When you’re listing off fly-fishing states, Ohio comes pretty far down—probably not even in the top half. But there are passionate fly fishers everywhere, and most folks are fond of their home waters, even if they’re not the Madison or the Delaware. In this video, an angler describes his attraction to the Mad River, which he feels is an overlooked gem.
Beautifully done.
gotta get down there…
Tight Lines,
Koz
Great video, nice to see my home water get some love
That river is tough, it’s one of those rivers that seems like everything is stacked against the angler. It’s rare to see a great hatch, there aren’t tons of trout per square mile, and you really have to use everything in your toolkit and pick your spots. I’ve gotten to the point that I take a big streamer stick and a 4 wt out there, just because you can never guess what it will do on any given day. The river just doesn’t make sense. It will rain for 8 hours and you will go expecting to find it fast and colored up ready for streamers, only to find it gin clear. The weather will change and be perfect for some hatches, and you’ll never see a surface rise. The summer and fall debris can choke it up through January making fishing difficult, and there are miles of it that are just straight and flat with no cover. Its just maddening, but that I think is part of the fun of the Mad.
Whenever I take people out there who haven’t fished it, I often find myself lowering their expectations, but tell them that if you can consistently get trout out of that river, you can be confident that you can fish trout anywhere.
Could’nt have put it better. But I see the pics of the fish drug out of there and I keep goin back. And it is a unique place. I’ll keep goin back…
Lived in Columbus in the late 90’s early 2000’s. Fished the Mad regularly around West Liberty. What a great stream. Places where the stream is marked by a ribbon of trees stretching through the middle of seemingly endless corn and soybean fields has a beauty all its own. It is a gem. This brought back some fine memories. Thanks.
Thanks everyone! I’m glad that I’m not alone in my love for that area! When Taylor and I were filming this I took him to almost every spot that had ever produced a memorable fish for me.. as the sun was setting on our 2nd and final day of filming, the camera was on its final moments of memory, and I was desperate.. With only a few small fish caught we decided to try a zone I had never fished before. In the final minutes of daylight it all came together! Thanks again everyone, much more to come!
Took me back as well – first learned to fly fish on the Mad several years ago. Fishing in the middle of those cornfields is a unique experience. I had no idea there were brookies in there!
Challenging but rewarding stream.
I’m a regular on the mad, been fishing it for 30 yrs now. I tend to do pretty well most times out , but then there are those days when you can’t buy a fish . Streamers can work well under the right conditions even in clear water , but the bread and butter for that river is nymphs . So far my biggest fish is 26″ and I’ve had my share of fish in the 18 -20 range as well . Handle any fish you catch with care . The mad is a precious resource for us in ohio respect it . Good luck . See you put there