# Mad River TR



## ckfowler (Jul 14, 2008)

Managed to sneak out for 3 hours on Sat morning to fish a new section of the Mad. Through several decent runs like this 








with no takes and no spooked fish to finally arrive at this hole.









Managed this nice little fellow from just below the stump and then saw a 20"+ shadow swim from the shade on the right back into the hole. Lost three flies scouring that hole trying to caox him with no luck but I will be back!


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## Wild One (Jul 3, 2008)

WOW!
Those are some of the best looking riffles/runs I've seen from that river. Sure is nice to see some structure in the river that creates a little variance.

Looks like the BH prince was the nymph of choice this weekend. Nice.


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## mikeschmidt (May 6, 2008)

Good stuff! They fish are there for those willing to put in the time


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## fishon (Apr 20, 2004)

Awesome pics..... thank you for sharing!


Frank


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

great report, man the river looked nice! i was going to go out this morning but it looked like it was going to get blown out so i changed my plans. no fish rising? that would be the only thing that could make that section look prettier!


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## ckfowler (Jul 14, 2008)

I rarely find fish rising on the Mad and when I do, never figure any consistency on what they want. Most often figure out it is caddis emergers or the random terrestrials, or at least they respond to those. 3 hours on the water Sat, never saw a single rise.

Usually have best luck with a #18 bhprince under a caddis or hopper, just didn't have any that size with me and the hole was pretty deep so went with a bigger one.

Pimtown area has the best structure though I know TU did some work on the Watson property and downstream from Rt 36. Have been eyeing some sections upstream of WL from the road but need to get permission and see how they pan out.


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

ok you've got me all pumped to get up there, does anyone know if the water has cleared from the other day, i may have to go tonight or tomorow.


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## ckfowler (Jul 14, 2008)

Water should be fine unless we get a ton of afternoon thunderstorm type rain.


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## midoh39 (May 8, 2005)

I have a question wuts a good acsess point on the mad. Ill be coming from Troy and fishing for trout with flys or a worm and split shot. Any info on a good area to start wading from will help.


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## ckfowler (Jul 14, 2008)

I fish mostly around West Liberty. Smaller stream than farther down and close to home. Pimtown Rd just S of town has public access and some of the best structure features on the river. Ther are fish in the park on the East side of town and the property just downstream of the park is open to public fishing agreement as well. Mad River Market is closed and was the access point for the Watson property downstream from Pimtown, working on catching someone from the family there to see about still fishing that stretch.

You can access the river where 36 crosses it and there are fish there. Couple runs upstream but I like going down and working back to the car. Didn't really like the river features off 55 SW of Urbana personally. There are holes up and downstream from Eagle City Rd that would be good for the worm and split shot trick.


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## midoh39 (May 8, 2005)

HEy thanks a ton man I really appreciate it. Ill post how we do tommorow.


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## midoh39 (May 8, 2005)

Ok here the report. Got out to the river around 7. Started out with the fly rod and a nymph with no sucsess on trout but alot of chubs. Switched over to spinning gear. I found some really good holes and runs with structure but all that i could catch was chubs and more chubs. On my second to last worm bam hooked up to something big but it lost the hook. Then on my last worm I got a small 7" brown trout to finish the day off. Im wearing waders next time with no doubt the heat outside. Whens the best time of year or time of day to go,, and for the flyfisher men we saw a couple rise but they didnt cooperate with our flys.


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## flytyer (Jan 3, 2005)

ckfowler said:


> Mad River Market is closed and was the access point for the Watson property downstream from Pimtown, working on catching someone from the family there to see about still fishing that stretch.


When did this all happen, with the Watson property?


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## ckfowler (Jul 14, 2008)

Market just nevr opened or didn't stay if it did this year. They were doing some pick yourself strawberries but honor system most of the time. Did some weekend sales for stuff inside but I missed them. Saw some folks loading hay in the barn last week but was on my way elsewhere and nobody was there when I came back.


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## Mr X (Oct 17, 2007)

wow, 

You're giving advice on exact locations to a bait dunker on a public web forum. I hope you don't like the the spots you just pimped out, because a few dozen more worm dunkers are going to read this, and fish there too. You're probably just trying to be nice, but other people fish the river too. 

If you cannot find fish on your own, or are just plain too lazy to even try, please contact other members in private for advice. And if you're going to pimp out your favorite spots on a river, be aware of the consequences to you and other people who may enjoy those areas.


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

fished friday, the farther up river you got the more fishable it was, i tried as low as county line and had one giagantic brown slash three times at a swung streamer. most of the fish we caught were in the morning on dries, above urbana, had ten hookups and lost a few. midoh39, if you see risers try an ant fly, what they have been rising to are very small midges, but they will eat ants out of what may be curiosity. the biggest trick is getting a good drift, try a lighter tippet because they are more supple, and make sure there is slack in your drift, or if your bored try around 68 in WL with a hopper, you may get a trout but you will catch a few dozen chubs, they are good practice for getting good drifts. mr.x i understand you complaint more than you know (i totally agree in fact) but please a public forum will give those "dunkers" the wrong idea of fly fisherman. plus the mad will suck no matter how many trout get killed, its just a nice respite from warmwater.


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## ckfowler (Jul 14, 2008)

I figure the river is publicly owned and my experiences are mine to share. I have never seen more than two other people fishing in any section of the Mad and I live here. All of the folks I have encountered have been friendly and show respect for the watershed and the land it flows through. Had some guy floating minnows in some of the big holes farther down show me exactly where some other holes were and chat about what flies to use. Caught both of my biggest Mad Browns that day thanks to him. All of my fish (and that minnow dunkers btw) went back in where they came from so folks like you can enjoy them too. Even if folks want to keep fish, there are strict limits on the Mad and DNR feels they suffice to protect the fishery. Only wish I could have gone along to try and help midoh catch more and hope that they help others to enjoy the sport as much. I am confident that the tubers trash the river way more than any fisherman and even most of them are still decent folks just enjoying the river.

BTW, I share info on public hunting spots as well as I don't own them either.


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## Mr X (Oct 17, 2007)

The number of times my friends and I have to report poaching, trespassing, littering, drug use, vandalism, and theft every season while fishing the Mad river is insane. I have no qualms with people fishing public water. But anyone who is not willing to learn for themselves, will never appreciate and respect the water they are fishing. At least a portion of quite a few peoples livelihoods depends on the productivity and atmosphere of that river. To those who know it, it can be a wonderful place. But the increased pressure, added by internet dimestores like this, is very noticeable, and makes the river less enjoyable every year. I'm not asking that you don't help others learn to fish, I am only asking that you do it privately. More people read this forum I think than you understand.


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## Wild One (Jul 3, 2008)

Mr X said:


> wow,
> 
> You're giving advice on exact locations to a bait dunker on a public web forum. I hope you don't like the the spots you just pimped out, because a few dozen more worm dunkers are going to read this, and fish there too. You're probably just trying to be nice, but other people fish the river too.
> 
> If you cannot find fish on your own, or are just plain too lazy to even try, please contact other members in private for advice. And if you're going to pimp out your favorite spots on a river, be aware of the consequences to you and other people who may enjoy those areas.


You are aware that he is not "pimping" any secret spots and that everything in his previous post on access points can be found all over the ODNR website, RIGHT?

Also, what is the problem with "worm dunkers" fishing the Mad? It is perfectly legal. Although the river is probably fished by fly more than other techniques, it is not (and probably will never be) an artificial flies and lures only river.

For anyone else wondering about access points on the Mad River (or any other river in the state of Ohio) visit the ODNR website.

BTW,
I won't comment further on this issue here. The thread has already been derailed from a good thread into this (yes, I understand that I am contributing to the derailment), but I'd hate to see this turn into a "Darby Creek" discussion like I've seen in other forums here.


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## captnroger (Apr 5, 2004)

I went canoing on the Mad River last weekend and must say I was impressed. I'm sure there are some very nice fish in that river, as it has great combinations of current, deep holes and shallows. Nice pics.


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

As someone who makes a living in the area and who is heavily involved with the trout fishery on the Mad, I had no less then 3 PMs/private emails asking me to address this particular post. 

While I have only been involved since the late 80's with the Mad, I have seen the rise of the fly fishermen and the decline of the spin/bait fishermen. Now it is about 80% fly guys and of the other 20% spin and bait guys, about half are very good quality fishermen who are concerned about conservation ( CnR, selective harvest, trespassing,littering, etc) while the last 10% are the real problems, the only other thing ill mention is that of the 80% fly guys, about 10% of them are as bad, if not worse, then the other spin/bait 10%, so no one group is exempt and no one group is better then the other so finger pointing at a specific group is a waste of time. 

Now, as far as the Internet, there has been no doubt, a whole new dimention of folks posting specifics ( Nice guys trying to help) and folks who read these post and tell there buddies about it, they bring the beer, the trash and cut fences and camp out on private land while fishing these same spots folks mentiond. I know, I have spoken with many of them who have flat out told me they read about this particular spot on OGF and a few other forums and when I ask there call names, they always say the same thing, " well, I never post but only read the info on there", lurkers who take the info and plan the trip. IE: lazy fishermen 

Many folks are quite protective of there "spots" on the Mad and while there are no real secret spots on the Mad, there are folks who work hard to get away from the crowds, work hard to protect the stream, work hard to clean up the stretch, work hard to build habitat and work hard to gain access so this is why others get a defensive when specifics are posted and In my opinion, I agree with them completely. Specifics on ANY watershed should never be posted on the open Internet, asking general questions and receiving info via a Private Message is always the way to go. 

Someone said they have never seen more then 2 folks on there favorite stretch, just tells me you dont fish much, I ruitinely see 10-15 cars at some of the access spots all year long. When I fish, I drive along until I see a spot with less then 2 cars and figure i might get lucky and choose to go the right directon and actually get to some fish that havent been pestered on the particular day already. 

last point of this rant, and this is the bottom line about why folks get defensive here. Browns are stocked 1 time a year, browns are territorial, so once they get stocked and find a home, that is where they will live until A: they get eaten by a bigger trout, or B: get chased out to another spot by a bigger trout or C: get caught out by someone who is keeping all the fish they catch and now that hole is basically devoid of fish until the next stocking, and then it takes several years to get 2-3 year classes in the same hole. 

Cant do anything about A and B, but by quietly helping point folks, the "right" types of folks, this means helping those who have contributed and posted many of there own reports in the past and not someone who has posted all of 2 posts and are trolling. bottom line is this is why folks are protective over the waters of the Mad. 

Sorry for the long post and not to hijack anyone but to put prospective on it before the name calling and finger pointing starts. Just be civil and try to respect the other fishermen on this board and by all means, please help point and help folks out, just have to use a little common sense and try to remember that all specifics, no matter what watershed, should be done in a private matter.

Should anyone want to rip my ass, feel free to PM me. 

Salmonid
Mark Blauvelt
President, Mad Men Chapter of Trout Unlimited


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## troutdude (Jul 28, 2008)

I get tired of this kind of attitude from fly-fisherman. Yes, I realize Mr X is a probably a minority with his superiority views on &#8220;worm-dunkers&#8221; but when it comes right down to it, bait is bait. Yes, fishing with a fly rod is a little more glamorous and might even take more skill. But to think for a minute that all bait/spin fishermen are of a lesser breed of character because of what gear they choose to head down a stream with sounds to me like fisherman-racism. You see the same thing from time-to-time with the bow vs gun hunters and it&#8217;s pathetic. Sportsmen certainly don&#8217;t need any added dissension among the ranks. The type of people expressing these narrow-minded views aren&#8217;t doing any of us any favors.

I signed up here yesterday because I wanted to ask Salmoind a question, and I respect his opinion. I&#8217;m sorry that my first post is one of frustration, on a forum I&#8217;m admittedly not qualified to post on. But I have a few friends who are fly fisherman and I have nothing but respect for them. Someday, I hope to learn the craft too when I have a little more time and money to devote to it. In the meantime, it&#8217;s worms, minnows and spinners. I&#8217;ve had days when I&#8217;ve out fished a couple of fly guys on the Mad. Other times, they&#8217;ve slammed trout and I caught a chub. It doesn&#8217;t matter, it&#8217;s all still fun! I&#8217;m in agreement with private messaging your hot spots if you choose to share. I like the idea of cleaning up after the slobs along the stream that give us all a bad name. I&#8217;m also a fan of putting the browns back to give others the same enjoyment we had with them, whether hooked by caddis or crawler.


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## ckfowler (Jul 14, 2008)

The info I shared was hardly anything not readily available from DNR though I would gladly share more if I thought it would help bring some of the joy I get fly fishing to someone just starting. I would hope that I also share my respect for the river and that this would also be learned by those folks.

I refuse to be held hostage by the 10% (maybe) of jerks that might overfish one hole in the hopes that they will just destroy somebody else's favorite spot instead of mine. I enjoy most of the river so they would have to be busy to trash it all anyway. I have no problem reporting folks breaking the law but keeping 2 fish is still legal and I am confident that other fish will move into those holes. Maybe not that day, but they will come. A river is a fluid environment, even the mollusks travel. (3 years UD Biology major and research asst on Great Miami, switched to Psych and counseling to work with the delinquent youth that become that 10%)

I am also fully aware that even given a specific hole and a specific fly to use, folks (like me) still get skunked. Short of using dynamite and a net, it takes some work to get these finicky fish to bite.

Working three jobs now with an active child so my time for the river decreases but still interested in Mad Men work days when I can Mark if you folks still do these. Used to be on the email lilst but haven't heard anything lately.

Hope that we all enjoy what time we can get and unselfishly preserve what we have for others to do the same.

Peace,

Colin


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## BlueDun (Feb 21, 2007)

Salmonid, thank you for your thorough response.

As a side note, a number of forums from other states do not allow posting specific sites or river names for many of the same reasons Salmonid mentioned. I'd like to see this forum adopt the same rule but I know that will never happen.


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## JoesEyedUp (Apr 18, 2006)

Looks like i'm gonna be visiting future in laws labor day weekend in London. My gf said that the Mad River isn't too far from where her dad lives. If i'm driving 2.5 hours to visit them I'm gonna drive a little further to fish this gem of a river. 
Does anybody have any tips for me?
I would like to come down prepared. 
Are waiters needed or could I just wade and walk around in shorts and sandals?
Any help would be great!


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## ckfowler (Jul 14, 2008)

I will also be visiting relatives for Labor Day but in NC, otherwise I'd show you around. DNR link for map to the Mad isn't working but here's another I found.

http://espn.go.com/winnercomm/outdoors/fishing/i/P3_f_map_OH_Mad_River.jpg

Depending on the weather, you may be able to still do shorts though this is cold water. There is public access through the park in West Liberty as well as just downstream and below Pimtown Rd. Just about everything else is privately owned though landowners are pretty generous with access.

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/.../fishing prospects/d1 prospects/MAD RIVER.pdf

Most folks fish from Urbana upstream though I have caught trout as far down as Springfield. I seem to have better luck with small caddis than mayfly imitations except for some sulphers. Bead Head Prince in #16/18 under a terrestrial dry is how I usually start a day. BH crystal bugger for the deeper holes farther down, sometimes with a small nymph trailer if not pushing too close to wood jams.


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## JoesEyedUp (Apr 18, 2006)

Thanks for all the info. 
What you mentioned in flys, I have so I should be in business.


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## rweis (Dec 20, 2005)

JoesEyedUp - Try this site http://www.madriveroutfitters.com/default.aspx
It is our local shop and they post reports on conditions at the Mad. You may even want to call them to get up-to-the-minute conditions. Below is the latest report.

8/11/08- The river is in good condition right now. Clarity is excellent and the flow is as close to normal level as it has been in weeks. Trico activity has slowed considerably but there may still be a few around. The hatch will more than likely be over in the next week. Terrestrials in the morning and late in the day will be the way to go until we start seeing the heavy micro caddis hatches later in the month and into Sept. Water temp Sunday morning was 57 degrees.

MrX - Although I understand your frustration, I used to be a "worm dunker". Pretty much that is how all of us began our fishing addictions. I am now an avid FFer and have used regular tackle only twice in the last 6 years. But we FFers are no different when it comes to being jerks on the stream. I've seen just as many idiots with a fly rod in their hands as I have tackle & bait guys. The holier than thou attitudes that many FFers have really drives me nuts.


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## JoesEyedUp (Apr 18, 2006)

Actually the last time I was in Columbus visiting I stopped in there looking for some gear. 
I lived in Columbus for a year and a half and never stopped in there cause I wasn't into/addicted to fly fishing like I am now...lol


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## Cat Man (Apr 9, 2007)

i went up this morning and despite some technical difficulties with my rod i did manage a 15 in brown


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## midoh39 (May 8, 2005)

Im going to try to head there Monday and dont worry Im sticking only to the fly rod now that I got my order of flys from Mad River Outfitters. ANy ones else going to hit it


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## JoesEyedUp (Apr 18, 2006)

i'm gonna be there in a few weeks so any update would be helpful...


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## ckfowler (Jul 14, 2008)

Water is down, pray for rain, just not the day before you get here!

Nice brown!


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## JoesEyedUp (Apr 18, 2006)

How's the weather been down there fellas. Is the Mad still low?


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## flytyer (Jan 3, 2005)

You can check the flow gauge on the USGS site. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?03267000 The gauge is located at SR 36 just outside of Urbana. Just checked it. The flow is at 137 cfs, it's down and clear, at that flow.


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## ckfowler (Jul 14, 2008)

Light drizzle currently and chance of some tomorrow. Hope it keeps up for a while as we need it. Fri it can clear up so things will settle down before you get here. Floated with family last Sat and still saw some fish, even a few risers. All I saw on the water were japanese beetles, not sure if trout will eat those. Could have been some random terrestrials, nothing in the air to indicate otherwise.


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