Mad River

The Mad is a gem of a river. We are fortunate to have such a resource in our area. Many members fish this river regularly with great success.

Please consider completing a Mad River Creel Survey each time you fish the Mad. We are compiling information that will help Ohio Division of Wildlife staff in their management efforts.

Mad River Info for Mobile Devices

Joe Nagel has come up with a way to access Mad River information from your smartphone. He has created a 3-page, formatted-for-mobile website that pulls in the USGS information. It will dislpay the latest stats for Rt. 36 and St. Paris in text format, a 3 day graph for Rt. 36 and a 3 day graph for St. Paris.

Here’s the link – http://tinyurl.com/mr-mobile-info

Cold River Section – St. Paris Pike upstream to headwaters

Species: The cold-water section of the Mad River has Brown Trout (stocked by the state), some Rainbow Trout and Carp.

Access Points and Maps: In Clark County starting with and heading up stream are St. Paris Pike, Eagle City Rd., and Tremont City Rd. In Champagne County are County Line Rd., Dallas Rd., State Route 55, Old Troy Pike, State Route 36, Millerstown Rd., State Route 29, Lippincott Rd., Upper Valley Pike, Sullivan Rd., and Pimtown Rd. Above Pimtown Rd. is the city of West Liberty. You can get a map with the most current information from the Miami Conservancy District at https://www.mcdwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018-Mad-River-map-combined.pdf. This map covers all areas referenced on this page.

Flies: Nymphs are a staple for the Mad River trout and patterns in size 12 to 16 will work well. Pheasant tails, Prince nymphs, BWO nymphs, Cooper Johns, Hare’s ear, BH Caddis are just a few good patterns.

Emergers tied for Mayflies, Caddisflies and Midges will work on the Mad during hatches.

Dry Flies – Blue wing olives, Hendrickson’s, March Browns, Brown Drake’s, Sulpher’s, Light Cahill’s and Trico’s are all proven patterns in sizes 12 to 20.

Streamers are a big fish producer. Try using Woolly Buggers, Muddler Minnow, Zonkers, Clouser Minnows, Woolhead Sculpins, Whitlock Matuka Sculpin, Whitlock Near-Nuff Sculpin, and Lil’Burgers. Terrestrials work well in the summer and fall months with ant and beetle patterns being the best.

Other foods: San Juan Worms, Crayfish Patterns, Scuds, Leeches and Damselflies/Dragonflies also work on the Mad River.

Equipment: 8’ to 9.5’ fly rods in #2 – #6 weights are best. Leader and Tippets in sizes 4x – 5x and 7x are recommended.

Seasons and Miscellaneous Information: Trout fishing is a year-round season on the cold water section of the Mad River whereas the river never completely freezes. The dry fly seasons begin in March and goes into November, and terrestrials start in June thru October.

During poor weather conditions, you can check the water flow and water temperature before heading to the river by logging onto http://oh.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/current/ty. This is USGS Real-Time Data for Ohio Stream Flow. Curser down to “MAD R AT ST PARIS PIKE AT EAGLE CITY OH” click on the link and the web page will show Gage Height, Feet and other data. If the gage height is 5.0 to 6.0 that would be normal water flow.

Here is a link that compiles five stations of the Mad.

Middle River Section – State Route 235 upstream to SR 41

Species: Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Rock Bass, Bluegill, Crappie and Carp can be found in the middle river section.

Access Points and Maps: In Clark County, starting at and heading upstream, access is at State Route 235 or Spangler Rd., Snyder Rd., Enon Rd., Lower Valley Pike, Old Mill Rd., Old State Route 41, there is also access to the river off Upper Valley Pike and behind the shops across from the Springfield Mall.

Flies: Nymphs work well for the bluegill, Rock Bass and carp. Fish the larger nymphs for smallmouths. Sneaky Pete’s, Lit Burgers, Woolly Buggers, Hellgrammites, Minnow, crayfish and Sculpin patterns are all good choices.

Equipment: 8’ to 9.5’fly rods in #5 – #8 weights are best. Leader and Tippets in sizes 3x – 4x and 5x are recommended.

Seasons and Miscellaneous Information: The season runs March thru November for this section of the Mad with the spring and the fall being the best times. In the middle of this section is Aaron’s Canoe Livery and Forever Canoe Rental, so during the summer there is a lot of canoe traffic during the day. Floating this section is a great idea with many access and take out points.

Lower River Section – Harshman Rd. upstream to I-675

Species: Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Rock Bass, Bluegill, Crappie and Carp can be found in the lower river section.

Access Points and Maps: In Montgomery County, starting at and heading upstream, Harshman Rd., Valley Pike, Huffam Dam, (just upstream the Mad River enters Wright Patterson Air Force Base to Chambersburg Rd.), Medway Rd. and Spangler Rd.

Equipment: 8’ to 9.5’fly rods in #5 – #8 weights are best. Leader and Tippets in sizes 3x – 4x and 5x are recommended.

Seasons and Miscellaneous Information: The season runs March thru November for this section of the Mad with the spring and the fall being the best times. Because of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and I-70 access to this stretch is limited. However, this is a good section to float with Huffman Dam being your take out spot.

City Limit Section – Great Miami River upstream to Harshman Rd.

Species: Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Rock Bass, Bluegill and Carp can be found in the City limit section.

Access Points and Maps: In Montgomery County, starting at and heading upstream, Webster St., Keowee St., Findlay St. and Harshman Rd.

Equipment: 8’ to 9.5’ fly rods in #5 – #8 weights are best. Leader and Tippets in sizes 3x – 4x and 5x are recommended.

Seasons and Miscellaneous Information: The season runs March thru November for this section of the Mad with the spring and the fall being the best times. This is also a good stretch to float and in places you wouldn’t think you were in downtown Dayton. The bike path runs along much of this section and has plenty of access