Fly Fishing up on the Mad River

Southern Ohio does not seem like an ideal location to be if one is a fly fisherman; but the truth is it’s an awesome place to be. It is almost impossible to fish all of the lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams just within an hour drive.

I cannot even begin to count the number of times I have told people that there is great fishing within 15 minutes of my work at Delamere and Hopkins, the leading fly shop in the Cincinnati area. People never believe me until they see it for themselves. We have everything from Ohio River – run hybrid striped bass to brown trout pushing 30+” up on the Mad River. We are placed only a few hours from excellent steelhead fishing up on the Great Lakes tributaries as well. Many people also travel around to fish some of the famed trout streams of northern Michigan such as the AuSable.

I first heard about Catch Fly Fishing through my work at Delamere and Hopkins when we picked them up as a fly vendor. I noticed two things about their flies: they are tied well and most importantly, they WORK! My favorite type of fishing is streamer fishing for big browns. I fish two local rivers in particular that are great for it. Both of my top streamer choices are CATCH flies.

They are the Smooth Criminal and the Muddy Buddy. I fish both of these on full sink lines during high flows and the trout love them. I like to swing the Smooth Criminal where the Muddy Buddy is fun to strip as fast as you can, then hold on when a fish hammers it.

I have also had great luck with the Smooth Criminal swinging for steelhead and the Muddy Buddy for smallmouth and even pike. CATCH flies hold up like no other. I have recommended these flies to countless customers who would agree 100% when I say that they catch fish. We recently acquired some of the large baitfish patterns such as the Peanut Butter and Pole Dancers for the striper runs in the local river. I can’t wait the fish them this summer.