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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
As predicted….what a weekend it was for those that got out. A ton of reports…thanks for those…but this one tops them all. Our good friend Bryan Clem sent this report to us via Facebook. Congrats to Josh!!!
“I’m sure you’ve received several reports from this weekend given the number of people on the river, but I thought I’d drop you a line and some pictures… I did well this weekend getting a few nice fish, and my friend Josh did great! He ‘killed 2 birds with 1 stone’ when he got his first brown over 20”, which also happened to be over 25”. Everything from watching this fish come up out of dirty water and do a Jaws-style attack on a big streamer to the pure excitement we felt when we finally got her in the net is something I’ll never forget. As always, thanks for running a great shop and online store. Have a great 2016!”
Bryan Clem
Clearfork River
USGS- Upper Clearfork
USGS- Lower/Mohican State Park
Clear Creek
USGS Gauge
Clear Creek Map
The creek is in great shape. The rain finally gave the stream the flush it has been needing. Lots of gravel, wood and boulders gave away the sediment and leaves. This flush did move around some wood too. I didn’t get to see the whole creek, but from what I did see there are some new trees and log jams to hold fish. The deeper holes and runs still contained some stain and gave that perfect “winter/steelhead green.”
Although the water has chilled dramatically in the past week the streamer bite has been fantastic.There have also been a few fish rising taking emergers. This just proves the importance of being prepared for whatever might happen with a diverse fly box. All of the fish caught today had nice potbellies and still slammed my streamers. There is a good number of holdovers this year and keeping away from this year’s stockers will only help to add to the fish population later this year.
Ice on the guides was getting to be an issue while fishing the streamer. It is finally time to pull out the Stanleys Ice Off for the streamer sessions. Swinging streamers was also productive and a good choice for those of us that don’t put the streamers away in the cold weather.
A long belly line and single-hand spey style casts keep the stripping to a minimum and thus taming the ice build up. These casts are also a great choice while nymphing giving you the opportunity to practice your steelhead tactics a little closer to home. Another tactic that we use in the winter utilizes Tenkara and traditional kebari or western softhackles. Along with traditional Tenkara methods dead drifting the fly and then utilizing the “wet fly swing” to finish out the drift bring the most fish to hand. There are no worries about frozen guides or iced up drag systems with Tenkara. A traditional level line with only the tippet in the water is the best choice to keep the ice under control. Braided or furled leaders would need to be treated with floatant being that the added surface area can cause ice buildup.
Erie Steelhead
Gauge Links and Maps
