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Big Walnut

Big Walnut Creek at Rees

USGS gauge 03229500
Flow & gauge height
Shaded band = the river's normal range for the date; the line is actual flow
Fishability assessment
Awaiting live reading

Computing assessment…

Location
39.8567, -82.9571
Species activity
Likely-active fish for Big Walnut right now — typical central-Ohio seasonal patterns.
  • Active
    Rock bass
    Prime season.
    Fly: Small nymphs, wet flies & micro-streamers tight to rock and wood.
  • Active
    Channel catfish
    Prime season.
    Fly: Niche on the fly — heavy sink-tip streamers in deep holes if you insist.
  • Slow
    Smallmouth bass
    In season.
    Fly: Crayfish & woolly buggers on rocky seams; topwater poppers at first light.
  • Slow
    Largemouth bass
    In season.
    Fly: Deer-hair poppers & baitfish streamers along wood and weed edges.
  • Slow
    White bass
    Off-peak.
    Fly: Small flashy streamers & Clousers during the spring run.
  • Slow
    Saugeye
    Off-peak.
    Fly: Clouser minnows & jig-flies bounced slow on the bottom in current seams.
On the menu right now
  • Peak
    Crayfish (soft-shell molt)
    Molting 'soft-craws' in summer are THE smallmouth meal — 1–2" youngsters by late July.
    Fly: Crayfish patterns & rust/olive buggers #4–8, hopped on bottom.
    For: Smallmouth bass, Rock bass, Channel catfish
  • Peak
    Hellgrammites
    In the riffles year-round (2–5 yr larvae) — best in clean rocky streams like the Darby & upper Big Walnut.
    Fly: Black woolly buggers & hellgrammite patterns #4–8, dead-drift the riffles.
    For: Smallmouth bass, Rock bass, Channel catfish
  • Peak
    Damsel & dragonflies
    Summer's slow-water bug — fish ambush them around weed edges and slack pools.
    Fly: Damsel nymphs #8–10 near weeds; blue foam adults on top.
    For: Smallmouth bass, Rock bass, Largemouth bass
  • Peak
    Dog-day cicadas
    Annual cicadas buzz mid-July to mid-September — big topwater bites under overhanging trees.
    Fly: Big foam cicada patterns #4–6, splatted hard under the trees.
    For: Smallmouth bass, Largemouth bass, Channel catfish
  • Active
    White mayfly (Ephoron)
    A dusk 'snowstorm' hatch on warmwater rivers — fish go silly for 45 minutes at dark.
    Fly: White Wulffs & white spinners #12–14 at last light.
    For: Smallmouth bass, White bass, Rock bass
    Documented on Ohio's Great Miami, Stillwater, and Ohio River; likely but not formally documented on these exact streams — if you see white bugs at dusk, this is it.

Timing compiled from regional guide & hatch-chart sources — local conditions shift it by a week or two either way.

General guidance from seasonal & water-temp patterns — not a guarantee. Always check current Ohio fishing regulations and limits.