An Unusual Day on the Clear Fork River

A couple times a year my wife and I make the two hour drive to Mohican State Park in Loudonville, Ohio. I like to fish the Clear Fork, and my wife brings her camera to capture the scenery and wildlife. In early June we decided to make the trip and little did we know how unusual the day was going to be. First, the fishing part of the trip.

Each fall in October, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources stock the Clear Fork with brown trout. The best time to fish it is either the fall or the spring, before the water warms too much, and stresses the fish. Mad River Outfitters gives periodic updates for the Clear Fork and they have reported that fishermen are having success in the lower Clear Fork that flows through the state park.

I hit the water around 7:30AM and started at the covered bridge. I tied on a dry-dropper, using a Parachute Adams with a Copper John dropper. The water visibility was good but there was little bug activity. The Adams was doing double duty as a dry fly and an indicator. As expected, the Adams didn’t have any action but the Copper John attracted a couple of sunfish. That’s okay with me but I was there to catch a brown trout as I had never caught one before. So I made the decision to move closer to the dam. That’s when things got interesting.

Making the half mile walk towards the dam I noticed some rises and few splashes. Maybe the Adams was going to get some action after all. Even the swallows were swooping in and picking bugs off. The problem I was having was in identifying what the fish and birds were going after. I waded into a run and continued using the Adams but after 15 minutes without any action I gave up on the dry-dropper.

Slightly frustrated I put on a small woolly bugger to see if I could fool something. Three casts in and I had a solid take but missed the hookset. As this was going on I was seeing rises and splashes all around. Next thing I know a voice in my head says “try a midge imitation”. So I ditched the woolly bugger for a Griffith’s Gnat, and found the pot of gold on the second cast.

Facing upstream I targeted the bubble line with about a 30’ cast. The first cast drifted back to me untouched. The second cast drifted about 10’ when something attacked it. I raised for the hookset and the rod broke. So here I am, midstream, holding a rod that no longer has the tip. Thinking the fish was lost, I reached for the broken piece and began to retrieve the line by hand. Pulling a few feet of line into my hand I noticed a tug. Unbelievably, the fish was still on the hook. I hand-retrieved a few more feet and realized it was a brown trout. Seconds later, I literally brought my first brown trout to hand. As for the rod, it is fully covered by Orvis, so I don’t have to worry about it. Fortunately I had a backup rod in the car and was able to continue fishing.

 Here I am midstream with a broken rod, hand reeling in my first brown trout.

(Click on image for a larger view.)

My first brown trout on a dry, with a broken rod. That will be a long lasting memory.
 (click on image for a larger view)

Now for the real highlight of the day. As I mentioned earlier my wife loves photography and has captured some great scenes. On this particular trip she also found a pot of gold. While taking pictures of the stream she noticed something moving over the rocks. It was something we had never seen before. It was small, sleek, and chocolate brown in color. Our first thought was it may be a weasel but after some research we realized it was an American Mink, which is in the weasel family. The unusual part was a mink is generally nocturnal. My wife took the photo mid-morning, so the mink must have had a late night and was heading to its den, which often times is near a stream. From the photo below it looks as though the mink stopped and posed for the picture.

An American Mink posing for a photo.

Go out and fool a fish!

Grand River Triple

Steelhead season is officially over and the rivers for the most part are void of fishermen. I can take it to the bank that an early morning outing allows me to pick any spot I want without having to elbow my way onto the river.

It was a cold morning for late May, the temperature reading 35° on the car information screen. I thought a little too cold for strong feeding activity but hopefully I’d get some hits to warm things up. The area of the Grand I was fishing had produced some smallmouth in the past, so I felt confident in being able to fool one. I was in for a couple of small surprises.

I started by fishing under a bridge in a large pool. I chose a white wooly bugger, letting it sink as far as possible, and then using a slow retrieve to stay as close to the bottom as possible. Ten minutes in and I felt a nice tug. After setting the hook and playing the fish quickly I brought to hand a crappie. Having fished the Grand for five years, I knew there were crappies in the river but I had never caught one, and I’ve never seen anyone else catch one either. I can add another new species to my small, but growing list of fish on a fly, and with a sheepish grin, an automatic personal best.

Crappie on the fly. (Click image for larger view)

Moving downstream I started fishing a spot where the water picks up some speed allowing me to swing the fly in the current. Still using the white wooly bugger, I swung the fly and felt another gentle tug. I could tell it was a small fish and it was. Bringing the fish to hand I realized it was a rock bass. Add another new species to the list.

Rock bass.

I moved another 20 yards downstream to a spot that has a little slower moving water. Continuing to use the white wooly bugger, I made a cast that must have put the fly right on the fish. It was only a couple seconds and I felt a strong tug. I guessed a smallmouth and I was right. Even a small smallmouth puts up a nice fight.

Nice resident smallmouth.

None of these fish will wow anybody but for a cold morning I’ll take it. I used a 4wt so these fish were not overmatched, and they were fun to catch. The best part…I didn’t see another fishermen the entire time.

Go out and fool a fish! No matter how big or small!

Smallmouth Bass Time

Depending on spring weather conditions, early May begins to bring warming temperatures in the rivers of northeast Ohio. The warmer waters will put a halt to the steelhead season as they hurry to finish spawning and make a beeline for Lake Erie. At about that same time the rivers get a push of smallmouth bass. This generally lasts a month or so, and it is at this time that some of the best river smallmouth fishing happens.

Lake run smallmouth will be bigger than the resident smallmouth that inhabit the rivers year round. Residing in Lake Erie allows these fish to grow to trophy size, many exceeding 20” and 4 pounds. Catching these smallies on a fly rod is every bit as fun as landing a steelhead.

Nice 17" lake run smallmouth caught on Rocky River. (click on photo for larger image)

Another benefit to warming waters and the end of steelhead season is the rivers will often become ghost towns. Many steelheaders will not pursue fishing past mid-May. That is fine with me. There is nothing more enjoyable than being on the water early in the morning as the sun begins to rise and having a stretch of water to myself.

 Popular steelhead spot becomes a ghost town during the late spring-early summer. 

Good time to catch a smallie.

Go out and fool a fish!

Smith Creek Outing

Since I began fly fishing my wife and I meet Art and Ginny for a day on the stream. Chris’s sister, Ginny, loves to fish but on the trip she steps aside and I fish with Art while she and my wife get caught up. Art loves to fish spring creeks, and in the Shenandoah Valley there are several great streams. The ones we have fished are Mossy Creek, Beaver Creek, and Smith Creek. Each creek has a good population of brown, rainbow, and in some locations, brook trout. For the last couple of years we’ve settled in on Smith Creek and have never been disappointed with the choice. This year would be no different.

As with many fishermen who make plans months ahead, you never know what the weather will be when the day comes. Back in January we decided on a late April date, with an alternate date a week later in case of a weather problem. Needless to say the weather did become a problem as a storm dumped about 2” of rain on the area and the creeks were blown out. Fingers were crossed that the alternate date would be fishable. If not, we wouldn’t be able to fish together until September. After the storm the area was blessed with a week of dry weather, so the alternate day was on. Road trip!

On the day of the outing we all met at the Mossy Creek Fly Shop in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Brian Trow would be our guide. We have fished with Brian before and he is knowledgeable, patient, and enthusiastic. Brian explained that since the rain the previous week, Smith Creek only starting fishing again a couple days ago. If today was to follow the last couple of days, the fishing would be slow during the morning and pickup after lunch. The rain had not only raised the levels of the creeks it also brought unusually cool temperatures, which kept the fish down until the sun could warm the water. How right he was.

Both Art and I fished hard in the morning, and earned everything we caught. Brian had me fishing a streamer with a dropper nymph. After no action we switched to a Clawdad and fished along the bottom. Finally we got to fool some fish, landing a couple of fall fish and hooking (and losing) a couple of rainbows. At least we found out what was working….until it didn’t. We all limped into lunch with only a couple of nice rainbows landed by Art. Listening to Brian at lunch talk about the rising temperatures and how he thought the fishing would pick up was a song we longed to hear. Boy, was he right.

Nice thick rainbow

After lunch Brian put me in a long pool and rigged my rod with a Golden Retriever and a pheasant tail dropper, all floated under an indicator. The streamer was used as an attractor with the nymph following. That was the ticket. For the next hour I moved through the pool landing a bunch of bows and missing a few more. Brian was indeed correct. Things really picked up not only for me but for Art as well. He settled in at a nice riffle upstream and had some good action. Brian, being the net man, got a good workout running between the both of us.

This was the scrappiest rainbow of the day.

The rest of the afternoon we both hit a few more pools and riffles picking up some rainbows and a few fall fish. In fact, I landed a stoneroller, which in Virginia is called a horny head because of the spikes and bumps on their head. That was a strange one.

All in all, it was a good day. We landed some good fish and missed many more. I don’t know what it was but we missed about as many fish as we caught. It was one of those days when I was a little late with a lot of strikes. Glad we learn from our mistakes.

One thing I learned is that using an 8wt the last six months fishing for steelhead doesn’t help when you pick up a 4wt and fish a smaller stream unless you practice. My timing was way off and it took about an hour or so to forget the feel of the 8wt. I don’t know if I would have caught more fish but I would not have struggled trying to make a cast.

Enjoy the photos and video. (click on photo for a larger view)


Go out and fool a fish!

 Smith Creek. Great fishing and scenery.

Susie Q Farm.

Working a pool. There are hundreds of fish in this pool.

Spring has arrived in the Shenandoah Valley.

Team T - W - Z

These hands have held thousands of trout.

More Spring Steel

When early spring arrives so do the steelhead anglers. Pick any weekend, and if the waters are fishable, there will be hundreds of fishermen fighting for a good spot, often elbow to elbow in the prime locations. The Grand, Chagrin, Rocky, and "Connie" all see pressure during those weekends. As someone who was relatively new to steelhead fishing I found this slightly disconcerning. Now, I don’t expect to have the river all to myself but with crowds comes the possibility of turf wars, and after witnessing one, it took the enjoyment out of the day.

So, when I retired, my thought was to fish during the week which would “thin the herd”. For the most part that is true but I’m still surprised at how many fishermen show up. Of course, you have retirees like me, but also a fair number of younger fishermen who have either called in sick or are on vacation. It’s more noticeable when a river like the Grand is not fishable but the feeder creeks are.

On a recent Monday outing at Big Creek there had to be a dozen fishermen in a very short stretch of water. But it is steelhead season, and when the fish start to make their way into the feeder creeks to start spawning it is the ideal time to catch them in clear, skinny water. In a short period of time I have learned to like sight fishing. Being able to see your target and then figure out how best to approach it is what makes it interesting. It is one of the best ways to learn. There is no forgiveness. One little mistake and the fish is spooked.
During that outing I managed to hook into three chromers but did not land them. Poor hooksets allowed the first two to get off quickly. The third put up a good fight, making three runs into a downed tree before breaking off. Even though I didn’t land it I was happy just to experience the fight. To me, that is one of the things that make fishing fun. But, I still want to land one. I’d have that chance a couple days later.

Visiting the same stretch of water a few days later, I found the water lower which made fishing a little tougher. Armed with several different colors of egg patterns the fishing was indeed slower. Finally, after drifting an egg near the same downed tree that days earlier produced a good fighting chromer another steelhead sucked it in. The fight was on but it still got the best of me as the fish jumped right next to the tree and broke me off. It was a bright, fresh run fish. That one stung.

Moving downstream I spotted several fish cruising in and out of cover. They would move to the center of the 12’ wide stretch of water and then head back to the cover. I tried to get close but they spooked so I had to wait for about 20 minutes for them to calm down. Sitting at the side of the creek I was watching how close to the cover they got. I don’t think a piece of paper would fit between them and the submerged brush.

After the break I was able to approach the spot again and cast upstream hoping for a good drift. Being in only about 18” of water I was able to watch the egg drift past the staged fish. I noticed a flash and set the hook. Fish on! The chromer ran up and down the stretch of water but after a couple of minutes it was fish in hand. Mission accomplished.

Go out and fool a fish!

Steelhead Success

When I first got into fly fishing, the manager of the local Orvis shop, Jim Lampros, mentioned that Northeast Ohio is part of Steelhead Alley, which also includes Northwest Pennsylvania and New York. He went on to explain the rivers start to get a run of steelhead in the fall, and it continues until late spring. This will be the time the rivers are crowded with fishermen. He wasn’t wrong.

It took two years of learning and getting skunked before I started to have success. I fumbled through nymphing and streamer techniques, learning how to make a good drift and how to use weight to keep the fly on or near the bottom. I used the popular egg patterns and stonefly imitations but struggled to get a hookup. About that time Art, who quickly became my fishing mentor, said he would tie an egg pattern for me to use. In addition, a trip to the Orvis store allowed to me to find a wigglestone fly, developed by Greg Senyo. My luck and perseverance was about to pay off.

Art's Egg, Simple but very effective.

Fishing at Helen Hazen Wyman Park in April of 2013 I finally hooked into a chromer with the egg pattern Art tied. I had gotten over the “how to catch them” and was now thrown into “how to land them”. Unfortunately, I didn’t play the fish well and it broke off after a nice 2-3 minute fight. That day I would hook into three others but was not able to land any of them. Even though I didn’t get any to the net, it was a lot of fun.


It wasn’t until the following spring that I would land my first steelhead. Again fishing at Helen Hazen Wyman Park, I landed three within a matter of an hour, two on the egg pattern and one on the wigglestone. They fought well, but now I was ready for them. From fishing for rainbow and brown trout with Brian Trow from Mossy Creek Fly Fishing, I learned how to play a fish. I felt like I graduated from some mythical steelhead school.

One of the steelhead landed on that spring day. About 18"-19" in length.

One thing I did learn is that steelhead fishing is very humbling. Someone can go out and land five or six in a morning and then not have any luck for several weeks. Since there are many rivers and parks to choose from in Northeast Ohio, picking the wrong location on any given day makes for a skunking. For as much success as I’ve had at Helen Hazen Wyman I’ve also been there more times when I was blanked. Pick any location and you take a chance that the fish will be there. If not, it’s a long day. Talking with other fishermen on the river the one comment I hate hearing is “you should have been here yesterday”. The not so funny thing is, I’ve heard that more than once and each time had no luck.

Go out and fool a fish!

Making Strides

The Spring and Summer of 2012 was a turning point for me. After a tough first year I needed some on-the-water guidance from someone who could tell me what I was doing wrong and how to improve. Art and my sister-in-law, Ginny, invited my wife and I to spend a weekend with them. One day would be spent fishing with one of the owners of Mossy Creek Fly Fishing. This fly shop, located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, is owned and operated by Brian and Colby Trow. They offer fly fishing for trout, smallmouth bass, and musky. Our trip in May was to fish Mossy Creek, a well known spring creek, and Beaver Creek.

Brian would be our guide for the day. As it turned out, I learned more in that one day than I had the previous year, and we caught fish. I’m sure by the end of the day Brian was exhausted from answering hundreds of questions. But you would never know it. He has a lot of energy and genuinely gets excited when you hook into a fish, as seen in the following video. I had hooked into a big rainbow but made a rookie mistake and the fish threw the fly. It was a fun experience.



One of the biggest areas he helped me with was my casting. I was too deliberate and false casted too much. He suggested that I look at the target area where I wanted the fly to land instead of watching the backcast. Almost immediately my casting improved. I began to generate more line speed and improved my accuracy.

As the day went on I began to feel more comfortable. Improved casting and catching fish will do that. The best part of the day came when I was able to land my first fish on a dry fly, a nice 18” rainbow. Brian said it was the biggest first fish on a dry fly that he’s seen caught.

First fish on a dry fly. Beaver Creek, Virginia with Brian Trow, Mossy Creek Fly Fishing.

I highly recommend taking a fishing trip at least once with a guide, especially if you are new to the sport. It will speed up your learning curve.

Having returned home from a great weekend, I couldn’t wait to get out and fish with a new found confidence. The following Saturday I went to fish the Grand River at Hidden Valley. This park is part of the Lake Metroparks in Lake County. It has great access to the Grand River.The lake run smallmouth were still in, and I really wanted to hook into one. I found a pool and noticed some small minnows, so to match them I tied on a white wooly bugger. On my third or fourth cast my line went tight and I set the hook. After a good fight I brought a nice 16” smallmouth to the net. At this point I was really starting to like fly fishing.

 16" smallmouth bass caught on the Grand River, Hidden Valley.

Then the year got even better. I had to book a business trip to Montana in July. Though still relatively new to the sport, even I knew that Montana was a mecca for fly fishers. With a couple of phone calls and emails it was all set. I was able to spend an extra day and float the Yellowstone River. It was a great experience. I was able to see some fantastic scenery and catch some fish.

 

Yellowstone rainbow

 The "Buffalo Hump" on the Yellowstone River.

Not a bad year for a relative newbie.


Go out and fool a fish!