Mad River springfield/urbana

Getting to be the time of year to start hitting the wholes along the stretch of the mad from rt. 55 - rt. 36 and rt. 29 and in springfield along eagle city rd. anyone else ever fish the mad for the little brownies...?

yes i have fished it for the last 15 years on a fly rod. i love it. the browns are a blast to land and the bigger ones sure can burn for the cover. my biggest is slightly over 4 pounds. he was a beauty. i used to go every thanksgiving day. that was my day on the mad. always caught my biggest on those days. kids kind of put a stop to that, and my little honey. but i go every chance i get. nothing like fishing 55 in march with a light cahill dry and having 12 incher slurp it in. cant wait til it warms a bit. got to admit, if you are willing to brave the elements, ohio has something to fish for year round. april and may were always pretty good too, but november and december get my vote for the best.

we always start fishing the mad at the first of march... usually we get some milder weather in march and it tends to stick around for a while... we always use buggers, small zonkers, and bead head nymphs early on in rustic browns and olives... then switch to small muddlers and crayfish patterns for summer... never really get on it much after sept. but I will have to try it... but it seems anything with a yellowish or gold tint/flash to it and those brownies just eat it up!!! biggest one I ever caught was right under the 55 bridge out of that big whole where they re-did the bridge... went just over 23" and my cousin fishes with me every now and then and he caught two really nice ones one day just up from the 55 bridge where it starts to bend...

Nice Fish N Pix guys!

Do you guys fly fish exclusivly? My father in law has a fly rod that I could borrow but I'd have no idea how to rig it as I know it hasn't been used in years. I may just look for a cheap one at outdoor world this weekend... what should I look for given that I'll be fishing the tight spaces on Mad River.

ratherbefishing wrote:Do you guys fly fish exclusivly? My father in law has a fly rod that I could borrow but I'd have no idea how to rig it as I know it hasn't been used in years. I may just look for a cheap one at outdoor world this weekend... what should I look for given that I'll be fishing the tight spaces on Mad River.

We usually dont fly fish it much... just when we know we can go down there and catch them... most the time we throw small lures and live bait on ultra light spinning gear...

If you're looking into getting a fly rod setup... i would hit wal-mart and local baitshops before you go venturing into the land of dollar signs and big egos ... a decent rod to look into that can be bought from wally world is a shakespeare IM-7 graphite fly rod... they are only 7' long i believe which is what you want for the tight casting areas along the mad. For a reel, i would suggest visiting local bait shops just to see what they have... I own several Cabela's reels and a few not so high quality reels, but I would prefer to fish with with the less grade ones, they have a nicer feel to them... BUT MAKE SURE whatever reel you go with has an adjustable drag on it

Also starting out into the fly fishing field... you will want weight forward fly line, which helps beginners to cast better... abbreviated on a box as WF- followed by a number, the lower the number the more "fragile" the line... the rod and reel you buy will determine what size line you buy (the shakespeare rod is rated for WF-4 line) For general uses of the rod- Mad River and local farm ponds/Panfish and small LM Bass a 4 or 5 weight line will work just fine... also remember to buy some kind of backing line (the line that goes on the reel before your fly line) I always use Dracon line... runs about $3-$4 a 150 yrd spool

You are a varitable cornucopia of information flathead!

Thanks a lot!

ratherbe

ratherbefishing wrote:You are a varitable cornucopia of information flathead!

I have so much info on several places and fishing in general it isn't funny... if you have any questions just shoot... I forgot to mention that when you buy your rod and reel and finally get it set up, make sure you keep your fly line clean... therefore, I recommend loon linespeed conditioner to use on it. Soak it in hot soapy water, then clean/squeegee it off with a microfiber towel or whatever kinda towel you like. Then put a bunch of the line speed in a paper towel and put it on the line in a really thin coat (just barely get the line wet with it). Then let it sit a bit, buff it off, and leave it for a day... I recommend doing this before you put your fly line on and after season or mid-season... I also found one of the best starter reels made today... it has a set drag on it, but is an overall great reel for a starter...

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp;jsessionid=RISYY01SU4ZGLLAQBBKSCNNMCAEFAIWE?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20431-cat20487&id=0011204311109a&navCount=2&podId=0011204&parentId=cat20487&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IK&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20487&hasJS=true&_requestid=72128

P.S. if you would like to hit the CJ whitebass run this year... just shoot me a pm... I have TOO much info on that, just ask OhioFisher

I'm a Pflueger junkie, I have to have a Pflueger fly reel!
How about white bass once at CJ and once at the covered bridge at Indian Lake!
We'll stack the two against each other and post what we thought. Give these guys some useful info.
Ohiofisher you'll have two good arms then, you ought to hit CJ when we do.

Sounds good to me! Never fished Indian for WB, will definitely be an experience for me!

Of course Jerrys gotta brag
And the whitebass, HECK YEAH! Family Tradition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We can get some whitebass then head to the marina for crappie Yeah
And forget Indian whitebass I want the eyes!
btw FH this is the 5th time I've typed a message and you did at the same time lol
Anyways
CYA Out There
Jonny

about that time is a good time to try to get them from under the spillway at Indian Lake.... those Saugeye don't stand a chance with you guys there.