Winter Fishing the Mad River

My fly fishing buddy and I have developed what has become a tradition of making a trip to the Mad River for brown trout in the week between Christmas and New Years.  It's an easy time for both of us to get away and make a mid-week journey to western Ohio.  This time, I decided on a stubborn tactic change.  In the past, I have nymph fished and done pretty well on the Mad, but I'd typically catch nothing but small fish.  I decided I had caught enough of the freshly stocked small fish, and wanted to throw streamers in hopes of finding a better bite.  To be sure I would not fall back on the nymphing crutch in tough times, I simply left them at home.  Conditions were not great for streamer fishing, with low and clear water, but I was committed to the plan.  I used a small size 6 olive sculpin pattern for the majority of the day.  When I found deeper water with cover, I upsized the streamers looking for a trophy bite, but failed to get it.

The fish were aggressively attacking our streamers, but early on, short strikes were the name of the game.  We both had many strikes but no hookups.  Finally, in a small and deep run along one bank, I found a fish that connected.  Still a small brown, but I was on the board with an aggressive strike.

Later in the day, we met up with the local TU chapter president to fish with him for a while.  After fishing with him, I became even more convinced that local knowledge is just about the most important thing you can bring to the water.  The Mad is a subtle, sometimes fickle stream to fish, and that knowledge helped both of us catch some more fish.  So, when I was told "Put your streamer right behind that little weir, there's usually fish there," I did.  And I was rewarded with the best fsh of the day, a gorgeous fish that slammed that little sculpin.

My poor little sculpin got fished hard all day, bouncing bottom and bouncing off logs and trees when attempts for the perfect cast were just slightly off the mark.  It's a fairly simple little sculpin pattern on a single hook that has produced several fish for me out of the Mad.  It's one of those "don't leave home without it" bugs.  

Ever the design tinkerer, I brainstormed other sculpin patterns most of the latter portion of the time on the water, as well as on the ride home.  Watch for the results of that brainstorming later this week in another post.  I think I have a few winners to try next time I venture across the Buckeye state.