A few weeks ago, my regular fishing buddy and I went on our last fly fishing road trip of the year -- a four-day trip to chase wild Brookies in the backcountry of West Virginia. We’ve been taking these short trips once every spring and fall since we first met at a C.O.F.F. meeting and started fishing together. Neither of us can seem to remember what year that was, but it was at least 15 years ago or so. (They say that the memory is the first thing to go…)
In the spring, the wildflowers are blooming, the ferns are emerging, the rhododendrons are lush, the ramps are tender and the fish are taking any dry fly we happen to have tied on. In the fall, the weather is crisp, the nights are clear, the leaves are changing, but the fish, though still looking up, are a little bit more particular.
For whatever reason, the fall colors this year were even more spectacular than they usually are. Driving along the side of the mountain back to the cabin after the last day of fishing, we were just amazed by the beauty. The angle of the setting sun was just right and around every turn was another gorgeous view. We had to stop the car a few times just to soak it all in.
It was a little bitter-sweet. We were both feeling it after that last day. We had hiked in about five and a half miles to below a waterfall, strung up our rods and fished our way back to the trailhead. We had done the same thing on this creek at least 6 or 7 times over the years, but this time it really kicked our butts. I can’t remember if it was him or me that said it, but we were both thinking “How much longer are we going to be able to do this?” The answer was “While we still can.”
Last night we had our last quarterly Chapter meeting of the year. Instead of a program about fly fishing for trout, the meeting’s theme was “Working together to protect the Mad River watershed and providing recreational opportunities and benefits to communities.”
There were presentations by Sarah Hippensteel Hall, Manager of Watershed Partnerships for the Miami Conservancy District, Bob Gable, long-time Manager of the ODNR Scenic Rivers Program, Sergeant Ranger Steve Southard of the Clark County Parks District, and Katie Johnstone,TU Madmen Women’s Outreach Coordinator and active member of the Ohio Climber’s Coalition.
Present were a collection of distinguished guests representing the Little Miami Conservancy, Tecumseh Land Trust, West Liberty Lions Club, Champaign County Farm Land Preservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Ohio Scenic Rivers Association, Citizens Against Mining, Mud Run Conservancy, B-W Greenways Community Land Trust, Scenic Mad River Committee, Greenon High School STEM program, Benjamin Logan Elementary and High School, and local landowners. This is just a sampling of the citizens in the area that have a real concern for the well-being of the Great Miami River watershed of which our Mad River is included.
Alarms were raised, hopes were elevated and connections were made. There was a general call-to-arms. Much needs to be done and soon. Much has been accomplished, but without continued vigilance those gains could disappear. For those who are concerned and want to help, there are many opportunities available right now. Please contact any of the members of the Board to see how you can help.
It isn’t just about the fishing. Water quality or lack thereof, affects every one of us every day. We need to continue our fight to protect our resources. “How much longer are we going to be able to do this?” The answer is “While we still can.”
  Tight lines everybody!
Rick Hurni, President
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Pam Allen, Membership Leader
If you’re looking for a beautiful place to fish with opportunities to catch beautiful fish, head to the lower portion of the Clear Fork of the Mohican River below Pleasant Hill Dam through Mohican State Park.
Last year was the first year the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife stocked 11-inch to 14-inch catchable rainbow trout in the waters within the state park. We had such a good time last year, we decided to make it a weekend excursion. Our friends Kevin Ramsey and Cheri Scherf joined us in late November at one of the nicely remodeled state park cabins along the river. I was thrilled when I heard the Ohio Women on the Fly had organized a women’s outing for the same weekend and rented the cabin next to ours! I had the best of both worlds.
On Friday, Tom, Kevin, Cheri and I fished the waters below the Covered Bridge near the primitive campground area. The fish were active and fought more like wild trout than hatchery trout. We had success swinging streamers and using a single egg pattern dropped below a dry fly. We all caught and released plenty of beautiful fish. When we got back to the cabin, the Ohio Women on the Fly started arriving at the cabin next door. While we headed off to dinner, they stayed at the cabin sharing stories, drinking wine, rigging rods, and tying flies. I wish I could have been at both places.
On Saturday morning we made our way to the cabin next door and shared our experiences from the day before. After an early wake-up call, strong coffee, and a few others arriving, the group of passionate, talented, adventure-seeking women anglers were off to battle frosty temps and cold water, while Tom and I headed to Wooster for the Trout Unlimited State Council meeting.
Their morning fishing was slow, but they had a lot of fun. After lunch and a few swigs of whiskey, the women were out the door and fishing again. When we got back from the meeting, Tom was too tired to fish right away and wanted to watch the rest of the OSU vs. Penn State football game – not me – I quickly got on my waders and headed out to spend time fishing with some wild, wonderful women anglers! Like the temps, the fishing heated up and we fished till the day turned to night. I love fishing with my husband, there’s nothing like it. Fishing with other women who share your love for fishing is a rare treat. Thank you Ohio Women on the Fly and the amazing women who participated. It’s a weekend I won’t forget.
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On November 23rd, the TU State Council held their Biannual Meeting in Wooster. Rick Hurni, Tom Allen, Pam Allen, Theresa Fauver and Don Dean represented the TU Madmen Chapter. Thank you Don for your last three years of service as State Council Chair. Theresa and Pam were elected to take on State Council roles as Secretary and Women's Outreach Coordinator, respectively. Also present at the meeting were members from the other four chapters in Ohio.
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Those of you that fished Mad River between May and August probably found it difficult to get to your favorite spot, whether you wade or float. Many of those favorite spots are completely changed by the flooding. The high water and flood events caused severe bank erosion making it difficult to get in and out of the river; logjams from uprooted trees and flood debris created obstacles difficult to portage. If you were able to get up the banks, the invasive honeysuckle makes it difficult to walk through. Quite frankly, the TU Madmen Chapter was overwhelmed in how to address all the issues. We will continue to do what we can to improve access to the Mad, protect riparian areas and minimize stream bank erosion. The needed work will continue through the winter and early spring and there will always be new issues to address, especially if we have rain events like last year.
Thanks to ODNR-Division of Wildlife (DOW), the massive logjam downstream of State Route 29 and another one downstream of the Pimtown Road bridge were removed by contractors. Recently, the Madmen worked with a landowner to move 2 downed trees from the river. It is good to have woody debris along the banks for habitat, but if it restricts flow and becomes a debris catch, it can cause flooding and stream bank erosion. Other work completed by the Madmen included cleaning up litter and clearing paths at State Route 36, State Routes 29 & 296 and Pimtown Road. Special thanks to Dave Dailey and Mike Palatas for taking care of our equipment and organizing workdays. Weather permitting, we will be scheduling workdays through the winter and will post dates and times on the web site and Facebook page.
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Photo courtesy of Columbus Crew SC
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On September 23rd Project Healing Waters was invited to fish the Darby Dan Farm with the Columbus Crew for the 7th Annual Casting with the Crew Event. In addition to that the event was catered by Kroger. We had 12 volunteers, 17 veterans and 8 members from the Crew organization including 4 current or former players in attendance. Participants were teamed up with a volunteer and member from the Columbus Crew. Awards were given out for most fish, biggest fish and most fish species. Additionally, the Crew gave tickets to all participants for the last home game of the season. This event is definitely one our members look forward to. Pictures and an article of the event can be found here: https://www.columbuscrewsc.com/post/2019/09/25/give-forward-casting-crew-sc.
One of our main goals is to grow our number of veteran participants. In October we had volunteers attend the Central Ohio Veterans Stand Down which is an annual event that does outreach to local veterans at the Columbus Convention Center. We also attended the monthly meeting for Ohio State’s Vets for Vets group. We presented to approximately 25 veterans in person. We had a great time sharing about our mission and attending the 50/50 on the Water Film event put on by Katie Johnstone. If you know of any additional outreach opportunities please contact us!
We started our monthly fly tying sessions in October. They will run through March. The veterans are getting better at tying but we are looking for some additional volunteer support. Tying classes are the third Thursday of each month from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at 3349 E Livingston Ave, Columbus, OH 43227. We are also planning our annual rod building classes for the national rod building competition through PHWFF. Experienced rod builders are needed for assistance for these classes starting in February. Classes will be on Thursday evenings at The Commons at Livingston (3349 E Livingston Ave, Columbus, OH 43227) the same location as our tying classes.
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On October 5th, the TU Madmen conducted our final Water Monitoring Session of the 2019 season. The weather was pleasant and the stream appeared to be at normal fall levels.
Here are the results:
Location: PTI Rating
Rt. 36: 23
Rt. 29/King’s Creek: 23
Watson Property: 33
Pimtown: 27
Mac-O-Chee Creek 25
West Liberty Park: 39
On the scale we use for the Pollution Tolerance Index (PTI) Rating, any score of 23 or higher is considered “Excellent”. So, according to this scale, the results recorded were “Excellent”.
However, as we saw during our monitoring session in August, these numbers do not give a complete picture. As we noted in August, this scale does not reflect the relative density of bugs in the water. It also does not give an indication of the variety of species found.
We have also been guilty of inconsistencies in our data collection methods. Look at the number for West Liberty Park – 39. This number does reflect bugs that were found. What it does not show is that we were joined by a class of students from West Liberty during this collection. We had many more people, searching a much larger area, for a longer period of time, than any of the other collection sites.
For our data to be considered a reliable representation of the current state of the river, these inconsistencies must be eliminated. To that end, we are working on an updated form to better reflect the variety of species found. We will also be standardizing our collection practices to ensure we do the same thing, at every collection site, during each monitoring session.
We’ll have more details on these changes by next spring. Stay tuned!
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Katie Johnstone, Women's Outreach Coordinator
On November 14th, the TU Madmen Chapter and the Orvis store in Worthington hosted the first Ohio showing of the 50/50 on the Water Film Tour. Those who attended left the event inspired and energized by the 90+ minutes of storytelling which highlighted anglers and fisheries from around the world.
The Orvis 50/50 on the Water campaign aims to inspire and celebrate women in the sport we all love. Breaking down some of the barriers that keep women from enjoying time on the stream can add new perspectives and bring new voices into the sport. If we are going to protect what we love through conservation efforts, the more voices the better. If you, or a woman in your life, is interested in getting involved in our women’s fly fishing activities, please have her reach out to me at katiejohnstone@tumadmen.org. Also, she may want to join the TU Mad(Wo)men and Women of Ohio Fly Fishers (WOOFF) Facebook group and follow Ohio Women on the Fly on Instagram.
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This pattern came about as the need for a quick ‘Bugger pattern that was durable and utilized different color spectrums than an old school Wooly Bugger. Originally designed as a low water swinging or stripping Steehead fly, the Polar Bugger is very versatile. Smallmouth Bass, Crappies, Rock Bass, and Largemouth have all been caught on this fly. Adding this pattern to an Indicator/Float rig can also be very effective once the water temps drop in late fall and winter.
White is my usual color of choice but swapping out the white for the same materials in olive, black, or purple have all put fish into the net. Also, you can swap out the cone for a nickel, gold, or chartreuse. Give this fly a shot when you are looking for something different than the typical boring ‘Bugger.
Polar Bugger Recipe:
Hook: Gamakatzu SL11-3H #6
Cone: Hot Cone ¼” Orange
Thread: UTC 140 White
Tail: White Strung Marabou
Flash: Opal Mirage Lateral Scale
Body: Speckled Crystal Chenille White
“Hackle”: UV Polar Chenille Gold
Collar: Laser Dub White
For step-by-step instructions and to watch the video, click here.
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