thin

Click Here for Loon UV Clear Fly Finish Thick

Click Here for Loon UV Clear Fly Finish Flow

Click Here for Loon UV Clear Fly Finish Fluorescing

Loon Fluorescing Hard Head Fly Finish- this is probably the one we are MOST excited about. We'll be using this on a ton of our saltwater flies in particular. Gonna be great for poxyback nymphs too!!!

Click Here to check out the Loon Fluorescing Hard Head Fly Finish

New Loon Rogue Hemos and Clamps- pretty much got the whole line of this stuff. Great quality with foam handles.

Click Here to view the full-line of Loon Outdoors products at Mad River Outfitters

Mad River Outfitters

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This just happened!

Wow....just wow! This just happened......

Our good friend and customer Richard Miller from Iowa Falls is up in Michigan on our Fall trip to the Muskegon River Lodge. He just bought a new spey rod and was itching to try it out.

Congrats Richard! That's really a fish of a lifetime...and on the swing. Thanks for helping us exceed your expecations which is what we try to do on all of our store trips.

Later in the day update:

 

Our good friend and great customer Scott Dollison posts a solid fish of his own. The Muskegon is treating our Fall group well!!!

 

For more information on booking a trip to the fabulous Muskegon River Lodge- Click Here. We'd love to put you in this photo!!! 

Mad River Travel

Hosted Fly Fishing trips designed to EXCEED your expectations!

614-451-0363

www.madriveroutfitters.com

Fishing Reports- Weekend Update

Quite a bit of feedback this weekend....and with FREE MRO hats on the line we thought we'd better update.

"Hey boys, Large mouth and crappie still biting on Landen  lake and surrounding ponds.  These beauties liked  an olive woolly buggger.  Heading to steelhead ally the week of Thanksgiving for my first try chasing chrome. I hope conditions approve some before then. Planning  to hit the mad on my way up, praying for RAIN, RAIN RAIN." - Bryan O'Maley

**Thanks as always Brian and thanks for including your address in the e-mail. We'll get your MRO lid out early this week.

* Kevin Lang was out today with MRO guide Josh McQueen and scored big! Ohio Pike continues to be HOT. Stop in the shop Kevin and we'll get you that FREE hat we promised.

* Our great friend (24 years?) Mike "Bo" Bowman was out for smallmouth in Central Ohio today and did very well. He doesn't know it but we have access to his phone so we stole this pic (no..we wouldn't). Regardless, he's due an MRO Lid. Stop in the shop Bo and pick one out...we know you'll be in tomorrow!

"Fished about hour in shallow, deep, fast and slow.....then I found them... it was game on thereafter.." -Bo

* No word from Pat on the Musky excursion on Friday. For those of you who know him, that's not a surprise. He doesn't kiss and tell all that much. Hopefully we can get this Musky bite going here in Ohio and really crank things into high gear on the toothy critters. He'll be in the shop tomorrow so watch Social Media in case he has something to report.

And on the Steelhead Front-

* As we stated in Friday's report, a ton of folks were heading up to the Alley this weekend. Even with the fairly dire conditions right now, a few have reported some decent fish. Hopefully we'll have some more to report via Social Media early in the week but here is what we have as of Sunday night.

"Thought I would send you guys a pick of my first Steelhead. caught this beautiful Hen today.  Thanks for the help with the gear."- Bob Wing

* Our pleasure Bob and congrats on your 1st. Welcome to Fly Fishing in Ohio. Stop in this week and pick out a FREE MRO Hat. It's the least we can do.....appreciate the recent support.

* MRO Guide Patrick Campbell was also out the other day and got this beauty. He did although say that he hadn't seen fishing this slow in some time. Again, as stated in Friday's report....WE NEED RAIN!

"She was so much fatter than this picture shows. Made a few nice jumps as well. Covered a lot of water and worked hard for this prize yesterday."- Patrick Campbell

Thanks as always for reading and hopefully we can start writing some more positive reports. Keep the pics coming friends....the FREE Hat deal will run through Thanksgiving!!! Send to admin@madriveroutfitters.com and don't forget to include your address.

Mad River Outfitters

813 Bethel Rd.

Columbus, Ohio 43214

614-451-0363

www.madriveroutfitters.com

Howler Brothers Fall 2016 Line-Up

The Fall 2016 Howler Brothers Line-Up at Mad River Outfitters

* Merlin Jacket

A great layering piece or outerwear piece that won't make you look like you just stepped off the North Face bus. Grey: McHale Navy Cord  and Pelham Blue: TV Yellow colors.

Howler Brothers Merlin Jacket- Grey: McHale Navy Cord

Howler Brothers Merlin Jacket- Pelham Blue: TV Yellow

* Merlin Vest

Ridiculously light and super packable, the Merlin vest will become your "go-to" layering piece. Primary Red/Surf Blue and Grey/Navy are the Fall colors.

Howler Brothers Merlin Vest- Primary Red: Surf Blue

Howler Brothers Merlin Vest- Grey/Navy

* Harker's Flannel Shirt

One of last Fall’s best sellers, The Harkers Flannel brings buttery soft warmth to the Howler Brother's table. Also a shop favorite! You'll see most employees wearing these around the shop and in our YouTube videos. Available this Fall in 3 colors.

Howler Brothers Harker's Flannel Shirt- Alturas Plaid: Red

Howler Brothers Harker's Flannel Shirt- Manifest Plaid: Heather Grey

Howler Brothers Harker's Flannel Shirt- Manifest Plaid: Heather Black

* Peacemaker Hoody

The medium weight, cotton blend Peacemaker Hoodie from Howler Brothers rocks out with its contrasting color and pattern designs, classic pouch pocket, and Howler iconography at left chest. Always a Fall favorite around here.

Howler Brothers Peacemaker Hoody- Fatigue: Current Blue

* Arroyo Tech Shirt

Although the brand new Arroyo Tech Shirt is the Howler Brothers deepest foray into the realm of technical shirts, they stood by the Howler ideals and kept it simple and streamlined. Brian wore this shirt on the recent Redfish trip and LOVED it!  Available here in the Kingsford Grey: Microstripe and Osprey Grey: Microstripe.

Howler Brothers Arroyo Tech Shirt- Kingsford Grey: Microstripe

Howler Brothers Arroyo Tech Shirt- Osprey Grey: Microstripe

* San Gabriel Shirt

A modern yet throwback? The San Gabriel is one great looking shirt. One of our favorite sportswear/casual pieces for Fall 2016. Available in Sea Fans: Pavement and Sea Fans: OffWhite.

Howler Brothers San Gabriel Shirt- Sea Fans: Pavement

Howler Brothers San Gabriel Shirt- Sea Fans: Off White

* Howler Brothers Hats

By far, our #1 selling brand of hats....and we sell alot of hats. We can't hardly get enough of these!

Click Here to view the Howler Brothers Hats for Fall 2016

* Howler Brothers T-Shirts

As usual, a great line-up of cool and unique T's from the Bros. Just like the hats, we have a bunch of customers who basically collect these. 

Click Here to see the full line-up of Howler Brothers at Mad River Outfitters

Mad River Outfitters

813 Bethel Rd.

Columbus, Ohio 43214

614-451-0363

www.madriveroutfitters.com

Your source for the Howler Brothers!

Fishing Reports- 11/11/16

* 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 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.

In the News

* Special THANKS again to Jeff Liskay for a GREAT "Switch and Spey" weekend a few weeks ago. He did a fantastic job and a good time was had by all. Also Thanks to Doug Scott from Patagonia who was on hand to help out as well and share some info about the great fly fishing related prodcuts from this great company. Seems we may have posted a Blog here where you can read a bit more about this great weekend but surely wanted to mention it here.

Keep your eyes on the website! Announced this week will be a "Swingin'" Alaska trip in September 2017 hosted by Jeff himself. He and a small group of lucky anglers will be holed up at Katmai Trophy Lodge on the Naknek and swinging flies for some of the baddest rainbow trout and arctic char on the planet! (look for pics soon too).

* The Louisiana Redfish Trip was off the charts this year. Brian and the gang had a blast and caught a ton...yes a ton....of giant redfish. He claims he'll be writing something up here for the Blog this week and will get some of the photos up. The 2017 trip is already on the website and mostly full. If interested, don't wait too long!

The 2016 Redfish Group at Woodland Plantation- A FANTASTIC group of guys!

* The guys and gals in the shop have been gearing up for the holidays and the store is looking good! Lots of new merchandise! If you're in the area, stop by and say hello...you'll be glad you did!

* If you are not on our e-mail list, you might want to sign-up. There will be some great promos, specials and events going on throughout the holidays. Hit the home page of our website and the link to sign-up is in the upper right.

* Linda Farner, our softgoods manager, is planning a "Ladies Night" coming up on Tuesday, December 5th. We should have details up on the website this coming week. Great chance for the gals to stop in and get some great deals for themselves or for gifts.

* We have started a new season of filming and will be posting new stuff on our YouTube Channel pretty regularly starting in a few weeks. We have posted a few teasers here recently but will get the good stuff up soon. Check out our YouTube channel HERE.

Warmwater

* Warmwater fishing throughout the state continues! Many folks still hitting the warmwater streams and doing well. Smallmouth, some white bass, a few stripers here and there. Even with all of the leaves in the water we are still hearing good to excellent reports from around Central Ohio.

* Musky fishing has been a bit tough but only due to the low water. Pat is still hoping for a good season, but gonna need some rain before it really kicks-in. He is out today on a guide trip down near the Ohio River but we have yet to hear how they did. Hopefully we'll have something to report here shortly.

* Pike fishing HAS remained strong. Guide trips are going extremely well and both Pat and Josh have been getting folks into great fishing. 

"Had a great time on the water with our guide Pat. He went above and beyond the call to put us on fish. Was quite impressed with his wealth of knowledge and determination. Looking forward to booking again with Pat. Would give him an 11 on a scale of 1to 10

Thanks again"- Dan Germuska

Way to go Pat!!!- Continuing the tradition of EXCEEDING our customer's expectations.

* Anybody out there still doing well on warmwater species? Let us know! Any good photos the next two weeks will get a FREE MRO Hat! Send the photo with your name and address and we'll send you out a FREE Mad River Outfitters lid!!!!! (Warmwater species).

Mad River

USGS Gauge- Urbana

USGS Gauge- St. Paris Pike

Mad River Map

Wow. Just as we have been saying all Summer, the Mad is horribly low. Again, not sure that we have seen anything like this in our 30+ years of fishing and guiding the river. 

Factor in the leaves that are now clogging the system and it is making fishing tough to impossible.

Yes, this is getting old, but we aren't going to make up stories here just to get you out fishing. We desperately need the leaves off the trees and then a big push of water to clean them out. Until then, things will remain tough.

That being said, there have been a few folks out fishing and catching a few fish. Mostly on nymphs, as streamer fishing is next to impossible with the leaves. 

Dry fly fishing is challenging also with the leaves but we have still seen some small caddis and some #18-22 BWO types flitting around. Not much surface activity though but we did have a few fish caught on dries in the upper river this week.

If you go, make sure it's not too windy.

Once the leaves fall, let's hope we get a gullywasher to get our Fall Streamer season kicked-in. 

Clearfork River

USGS- Upper Clearfork

USGS- Lower/Mohican State Park

Clearfork Map

Same story here....although maybe even worse. 

Both stretches of the Clearfork are horribly low and the leaves are making fishing virtually impossible. Not that you couldn't go and catch a fish or two, as some have, but we simply cannot write a glowing report.

The leaves will come down. Hopefully another week and we'll be in the clear. But then, we need a really good push of water to get the Fall season going.

Until then.

Clear Creek

USGS Gauge

Clear Creek Map

A few folks have ventured down to Clear Creek the past week and done o.k. but it's the same story. Low, clear, and choked with leaves. The fish that have been caught have been on small dries on the surface.

We have felt like a broken record here this season but it really has been horribly dry. WE NEED RAIN!!!!!!!

Erie Steelhead

Gauge Links and Maps

Gonna be a busy weekend on "Steelhead Alley". We have had tons of folks through the shop and on the phone the past 3 or 4 days who are heading up tonight and tomorrow in search of steel. We hope to have some good reports here but as we have been telling folks, it's gonna be tough!

The big news is the leaves. With the water being so low, most streams are literally choked with leaves which makes the fishing challenging to say the least. Again, not that you can't go catch a few steelhead, but tough conditions at best.

As Jerry Darkes always says: "Once the leaves are off the trees and the water 'greens-up', that's when steelhead season starts". 

Right now, the Vermilion is simply too low to fish. It's crazy how low it is. Much lower and it may just dry right up. No biggie though as it's still a bit early to be finding a bunch of fish that far
West anyways.

The Rocky and Chagrin did come up on Wednesday, which helped, but they are back down to very low and clear again right now. The Grand the same story although it might be a "best bet" for the weekend. Many times, being the largest trib, the leaf problem is not as dramatic as some of the smaller tribs.

The Ashtabula and Conneaut are also "best bets" for the weekend. Although low, clear and choked with leaves, they have still be producing a few fish. Conneaut in particular has a bit better flows than the rest right now.

We have been telling folks all week to "Head East".

Elk Creek over in PA, along with the mile creeks do have a mess of steelhead in them but  combine the leaves with the low clear water and mix in about a million anglers lining the banks...you get the picture.

All this being said, we have had some guide trips out as well as a few scouting missions that proved pretty successful. There are certainly some fish, and some nice Manistee fish, showing up in the system. 

Let's get this water "Greened-Up", get a few days of good rain, and we'll be in business.

Thanks for all the calls this week by the way....and the business. We really appreciate the trust you all put in MRO and MRO's guides. As always, if we haven't put a report up here, FEEL FREE to give us a call. We are always happy to share what we know. (Feedback helps too...let us know how you are doing).

Here's a few pics from the past week:

Mad River Outfitters

Fly Shop, Guides, Schools and more!

813 Bethel Rd.

Columbus, Ohio 43214

www.madriveroutfitters.com
www.midwestflyfishingschools.com

614-451-0363