# Trout? Who needs em!? Scioto River Report



## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

So guys, I've crossed over... Trout no longer  All fish caught on my favorite streamers.

I spent most of last night (5 p.m. - dark) and this morning (5 a.m. till 2 p.m.) wading the Scioto river. I got the feeling I may have run into OGF members there, so if you saw a guy in brown cabelas waders, green boots and a Simms vest, it was meeeeeee!

Anyway. Saturday night I caught a saugeye on the second cast! My first fly rod saugeye, what a blast. Great fight, and a great way to kick it off. That was the first fish I'd caught on my TFO that was not a trout or chub.... but not the last 

Right after, I lost a big smallmouth, then caught a dozen or so crappie. After that I worked my way down the river, nailing smallmouth left and right. By the end of the night I was happy with a dozen crappie, a saugeye, a dozen smallmouth (and I put em all back, relax ) a few rock bass, some bluegill, and a chub. 

This morning (sunday) we went back to the same stretch of the river. No more saugeye (boo!) but we probably caught 100+ fish between us in 8 hours. Good, good times .

My trout fishing just took a big, big hit haha. I like to catch trout, but there are times it really isn't fun. Like most of the day  I just like to catch fish.


----------



## wabi (Jun 14, 2008)

Sounds like a great weekend! 
About any fish is fun on a fly rod as long as they will put up a fight.


----------



## steelheader007 (Apr 8, 2004)

Congrats Trout fishing is over rated .. lol..IMHO!


----------



## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Trout are the classical adversary for a fly rod, but... Those little 13" smallies put up WAY more fight than an equivalent trout haha. I'll post some pics up here later of my newfound friends


----------



## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

Nice report! 
I havent been down on Scioto since mtn biking in 95. Yea, trout fishing definetly overrated and far more easier to catch then a bass. IMO But the real thing is being able to get out not so far away from home and catch the native species in the your own area. I have more trout water than anything and does not give me the same thrill. So I am eager to get moved back home this fall when I get done with therphy on my knee.


----------



## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Hey man, I'd love to have a lot of trout water... But then I'd rather have the Androscoggin out of Maine... full of smallmouth AND trout, and it's crystal clear. What a sweet idea, yeah?  yeah. IMO, trout are way harder to catch just because of their bony mouth and their dislike of holding onto flies.

Here's a pic of my saugeye!


----------



## crkwader (Nov 7, 2008)

I would have to agree with 007. warm water fish, in my humble stinkin opinion feel that warm water fish are scrappier and more willing to explode on top. good job clayton.


----------



## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Oh don't get me wrong, they'll explode on top and they'll thump the hell out of a streamer and hang on tight, and for that I love them! Trout provide more challenge (and so much more frustration) in my mind because of their tendency to take a fly like a streamer, feel the hook and spit it so fast that you MIGHT hook 1/5 of them on a great day :-\

Trout drive me crazy. I can work a bugger well enough to get strikes from just about any trout, but I can't keep a hook set. It wouldn't be crazy for me to have a 40 trout day if I could hook all my bugger fish haha. 

Thus my fascination with these warm water fish... They'll hold on till you feel tension on the line, then longer while you set the hook! And the fight SO MUCH HARDER. It's awesome. Don't get me wrong, I still like trout... but you won't read so many mad river reports from me anymore, especially after I ran up there on Friday night and got utterly skunked.


----------



## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Flyfish Dog said:


> Nice report!
> I havent been down on Scioto since mtn biking in 95. Yea, trout fishing definetly overrated and far more easier to catch then a bass. IMO But the real thing is being able to get out not so far away from home and catch the native species in the your own area. I have more trout water than anything and does not give me the same thrill. So I am eager to get moved back home this fall when I get done with therphy on my knee.


But then again, now that I think about it... if you're down in WV you've got the New River and the Greenbriar as well, both of which all but overflow with smallmouth, yeah? Come on, you've got way more fishing than we do  but I agree that catching native species is awesome.. I intentionally avoid the stocked sections of rivers in WV for that very reason, stockers are kind of dumb, and boring.


----------



## Wild One (Jul 3, 2008)

Interesting discussion here. I agree that when it comes to fishing in Ohio, trout fishing is very anticlimatic and bass are the bee's knees. HOWEVER, it sounds like most of you haven't really had the chance to fish teeny, tiny, cold, glass-clear, high mountain streams for BIG trout. 

There is something magical about sneeking up to a small (6 feet wide)gurgling stream crawling on all fours and kneeling in the tall, dew covered grass and sage brush to peer between the brush and see a beautiful 18+ inch brown or cutt holding in 2 feet of water lazily sipping little caddis flies off the top. The challenge that situation holds and the unparalled exhiliration when you quietly drop your size 16 EHC a few feet upstream on a 12 foot 6x or 7x tippett and not manage to not spook him, but actually hook him--is a feeling I hope all of you can experience some day.
I'm definitely glad that you were able to have a couple AWESOME days on the Scioto, but hope that you guys can see this for yourselves one day too...


----------



## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Wild One said:


> Interesting discussion here. I agree that when it comes to fishing in Ohio, trout fishing is very anticlimatic and bass are the bee's knees. HOWEVER, it sounds like most of you haven't really had the chance to fish teeny, tiny, cold, glass-clear, high mountain streams for BIG trout.
> 
> There is something magical about sneeking up to a small (6 feet wide)gurgling stream crawling on all fours and kneeling in the tall, dew covered grass and sage brush to peer between the brush and see a beautiful 18+ inch brown or cutt holding in 2 feet of water lazily sipping little caddis flies off the top. The challenge that situation holds and the unparalled exhiliration when you quietly drop your size 16 EHC a few feet upstream on a 12 foot 6x or 7x tippett and not manage to not spook him, but actually hook him--is a feeling I hope all of you can experience some day.
> I'm definitely glad that you were able to have a couple AWESOME days on the Scioto, but hope that you guys can see this for yourselves one day too...



I completely agree! It's odd, I can't say for sure what the allure of wild trout truly is, but it is something special. The streams I have been fishing in WV, some small enough to hop across without much effort, produce surprisingly large trout for their size. No 18"ers, but solid 11-13" fish from holes the size of a truck bed. To sneak up a stream bed to a pool, stay low to the ground and make a delicate presentation and watch a wild rainbow or brook trout blast your fly is a rush! I've caught everything from bass to catfish to panfish to trout on a fly, and none compare to those little wild trout. If you've never tried it, you don't know what you are missing.


----------



## fishon (Apr 20, 2004)

any type of flyfishing is great when you land a fish.. beats sitting here in my corporate cubicle....LOL

you guys are killing me here...LOL

Frank


----------



## steelheader007 (Apr 8, 2004)

So happy you said most ..lol... I still rather fish for carp or smallies than any trout I have ever caught from coast to coast or the different hemispheres I have caught them in! There is no comparison but if I could I would fish for any salt water species over carp and smallies!


----------

