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.
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.
Bass
fishing has picked up big time around the city and throughout the
state. We have BIG Lake run Smallmouth heading into the tributaries as
the Steelhead are leaving, pond Largemouth bass are starting to head
shallow, local Smallmouth bass are being caught as the flows drop and
clear, and we are seeing White Bass and Hybrid Stripers pushing into
feeder creeks of the reservoirs. The Bass techniques are very
consistent focusing on sink tip lines and rods in the 6-8wt range and
lightly weighted to neutrally buoyant flies.
like Peanuts, Murdich Minnows, Dungeons, Bang Tails, Long Strip Craw,
Near Nuff Sculpin, Woolhead Sculpin, Zoo Cougar, Cactus Wooly, J-Pigs,
Reapers, and Articulated Fat Heads to name a few. As the streams warm
the fish will begin to push up out of winter holding areas heading
toward spawning locations.
Winter
is officially over and the fish will continue to prep for spawning. In
the ponds and lakes there are plenty of small bass roaming the
shallows. Keep an eye out for those bigger fish as they will be moving
shallower focusing on structure. With the temps this coming week
spawning beds will start showing up and more cruising big fish. The big
pre-spawn Smallies will continue to push up stream. Targeting holding
areas below riffles, log jams, and bridges are a great place to start.
These areas concentrate fish as they wait for raising water levels or
conditions to improve. Make sure to have your stream thermometer handy
as water temps are everything this time of the year. Grab your above
mentioned rigs and head to the river or lakes.
Never lets me down in the spring .Urban smallmouth on a lunch break”- Jeff Aufdencamp
Neal Murphy with a surprise Ohio Pike on a smallmouth float with guide
Josh McQueen. Ohio Pike fishing has been excellent as well.
Mad River
There have been
many calls and walk-ins asking about the current situation with the
hatches. Bottom line is that we are not really sure what to tell you. We
can tell you the Brian and the folks that have been guiding are
claiming this has been one of the worst dry fly seasons in years. Not
many bugs and even fewer rising fish.
Here is what we CAN tell you:
There
continues to be sporadic Hendrickson throughout the river, but the
Sulphurs have started showing up, and that usually signals the end of
the Hendricksons. It seems that the Hendricksons have hatched
sporadically throughout April and we really never saw a “peak”. Light
Cahills are also around along with March Browns and some various
caddis. But yet…..few rising fish.
Right
now is the time to have a diverse box of Pheasant Tails and Hares Ear
nymphs in 12-16, Soft hackles in green, yellow and natural pheasant also
in the same sizes, and plenty of Sulphur dries in 16-18 and various
colors. Right now the trout are not as finicky as they will be in a
couple weeks, but that does not mean you can just slap a dry out there
and catch a fish. Now is the time to perfect your reach casts and
aerial mending. Match your 3-5wt rods with a Rio Gold, SA Trout, or
Triangle taper and a Rio Supple Flex leader and you are set. If you
need some help with these cast make sure to schedule a private casting
class and we will help you change your dry fly game. If wet flies are
more of your game nymphing and swinging Soft Hackles continues to
produce. Mastering these techniques will produce just about any day of
the year. The growing popularity with Euro nymphing offers a very
productive tactic for those times when a hatch does not appear to be
active above water. The TFO Drift rod or the Redington Hydrogen coupled
with the Rio Euro Nymph line and leader are great options. Flows
continue to be slightly elevated providing some good streamer
opportunities for those willing to adapt to the clear conditions.
Smaller streamers in natural colors is a good place to start.
Forecast:
We
will continue to see great dry fly weather through next week. Look for
caddis and midges to be the main morning action and mayflies to focus
on the evenings. This is a great time of the year to fish the Mad as
there is plenty of bug activity. All stretches of the river will be
producing fish for those who come prepared and willing to change
tactics.
“The
beginning and the end of an amazing day, courtesy of Brian Flechsig and
@madriveroutfitters- beautiful day, lots of fun. Brian made me a (much)
better angler and oh yeah, caught some nice fish too. Mad river really
is a gem- the shop and the water.” – Will Umphres
The
Clear Fork has been a great choice for those wanting a change from
Steelhead fishing up north. The upper river continues to offer good
hatches in the afternoon and into the evenings. Most people are
nymphing late mornings and then switching to dries as they find feeding
fish. Hendrickson and Sulphurs are the main bugs right now, but we are
starting to see a few caddis, March Browns and a few Cahills in the
evenings. March Browns and Cahills are a must for the next few weeks and
even into June.
fishing has been more focused on the lower river below Pleasant Hill
dam. This area offers a great opportunity to camp right next to the
river. Also the lower river holds a big variety of species. Stripping a
streamer can offer just about every game species of fish the state has
to offer. For the upper river have a diverse box of Pheasant Tails and
Hares Ear nymphs in 14-18, Soft hackles in green, yellow and natural
pheasant also in the same sizes, and plenty of Sulphur dries in 16-18
and various colors. The growing popularity with Euro nymphing offers a
very productive tactic for those times when a hatch does not appear to
be active above water. The TFO Drift rod or the Redington Hydrogen
coupled with the Rio Euro Nymph line and leader are great options.
Streamer options are 6-8wts, sink tip lines and various streamers in
shad colors like the Barely Legal, Dungeon, Clouser, Peanut, Bottom’s
Up, Boogie Man and Murdich Minnow.
Look for dry fly fishing to continue to improve. Sulphurs, March Browns and Lt Cahills will be on the menu as
the Hendricksons come to an end. Have your dry fly box well stocked
with those and caddis of various sizes and colors. If you see only a
few fish rising a good trick is to fish a dry with Galloup’s Sunken
Spinner as the dropper. This will give the fish a couple bug stages to
choose from. In the lower river we have about a month before we have
good popper fishing, but do not be surprised if you have some bass or
panfish grab a caddis or mayfly dry while fishing for trout. Streamer
fishing as mentioned above is the most productive choice for below the
dam.
friends at Mad River Outfitters, thank you for the information that you
have taught me from conversations we’ve had while I was in shopping and
visiting, the classes, the online tutorials. I have learned more about
the art of fly fishing than I ever thought I would. This mourning I woke
up and made coffee and decided to drive out to Clearfork and possibly
even the mohican state park. To do that i needed to tie a few flies for
the days adventure. I tied 2 henryville specials, a muddle minnow and an
olive woolly bugger. I stopped off the road on the upper section and
made a few casts and observed march browns and fish rising. Thanks for
everything.”- Jacob Arima
absolutely love to hear kind words like this from great friends and
customers. It has been our pleasure to help Jacob along his journey and
to watch him grow as an angler. One of the many blessings of being able
to do what we do for a living. Thanks right back at you Jacob. We
appreciate your friendship and keep up the good work!
Hatches of small caddis, a few Hendricksons, and some Sulphurs have been showing up.
these hatches most fish have been caught on nymphs and wet flies.
Right now is the time to have a diverse box of Pheasant Tails and Hares
Ear nymphs in 14-18, Soft hackles in green, yellow and natural pheasant
also in the same sizes, and plenty of Sulphur dries in 16-18 and various
colors. The growing popularity with Euro nymphing offers a very
productive tactic for those times when a hatch does not appear to be
active above water. The TFO Drift rod or the Redington Hydrogen coupled
with the Rio Euro Nymph line and leader are great options. This is
also a great location to perfect your Tenkara technique. The Iwana or
the new Hane are great choices from TenkaraUSA while the whole line from
TFO also get the job done. Fishing continues to be tough as
regulations have changed allowing people to keep anything. The fish
that have been caught are very small. Despite what the Wildlife
officers state it seems like the stocking amounts were also lower last
fall. We will see what happens this fall when they change up the
stocking program. As for Smallmouth fishing it is a little early, but
there have been a few resident fish caught.
Hatches
will continue to improve as we go into next week. Look for the evening
to be the best opportunity to dry fly fish. Cover water using a
stealthy approach is the best way to catch fish when conditions are very
clear. Euro Nymphing or using a small yarn indicator is a must to find
success. Having a 5-6wt and a box of small bass streamers is a good
choice as there can be some good bass fishing as the water warms.
caught this brown at Clear Creek Park this morning on a hare’s ear
nymph. Thanks for the advice yesterday. Keep up the great work!”- Daniel
Green
Probably our last Steelhead report
of the season. Although there are certainly still a few fish to be had,
it is mostly winding down. The warm weather the past week has any remaining steelhead moving back into the lake.
Our thoughts are now turning to Lake Run Smallmouth!
Forecast:
As stated, you can still find some steelhead around but we are in the final stages of the Spring 2018 season. Good numbers of huge smallmouth are showing up and man are they aggressive. We should see good smallie fishing in the tribs up into the 2nd week of June or so. Big white streamers are just about all you need on a sink tip or Titan Clear Tip line. Stop in the shop or give us a call and we can help you out.
Mad River Outfitters/Mad River Travel/Midwest Fly Fishing Schools
614-451-0363
