One of my favorite reads is the Art of Tying the Wet Fly and Fishing the Flymph by James Leisenring. It piqued my interest many moons ago when I visited a friends booth at the Cincinnati Fly Fishing Show. Glenn Blackwood from the Great Lakes Fly Fishing Company is always the staple ingredient to the show and his collection of hunting and fishing publications, especially first editions is extraordinary. As a kid, the only fly fishing technique I knew was dry fly fishing. Out of the many guided trips in many different regions that my father afforded to me, only a few guides showed other techniques like streamer, nymphing, and one that I can count taught me a wet fly swing on the Beaverkill. 

I share this story because for many years, my guided instruction has highlighted the importance of the wet fly swing on the Mad River. James Leisenring wrote and researched his techniques on the Brodheads and Little Lehigh in Pennsylvania, which present very similar characteristics as our Mad River. While the Little Lehigh has a wild brown trout population, both are aquifer spring fed limestone creeks, extremely clear, and require long leaders and stealthy approach when fishing hatches. One of his contributions was to define a “Lift” technique when fishing wet flies or nymphs to imitate when an insect is ascending to break the surface during a hatch. My recent guided trip instruction last week highlighted how such a technique can be a deadly way to catch fish when there is sporadic hatch.

Late April Mad River Trout Fishing Report 

The Mad River water level is in great shape, clarity is clear, and steady bug activity on most stretches. I was able to see some Hendricksons pop, but not enough to get a true dry fly hatch. Midges and BWO are happening in the early to mid morning, with caddis in the afternoon. 

  • Tactics and Hatch: Strip smaller streamers in the morning especially if you are around bridges or longer deeper tailouts. Midges and BWO can be fished effectively in the mid morning on emerger or wet fly patterns. Use the Leisenring Lift technique, you will find that during these mix bag of hatches, the fish will eat more aggressively on this technique than simply a drag free drifted emerger. Keep watch for larger mayflies as you may still find Hendricksons, Blue Quills or a sporadic March Brown in the afternoon. I am also fishing during the hot days an elk caddis with a pheasant tail dropper.
  • Patterns: Small size 18-20 Adams dry and parachute patterns are great for the midge rises. Maybe a Griffins gnat. For the BWO, I do love a WD-40, CDC Loop Emerger, or the Barr’s emerger in size 18-22. For the Hendrickson patterns, I fish cripples, comparaduns, and parachutes that match size 14-16 and color, male or female.
Let’s Get on the Water

May will be a fantastic time on the Mad River and on the local smallmouth. My books are open, reach-out if you want to spend a little time on the water.

— Parker