See every public fishing venue in Ohio on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
Mad River is a public river in Clark County, Champaign County, Logan County, Montgomery County and Greene County, Ohio, managed by State of Ohio (public-trust water). You can fish it on an Ohio licence, but bank access is only at road crossings, parks, ODNR access sites and other public land; riparian owners control the bank on non-navigable reaches. Public access confirmed via marquee water.
Ohio's only true coldwater river with holdover (and some natural) brown trout — spring-fed and cold all summer, stocked by ODNR and Trout Unlimited, with wild smallmouth in the lower reaches.
It runs roughly 60 miles through the Southwest Ohio region. Anglers here mostly fish for rainbow trout, brown trout, smallmouth bass, rock bass. Live flow and gauge height come from the Mad River near Springfield OH USGS station shown below. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Cedar Run and Moore Run.
Species from Ohio DNR fish-management and public-access data.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in Ohio. Some state-park lakes, city reservoirs and MWCD lakes have posted hours or seasonal closures, and a few beaches close at dusk — check the property rules for this water.
Boats: Horsepower and speed limits are set per lake in Ohio — many are 10 hp, electric-motor-only or no-wake, while the big Corps and border reservoirs are unlimited. MWCD lakes need their own launch permit. Check the ODNR listing for this water.
Bank & bivvy camping: Camp at Ohio state parks (reserve ahead), the MWCD lake campgrounds, Corps campgrounds and AEP ReCreation Land (free permit). Dispersed bank camping is not permitted on ODNR wildlife areas — they are day-use for fishing.
Tackle: This is a stocked Ohio trout water. No separate trout stamp is needed, but special seasons and limits apply on some reaches — check the current Ohio trout regulations.
Boat ramps: 1 mapped — Boat ramp.
Camping: 1 site mapped nearby — Wright Patterson Scout Camp.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors.
Loading live flow & gauge height…
Live from USGS gauge 03269500 — Mad River near Springfield OH. Full gauge data →
Anyone 16 or older needs an Ohio fishing licence — resident annual is about $25, non-resident annual about $51, and 1-day and 3-day licences are also sold. There is no separate trout stamp. Buy online or in the HuntFish OH app from the Ohio Division of Wildlife. An Ohio fishing licence covers public rivers and the whole Ohio side of the Ohio River. Bank access is only at road crossings, parks, and public land — Ohio's riparian owners control the bank on non-navigable stretches.
Every water carries species, bank & boat access, current regulations and live water conditions — and members get Swim Mapper, Catch Logger and Trip Planner. It's the only US map with a dedicated carp-water layer.
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