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Mad River (Ohio) — a popular fishing spot. About 107 km long. Close by — Dayton and Springfield. A smart bite calendar — moon phase, atmospheric pressure, and weather combined into an hourly fish-activity forecast for the coming days.
Nearest towns and cities
Ohio: the months when each species peaks and when it goes quiet. The current month is outlined.
| Fish | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelhead | peak | peak | active | fair | active | peak | peak | peak | active | peak | peak | peak |
| White crappie | peak | peak | peak | active | active | fair | fair | active | active | active | active | active |
| Black crappie | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | fair | fair | active | active | active | active | active |
| Muskellunge | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | active | peak | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Walleye | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Yellow perch | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Pike | fair | fair | fair | fair | active | active | active | peak | peak | active | active | fair |
| Smallmouth bass | slow | slow | fair | active | active | active | peak | peak | peak | active | slow | slow |
| White bass | slow | slow | fair | active | active | active | peak | peak | peak | active | slow | slow |
| Largemouth bass | fair | fair | active | active | active | active | active | active | fair | fair | fair | fair |
| Rainbow trout | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | active | active | fair | slow | slow | slow |
| Bluegill | slow | slow | slow | active | peak | peak | peak | active | slow | slow | slow | slow |
| Carp | slow | slow | slow | active | peak | peak | peak | active | slow | slow | slow | slow |
| Chinook salmon | slow | slow | slow | active | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | slow | slow | slow |
| Coho salmon | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | peak | active | slow | slow |
| Blue catfish | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | slow | slow | slow | slow |
| Channel catfish | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | slow | slow | slow | slow |
| Flathead catfish | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | slow | slow | slow | slow |
Other nearby waters
The course is moderately sinuous: pools are scoured at the bends and riffles run between them.
Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.
Mad River — Tuesday, October 20
The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. Weather is steady, with no sharp swings — fish behave predictably. Peak 08:00–09:00 and 18:00–20:00.
The computed water temperature is around 58 °F — inside the 57–75 °F comfort range for Black crappie, so baseline activity is high.
Black crappie works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.
Pressure is flat: it moves no more than 0.00 inHg over the day, so the weather isn't shifting today's bite.
One more input — the moon's feeding windows: within their hours the score sits higher than across the rest of the day. The window times are in the “Solunar feeding periods” card below.
October is an active season for Black crappie here.
These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works
Clear · feels like +56°
The day is 3 min shorter than yesterday.
Sunshine hours count direct sun only — cloud cover cuts it, so it is shorter than daylight.
Geomagnetic fieldG1 geomagnetic storm, Kp 4.7
Kp index — NOAA data. Not part of the bite score: catches show no link between geomagnetic storms and the bite.
The windows are set by the moon's transit and rise, and the forecast above already accounts for them: within these hours the bite score sits higher than across the rest of the day, while the day's overall level still comes from the catch-calibrated model.
What are solunar periods?Blue check: this species appears as a catch in reports for this waterbody.
Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.
Mad River — Tuesday, October 20
The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. Weather is steady, with no sharp swings — fish behave predictably. Peak 08:00–09:00 and 18:00–20:00.
Biting
Fish in 1 of 1 report · Mostly Rainbow trout
Anglers have logged 1 fishing report here. Most commonly caught: Rainbow trout. Peak season: June.
Measured river conditions are available for Mad River: current gauge height, streamflow, and water temperature when reported by the source.
USGS gauge Mad River at West Liberty OH - 03266560, 0 mi away · measured 2026-10-20 22:45 · data source · provisional data, subject to revision