MAD river in ohio?????

[ajaynie37]

so ive lived in ohio all my life and never fished the MAD river. i hear it is supposed to have amazing native brown trout...

im dying to get down there and fish it BUT.... i dont know where to go or what to fish and what fishing it in august would be like.

id love it if anyone has been there could shoot me some pointers, just looking to branch out on my native waters and try something new!!!!!!

i am a member of TU i know that sometimes helps get people access to spots others arent normally allowed.

looking forward to anyones comments


thanks a bunch
amanda

[okuma]

Amanda... you gotta keep in mind, does the Mad have a bottom dam flow system. If not, it will probably be pretty warm water for trout. But...if you're gonna... parachute adams size 16'ish

[ausablebrown]

Hi Amanda,

I live in OH, but I'm way NE so I do all of my trout chasing in PA. I've heard good things about the MAD but I'm skeptical, and spoiled I guess by travelling to great brookie waters in PA, and fishing the Ausable often. There is a member on here with the screen name Maccadon who I speak with from time to time. I know he fishes the Mad and he lives close. If he doesnt respond to the post, send him a PM, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind helping you out.

I could be displaying my ignorance here; but are there "Native" brown trout in ohio? By native, I think people usually mean not imported by man. You've got me wondering if there is something I don't know (very possible) or if you meant "wild" (naturally reproducing or holdover) but said "Native".

Best Luck Amanda! Where is Clinton OH?

[stl_geoff]

There is a bunch of access to it in urbana. my buddy lives really close to it. I fished it last year when I was up there briefly and half heartedly, didnt catch anything, saw alot of trout though. Another guy I know who worked with my buddy fishes it alot and pulls a BUNCH of big browns out of there, i think his best this year so far is 25+"

[ajaynie37]

it is very quite possible i mistakenly called them "native" and the may really be "wild". i know ohio is not known for its trout streams BUT there are some if you know where to look.

my favorite is the clear fork of the mohican down past wooster ohio. i go there often and have pulled some very nice browns out.

my friend is the one who told me about the mad river and i cant remember if he said native or wild.

i just wanted to gain some knowledge if anyone had fished it before going out there blind.

i will use this advice and will have to post what i find when i do go down there. i am always open to new waters in my state.

as a fly fisherwoman ohio isnt the best state to find trout BUT.... the waters we do have here can produce some amazing fishing if you know where to go.

thanks
amanda

[HuronRiverDan]

Amanda, I haven't fished the Mad yet; but check with Brian at Mad River Outfitters in Columbus, He'll be able to help you with some info. You mentioned the Clear Fork; how's the fishing there? I want to come down and fish it along with the Mad one of these days.

Dan

[wt bash]

Hi Amanda, I fished there quite a bit and have had pretty good success but in my opinion The Clearfork is way better. There are some beastly browns in there too. But the best spots I've fished on the Mad were the Pimtown Road access by the elk farm, the fish seem to be a bit smaller but fun nonetheless, Rt 36 access is pretty good too. Theres another at the wildlife area but the road names escape me. Two things to keep in mind the Mad has been channelized so the fishey spots tend to be few and far between although keep an eye out for risers along the edges of weeds and any sweepers like Okuma said a 15 adams or an elk hair caddis will do just fine till you get to the fishey spot then tie on a honker of a streamer, but be very careful what you leave behind in the car, last year cars were getting broken into alot down there. See ya on the water some time....

[ausablebrown]

Originally Posted by ajaynie37

it is very quite possible i mistakenly called them "native" and the may really be "wild". i know ohio is not known for its trout streams BUT there are some if you know where to look.

my favorite is the clear fork of the mohican down past wooster ohio. i go there often and have pulled some very nice browns out.

my friend is the one who told me about the mad river and i cant remember if he said native or wild.

i just wanted to gain some knowledge if anyone had fished it before going out there blind.

i will use this advice and will have to post what i find when i do go down there. i am always open to new waters in my state.

as a fly fisherwoman ohio isnt the best state to find trout BUT.... the waters we do have here can produce some amazing fishing if you know where to go.

thanks
amanda

There are a few streams; even some "native" trout streams...I know of some native brookies up here in Geagua county about 15 miles from me. They have special regulations for that preserve...their no fishing regulations are STRICTLY enforced. My brother and I spent quite a bit of time on the ClearFork and usually ended up with some fish every time. He got surprised by a 3 lb smallmouth while fishing a wooly bugger one day! We then realized that we could fish in PA with about the same distance drive and havn't been to Mohican for the last couple of years. I also never noticed alot of bug/topfeeding activity at the Clearfork. Since you are talking OH trout fishing, have you ever had any success at Apple Creek? I've been twice, but conditions were less than optimal and I didn't even see a fish to cast to.

And I'm with ya Amanda; boo for Ohio trout streams . They are few and far between and nearly ALL are stocked as put and take fisheries, not preserved to be natural trout habitat. However, if your friend is catching 25" trout in the Mad that is quite large!!! They must be holding over after stocking for a few years.

Good luck, and please do give a report. I too am always looking to learn about my home state's trout opportunities.
-Jason

[ajaynie37]

dan,
i love fishing the clear fork of the mohican. my best friend introduced me to down there last spring and i have had some amazing memorable moments down there.

one day last fall we hit this hole by a place we refer to as the rock ledge by this nursery, we could do no wrong i mean we were throwing all different flies wet and dry and every cast it was like boom boom.
dont get me wrong they were only like 10 inch browns but WOW!!!!!!

now so far this year fishing down there has been underpar due to the heavy rain fall we had this spring. all the run out has just shut the trout down. but im not giving up....

i highly recommend you trying there and if you do id be more then happy to give you pointers the to places i find to be most productive and what i use...

thanks again for the advice

amanda

[ausablebrown]

Originally Posted by HuronRiverDan

You mentioned the Clear Fork; how's the fishing there? I want to come down and fish it along with the Mad one of these days.

Dan

Sacrilege!!! Unless you have wanderlust Dan, I don't see a reason to leave the green pastures of MI to come here. I'll wager that there are more trout in the 8 miles of "Holy Water" than there are in our whole dang state!

Jk, do as you wish, but don't say I didn't tell ya so when you catch them pale white trout with bellies full of corn.

Though the scenery at Mohican is A++, that is OH at its finest. One of the main access points to the Clearfork is down a curvy mountain road; breathtaking views from the very top, and the river runs through a pretty deep canyon at the bottom. Remembering that makes me want to get out there, flyrod or not...There is a nice campground down there right on the river with some good fishing from there downstream.

While we are on the subject; anyone know of any other trout streams in OH other than Mad, Clearfork, and Apple creek?