Fishing Report: Olentangy River 7-11-15

Time:  330 PM -7pm
Air Temp:  mid 80s
Weather Conditions:  Mostly Sunny
Wind:  very low, from the north
Clarity:  Approx 24" in moving water, about 12" on the flat
Approx CFS: 114
Rig:  Orvis Helios 905-4 Mid Flex, Hardy Demon 5000, Sci Anglers Mastery Textured GPX taper
Leader:  Mono combo with a 2x Fluoro tippet.  Approx 7 feet
Flies Used:  Barry's Carp Fly (Olive, brown), Carp Bomb, Borskis Redfish Fly (they are good sculpin imitators), Bubble Head Popper
Hot Flies:  Barry's Carp Fly Olive

Spent a few hours on the Big O today.  Did ok for the most part.  They river still hasn't swung into prime carp shape after all the rain, but it was the closest its been in weeks.  its still pretty stained and running high.  i don't anticipate much change in that given the frequency of rain these days.

My intent was to give the 5 wt a workout on some carp, but as usual in fly fishing, the fish didn't give a shit about my plans.  

The carp I did see were few and far between, and not showing signs of eating behavior.  I worked my favorite flat for approximately 1 hour to no avail.  The only carp action I got was when my dumb ass basically stepped on one and he jumped a couple times to get away from me. (THIS IS A GOOD CAUTIONARY TALE for new folks.  Never go charging into a pool to get a cast to the lie that looks absolutely killer.  Lay a few retrieves in the water you plan to stand in to get a cast to that lie first.  A lot of times there are fish right at your feet).

I did spend some time casting to a good sized smallie on the same flat.  This fish was super fired up chasing and spraying baitfish all over the pool, but he never ate.  His behavior was highly territorial, and not really feeding behavior.  He took some swings at the bubble head popper, but he had no intention of eating it.  He was just pissed it was in his house.  I'll get his ass one of these days

After working my flat, I moved over and started working the east bank, and thats when the fishing heated up.

I was happy to net this one and get the smell of skunk off me

Got into a few Smallies on Barry's Carp Fly fished like a streamer or swung.  They weren't very big but they hit the fly extremely aggressively.  Coolest catch of the day was a nice little Rock Bass.  Can't remember the last time I stuck one of those.

These ducks pretty much followed me around all day

This is my favorite flat.  As you can see, the visibility wasn't optimal.  I was basically blind casting to lies I have seen carp patrolling when its more clear.

I followed this turtle for a solid 25 yards as he walked the bottom.  He didn't give a shit that I was following him at all.  

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon

Fly Hack: Why Your Bass Box Should Have Soft Plastics In It

Ever been on a lake or pond and seen an awesome lie that you just know you can't fish with a fly?

Success on Bass ponds and lakes is all about putting flies in the right places.  Of all freshwater fish, Largemouth Bass are probably the most skilled at living in, and using cover to their advantage.

Most of the time, an 8 wt, a 6 foot level leader of 15lb mono, and a good fly with a weed guard on it is all you need.

But on almost every pond and lake, there is "THE spot".  You see it, and it just screams bass heaven.  You stare at it, looking at the vegetation and structure, for minutes on end, trying to figure out a way punch a fly in there.

But as you look, you just know that it would take some sort of suspension of the laws of physics to get any fly in there and be able to lay an effective retrieve on it.

You end up passing on the spot, but for the rest of the day, you find your thoughts slipping back to the  monster alpha fish that you just know lives in that fly stealing hell hole.

We've all been there

But there is an option:  Soft plastics rigged weedless.

Let's be honest.  Fly fishing is great, but it has it's limitations.  There are certain things that the guys with the spinning rods have on us and this perhaps more than anything, is where they have a major advantage.

Conventional bass fishing is a huge industry.  For every 1 of us there are probably 1000 bass fishermen. They have entire Wal-Mart style outdoor superstores based on the sport of conventional bass fishing.

So what does this mean?  Well, it means dollars, and dollars means product research, and product research means a plethora of products designed to cater to every single situation a bass angler will run into on the water, including putting bait in the most inhospitable, lure eating black holes you can find.

Enter the soft plastic bait, and the worm hook:

Let's put it this way.  Take a look at modern bass flies.  All they are in their truest form are hand made lures without the weight. Foam, plastic, nylon, mylar.  It's all in the most popular recipes in every fly catalog in the country.  I tie patterns that have zero natural fibers. I have patterns I invented that incorporate material from the "conventional" section of Cabela's.  Hell, i have patterns that my conventional friends have asked me to weight so they can throw them on spinning rods.

The point is, if you are a hard core bass fly fisherman, you are already throwing"Flures".  So whats the harm in throwing an actual lure?  The simple fact of the matter is that they work, they are plentiful, and they are cheap.

Think of them as your little secret that no one talks about, your ace up the sleeve, your ringer.  At the end of the day, you are still casting and presenting on a fly rod.  Put them in your fly box...they just might open doors for you that you wouldn't even consider knocking on before.

Summertime is Carptime

They are ugly, they live in dirty places.

But guess what...they are EVERYWHERE, and they love eating flies

Summertime is rough for Ohio anglers.  The trout typically need a break with hot water temps and dwindling flows.  The Smallmouth, while still good targets, are not the pissed off fly smashing death machines they were a few months ago (and will be in a few months from now).  The local Muskie slow down and start to sulk, suspending, reluctant to chase, even if the fly you are chucking has a Mercury outboard strapped to it and it plays death metal as it whizzes by their head.

Sure, theres always ponds, and bucket mouth willing to murder a frog pattern or a big fat mouse,  or bluegills that are more than eager to take slow stripped buggers on the 2 wt, but even these summertime favorites shut down in the middle of the day, when the weather is gorgeous and you just want to be out chucking feathers.

So what is an angler to do?  Well, you know who's eating this time of year, right when the sun is highest and the air warmest?  You guessed it.  The White Trash Bonefish, the tough fighting Asian import we call the Carp.

Fly fishermen, I think, are romantics.  Poets and artists at heart.  We will literally romanticize anything.  Carp are no exception.  "The Golden bone", the "Golden Ghost" etc. etc.  We will talk all day about how hard they are to catch, or how spooky they are, or how selective.  We are also prone to hyperbole.  We tend to make things sound much harder than they actually are.

I have buddies that will just flat out ignore carp all together, even when they run into a pod of 20 pounders tailing away on the river.  I can't count how many times this conversation has happened after regrouping at the car:

Me:  "Hey you get anything?"
Buddy:  "Naw, didn't see anything, just a bunch of carp"

And why don't they fire a few at those fish?  Well, they think it's too hard, or they don't have the right fly, or they just don't see them as game fish.

All of that, in my opinion, is bullshit.  Carp are not pretty, and they also are not insanely hard to catch.  They aren't particularly good at hiding, they aren't particularly elusive, and they will eat flies you can tie with the scraps from your fly tying bench.  They literally tell you everything you need to know about them just with unbelievably transparent body language.  Hell, when they are happy, they basically have a giant neon sign above them that screams "IM OVER HERE!  CAST TO ME! CAST TO ME!"

Sure, they can sometimes be selective, and sometimes finding those happy carp is difficult, and you need to be a semi-decent caster, but at the end of the day carp are three things:  everywhere, nearly always chowing down, and they are pretty easy to locate in any body of water.

Oh, and they are fuckin' strong.  Like tying your line to a pitbull's collar then throwing his favorite tennis ball kind of strong.

Toss in the fact that they eat when it's hot enough to melt soft metals,  it's pretty much all sight fishing, they gobble up flies, and can show your backing some sunlight or break a rod every once and a while, and what you have is the perfect summer fly rod fish.

So if it's nasty hot out, and you think nothing is biting, think again. Go get your 6-8wt, some 1x fluoro, tie on a wiggly little fly, and start chucking to these big bastards.  Stash a half dozen carp flies in every freshwater fly box you have, just in case, because you never know when you are going to stumble on a pack of fat ass stupid happy fish grubbing like they are getting paid for it.

...but make sure that backing knot that has never seen the light of day is strong.

Fly Fishing the Mad River

The Mad River:  Bellefontaine/Urbana/Springfield

***I will say, this is all my opinion, but it is based off of years fishing this river.  This is just simple advice to get a leg up on The Mad***

One of two true trout streams in Ohio, The Mad River is technically a Spring Creek, but if you are expecting one of those picturesque Driftless Region style creeks, you might be in for a shock.  This is not your typical trout stream.  

The Mad is often referred to by anglers with a string of expletives.  They don't call it "The Maddening River" for no reason.  That said, it is probably the ultimate test of a trout angler.  It has 3 distinct sections, they all fish differently, and it is unpredictable.  If you can find success on The Mad, you can be confident that you can kick the shit out of pretty much any trout river in the country.  Hell,  western rivers, and true eastern trout streams will seem like child's play.

There is no river that I know of that can test you as an angler like The Mad, but that said, if you stick with it, learn it, and are willing to have a fluid game plan on any given day, you can connect with some serious fish.  It's covered with tree canopy, runs straight and flat for long sections, it's narrow, gets a ton of boat traffic in the warm months, and does not have huge predictable hatches.

There are Browns in the 12-2 foot+ range, and Smallies (primarily in the lower stretch).  You may bump into the occasional rainbow or brokie in the upper stretch.

A few great things about this river:  It never freezes, which means the season is 365 days a year, and it drains crazy fast after getting a shot of water, much quicker than other area rivers.

What should I throw?:

Subsurface is generally the name of the game, either nymphs or streamers.  In the summer, the Brown Drake hatch is solid, but lasts about 7 days in a good year.  For dries, there are light hatches of Sulphurs, Cahills, March Browns, Drakes, Caddis, and Tricos, BUT the hatches generally are not widespread, and you kind of have to get lucky to hit one.  Terrestrials do well in the summer months when nothing distinct is coming off

Dries:  Don't bother.  Just kidding.  There are solid hatches, and they are all the typical Eastern fare.  Think PA hatches, but on a much smaller scale.  

Nymphs:  Pheasant Tails, Midges, Caddis, and Mayfly nymphs in the 12-18 range typically do well.  SOFT HACKLES.  Often overlooked, big Cranefly larvae produce most of the year.  In fact if you had to pick a dropper fly to run under a big foam beetle, a Cranefly is the one to start with.  

Streamers:  This is the bread and butter of most Mad fishermen I know.  You won't get numbers, but you will get quality.  When I say streamers, I don't mean woolly buggers (though they work) I mean no bullshit, huge, kick ass streamers.  The mad runs fast, and since your target window is typically small, getting the fly down fast is the most important thing.  Sink tips with weighted flies on super short leaders work best.  

How to fish it:

This is a tricky subject.  There is not one right way, one correct rod etc.  Here is what I do:  I carry two rods, a 4 wt and 8wt.  I almost always start with the big boy rod and keep the 4 on standby in case a hatch comes off, or I'm not getting any love on streamers and need to switch to nymphs.  I will focus primarily on streamers, as nymph fishing/dry fly fishing this river is about the same as any other (though I will say I am fond of 2 fly rigs).

Streamers:  

Rod:  6-8 wt tip flex 8-9 ft

Reel:  Anything will work

Line:  Aggressive tapers, intermediate tips and sink tips are a big plus (Rio Outbound Short, SA Magnum Taper, Rio Smallmouth etc)

Leader:  On a floating line, 8-9 foot leader, a 5 foot butt in the 25 lb class and a few feet of 10-15 lb.  On sink tips:  Just run 3-5 feet of 10-15 lb off the line and call it a day.  Short is good, it gets the fly down.  I am a big fan of Fluorocarbon

Flies:  Big shit.  carry natural and attractor colors.  Olive, tan, white, yellow, black, and crayfish orange.  Carry a lot of them, to fish this river correctly, you need to be willing to lose flies.

TIPS:

• If you don't have a sink tip, go buy one.  If you can't buy a new line, get a 10 foot sinking Poly Leader. You'll thank me
• The best streamer sections have dynamic bottom topography and wooded cover.  Look for those, pick prime lies, and fish them.  
• Be willing to change flies often and in the same hole.  If you find a spot that looks like the perfect home for the Mayor of Brown Town, throw 3-4 different flies through it before moving on.  
• Unless you are independently wealthy, learn to tie big streamers.  They charge a mint for those Galloup contraptions with the funny names, and you have to be willing to part with a half dozen or more big flies in a single wade to be effective.  Tying these are probably the only flies where tying actually saves you money.  Plus you can customize your patterns, particularly weight.
• Casting across and ripping the fly back to you works most of the time, but don't forget the swing.  
• Vary retrieve speed and presentation before swapping flies.  I go slow, fast smooth, jerk strip, and if the lie permits, swing, before I cut it off and tie on a different one.  
• You're going to get skunked.  Don't get fed up.  Come back and try new shit.  Fish different conditions.  The Mad is work
• I used to fish a 5 or 6, but the 8 is just plain better for this kind of fishing.  I use the exact same rod and reel I use for bonefish.  Don't laugh, it works.  Less casting, more fishing.  My buddy fishes a 6, and I'd wager I put twice as many retrieves on a hole in the same amount of time as he does with his 6.  Plus when the big slob slams your fly, you can muscle him out of the wood piles easier, but make no mistake, a 2 foot trout will still bend that thing to the handle.
• Team your meat.  Use a small flashy single hook streamer and tie a big nasty fly on a foot of tipped of the bend of the first fly. 
• Summer streamer fishing is pretty much not worth it.  Go fish warm water and save the trout for fall, winter and early spring

Nymphs/Dries

Rod:  Here's where there is some debate among people I know who fish this river.  Whats the best length?  Personally I prefer something in the 7-7.5 foot range in a 4 or 5 wt.  Some fish this river with a 9 footer, but I think it's too much stick for how wide the river is.  If you are high sticking 3 fly rigs all day it is ok, but you can fish more effectively with the shorter stick.  I use anything from a 2/3 wt to a 5, my go to is a 7 foot 4.

Reel:  Anything, literally, as long as it spins

Line:  Any WFF or DT trout line.  I'm a fan of Scientific Angler GPX taper or Rio's Gold, Grand, or Perception

Leader: 7-9 foot tapered 3x-5x.  I prefer 4x, and will only go lighter than 5x on tiny flies

Flies:  The standards all produce (natural and attractor), but some special ones:  Cranefly Larva work all the time, Ants and Beetles are the best dry terrestrials.  There is a solid Trico hatch as well.  Soft hackles are probably my favorite nymphs on this river.

TIPS

• There is rarely a distinct widespread high density hatch.  Soft hackles are great generalist imitators, and can be drifted, stripped, or swung.
• In the same vein, team your flies.  It makes prospecting easier.  Ones you stick a few keep in mind what fly is getting hit most, then focus on that pattern.  
• Teamwork makes the dream work.  Cut your prospecting time in half.  If the name of the game is streamers, have one angler go with an attractor and one a natural colored fly, or large and small, or opposite colors.  You can do the same with nymphs and dries. Have one run a caddis one run a pheasant tail, or run them at different depths, or one run an attractor team and one a naturals team.

Final thoughts:

There is no body of water I can think of that has made me a better angler than The Mad.  It is hard work, and you have to have patience, but it can pay off big.  Here's a 22" from a winter outing.  Ate a 6 inch long olive articulated streamer I call The White Trash Burrito that I tied specifically with The Mad in mind.

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