Dayton Fishing Report 4.16.24

Spring is in full bloom. Morels are starting to pop through the leaves, white bass building in the creeks, brown trout rising to early mayfly hatches, and smallmouth chasing baitfish for the spawn. Dayton in the spring offers anglers a vast opportunities to chase fish locally. A true GEM.

Spring is my favorite time on our local brown trout stream. The Mad River water is high and clear allowing for the deeper holes to conceal the hold-over browns. Great for streamer fishing in the morning and evening, but also forming good tail-out dry fly activity during the mid afternoons. The recent rains passed through last week and now we are experiencing hot afternoons and decent bug activity. Hendricksons and Blue Quills are popping sporadically, caddis are fluttering midday, and small midge patterns in the morning and evening. Target browns with cripple duns, klinkhammer emerges, smaller 16 Adams, and tip these with a variety of small baetis nymphs, frenchies, or pheasant tail/hares ear.

Streamer fishing in the early to mid morning and late evening with the usual olive, white, brown, or black color ways. Target your time in deeper runs and pools with overhanging branches. Olive and white are hot on the clear water conditions and black and yellow are fantastic when the water is on the rise or just coming in to blue-green prime from a recent rain. Favorite patterns include gongas, meat whistles, double woolly buggers, or anything small 3-4″ double jointed with a zonker tail.

One of the GEMs of Dayton is the bronze back fishing. Five different rivers surround the city supported and conserved by agencies like Five Rivers Metroparks and the Miami Conservancy District. As a former biologist that helped support conservation efforts along the rivers, these entities provide the public with endless opportunities and access to terrific bass, carp, and catfish fishing.

Protecting open space and natural areas is a priority for Five Rivers MetroParks, which protects nearly 16,000 acres of land — 90 percent of it in its natural state.

The water is starting to lower to the beautiful prime blue and clear color. A great friend and GEM of the local angler community, Newport is giving updates by text daily on the stream. The bite is on and smallmouth are aggressively chasing minnows. Super jealous with all his texts and photos, Newport is dialed in on Dayton smallmouth fishing better than anyone I know. Personally I targeted the Mad River downtown earlier this week to find success in seams, behind boulders, and along the blooming vegetation along the edges. White minnows with intermediate sinking lines are working very productively. Surface feeding on minnows with sliders and waking streamers will produce in the mid day to evening. Stay tune for up to date Dayton fishing reports. Good luck on the water.

Book a spring guided trip for April and may

The spring is a great time to get out on the water. The Mad River browns are actively chasing drys and streamers, smallmouth bass are aggressively eating minnows, and the white bass is close to start. Drop me a line and depending on the rains and water flows, let’s book an adventure this spring.