Ohio Trophy Trout Hunter: It's the Mad River

Let's talk about the Mad River.

We finally received the rain the forecasters forecasted. I lost count of the 1" to 3" forecasts that ended with little more than a wet road. If only my profession allowed this level of accuracy. OK, enough of my ranting.

The river spent a week flowing over 1000 cfs, which was desperately needed. I do not remember ever walking the river in January and having to worry about sending mud trails downstream until this year. I am happy to announce this is no longer an issue. Due to snowmelt and rain, levels approached the 4000 cfs mark and returned to "safe" fishing levels after roughly 5-6 days. The snowmelt did leave the water very cold, so our normal winter warm-up feeding frenzy did not occur. Flowing 550 cfs and possessing a deep emerald green color, the Mad began steadily producing fish Wednesday 18, 2015 and promptly ended this awesomeness around Friday 20, 2015...crazy stuff.

17th and 18th were prime

I believe the main culprit here was clarity. Between my 3.5-mile walk on the Wednesday and our multi-bridge float on Saturday, the water was crystal clear and only the deepest of holes held color. Even at flows over 400 cfs on Saturday, the water clarity was a certain issue.

The other bearing issue was river population...not population of gilled critters...population of rod wielding types! I am not complaining. I love seeing the river utilized and respected. Just please refrain from fishing in front of me :).

Scott Smallwood and I floated his new Ransom and had the privilege of meeting many of you on the water Saturday. We commented several times how the trip was awesome and that we were spending more time anchored and talking to other fishing folk (cannot use fishermen since we met Bill and Kelly on the water) than we were casting. Joy comes in many forms!

So lets get down to productivity....

Wednesday I walked a couple of bridges but spent almost all of one bridge out of the water due to impassable runs. I passed up a lot of great water in this section. I did get to stay in the water the entire second bridge and managed a 21" as well as a 17"...very respectable and much needed. I met Todd on this walk and on the Saturday float. This was another bonus; we are planning some future excursions in Indy as well as here on the Mad, and I like fishing with new people.

Saturday, we didn't do as well with the fish. I had one decent streamer hit and miss in a run, and one 10" nymph to hand in a hole. I will still remember the float for a long time though.

If you have not had the opportunity to float and fish you are missing a lovely experience. There is nothing like standing above the waterline and being able to see most everything that is going on around you. It truly is a great experience, so, if you are on the fences about getting a boat, please do it, then, invite me along :). That was a lot of commas!

I am sure I have forgotten a few things in here I meant to bring up but I will close with this note to safety. The river has changed! If you were on it two weeks ago, it is not the same river today, and will not be the same tomorrow due to a lot of structural rearrangement. If you cannot see the bottom please walk with caution. Brian and I did do some short walks at 750 cfm and I have to say there were a few concerns. I have walked this river in way higher flows for many years and know it better than most, and I am telling you to be cautious this season out of great concern.

Please look up and find my new Facebook group titled Ohio Trophy Trout Hunter (https://www.facebook.com/groups/736396083115178/). This is purely a fishing related informational group, and you will not have to suffer my political rants...just my poor writing skills and a few awesome pictures.

That’s a wrap...please enjoy the pictures!