April 14, 2025
To leap and burst forth, spring is here. Living in Dayton, we are blessed with many seasons, but Spring for fishing may be my favorite. Mushroom hunting, calling turkeys, and the start of the dry fly hatch on the Mad for the elusive brown trout. Largemouth bass and bluegills are also in prime and should be fished at every opportunity on our many lakes and ponds.
Torrential rains swept through the valley and really cleaned out our waterways the past couple of weeks. The larger rivers including the Great Miami and Stillwater are off color and still pushing heavy CFS flows. My hope is there will be an opportunity later this weekend to start targeting smallmouth again on the Stillwater, Mad River and Twin Creek. The Great Miami is still at least a week or two to get back down to prime. Fish should be holding tight near cover/structure along the banks. I am sure our good friend J. Newport will have a full report shortly.
The trout section of the Mad River is awaiting for the return of the Hendricksons. One of our first mayfly hatches, these should be popping anytime with the warming weather. Typically, the early afternoon increases the water temp and gets the bugs moving. Our guided trips are slowly booking up for the weekends and some weekdays. Late April through Mid June is a great time to fish emergers, dries, and swinging soft hackles. This past weekend with a couple clients proved to be a great time for targeting the browns on streamers. The CFS flow is great with good clarity that is not crystal clear. Success on scouting slower holes and seams with nymphs proved effective in deeper water.
A big thank you to Tim W for another year and another great session and to new clients Patrick and Chris, I appreciate letting me guide you around my local waters this past weekend. Good luck to all on the local waters and enjoy the coming of warmth.
Always a shout out to Father Greg in NC. Still guiding and hopefully we can get him back up here on the Mad. Visit Morrett Fly Fishing if you are near Columbus, NC.
