The tail water is a good location to learn to fly fish on a stream and a good location to fish in general. There is enough space to cast once you get into the water. There are trees along the edges so you need to watch your back cast
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This is a fairly easy stream to wade. I fish the stream in the late spring through the summer and into the fall. I do not fish the stream in the spring when it is running high and dirty. Late spring, throughout the summer and into the fall the stream generally runs fairly clear. This makes it easy to see where you are wading. Typically, the water that I wade is calf to thigh deep. There are deeper sections where I have been in up to the limit of my chest waders. The stream is rocky and you will want to take care wading so that you do not slip or trip on any rocks. The fastest sections of water are the most shallow but don't let that fool you into not being careful. During the spring and fall, I will wear my waders. During the summer I usually wet wade. I have 2mm waders and I just don't like to wear them in the summer. Light weight waders would work well for all seasons.
One thing you will notice is that you are in a valley while fishing this stream. The tail water is located in what is called the Caesar Creek Gorge. In the fall, the gorge is a beautiful place with all of the trees changing color
Click on picture for full size view.
Click on picture for full size view.
Summer and fall are my favorite times to fish the tail water. I just enjoy being outside in the summer. On hot days, the cooler water makes for an enjoyable experience. The fall may be my favorite time to fish the stream. I grew up in Kansas and Iowa and I really enjoy the fall colors here in Ohio.
The length of the stream is approximately 2.5 miles long from the dam to where the stream dumps into the Little Miami River. There are two primary access points to the stream that I know of at this time. The first is at the dam. There is a road that will take you down below the dam. There is a parking lot with bathroom facilities.
This is a somewhat popular place in the summer. You will find a lot of people fishing along the stream near the parking lot. There is a trail that you can hike to access the stream at points downstream of the parking lot area. I usually do not wade in the section near the parking lot because of all the other people fishing.
The second point of access to the stream is at the lower end where the stream dumps into the Little Miami River. There is a parking lot off of Corwin Road. There are no bathroom facilities at this location. Here, you can access the stream basically right at the parking lot or you can hike upstream further along the Caesar Creek Gorge Trail.
If you hike the trail, you will first start hiking on what looks to be an old dirt road. You will then see a path that will take you off of this old road and down a hill. This is the path you want to take. The trail is a circular trail so if you hike the entire trail, you will end up where you started. I have included hand drawn maps of both of these access points for this internet site. Look in the maps section of this site.
You will find Bluegill, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Rock Bass (Redeye), and Carp in this stream. Most of the Bluegill are small to medium sized fish. I catch good numbers using small poppers, rubber spiders and Sneaky Pete sliders. I had no idea what a Rock Bass (Redeye) was until I started fly fishing in Ohio. These chunky fish hit the fly hard. I also catch these fish on the small poppers, rubber spiders and Sneaky Pete sliders. As for the size, the fish I usually catch are in the 6 inch range. There are Smallmouth Bass in the stream. I haven't caught as many Smallmouth as I have Bluegill and Rock Bass but, they are in the stream. I think part of the reason I haven't caught more is that I fish a lot of topwater flies. Most of the Smallmouth I have caught have been on streamer patterns. This last summer, I remember catching 2 or 3 in one location with an olive Matuka. I have also caught them on Wolly Worms, Wooly Buggers, Zonkers and also on the small poppers, rubber spiders and Sneaky Pete sliders. Size wise, these fish are in the 6-8 inch range. Maybe bigger, I don't really remember the sizes that well. Any Smallmouth you catch will provide you with a good fight and maybe a couple jumps.
As for the Carp, there are big Carp in the stream that you will see (especially in the summer). I have caught one Carp and it is my only big fish story so I will tell the story. I went up to the stream late one evening in the summer intent on fishing streamers. I decided to fish one of my favorite pools from the bottom end. I got to the pool about 8:30 in the evening. I knew I only had a short time to fish before it would get dark. It was my first cast. It was also a lousy cast but I decided to let the Muddler Minnow make its way back to me on its own terms. The fly finally drifted back. The fly was just 8 feet away from me when it suddenly stopped. I instantly thought I caught a rock. In the next instant I realized that I had hooked a large fish. This 22 inch Carp made several strong runs the full length of the pool. Twenty minutes later, I finally landed the Carp and released him a pocket of slow water. That was my only cast that night. If you haven't ever caught a Carp on a fly rod you are missing a great Matuka What do the fish eat? I have never done a study on what natural food sources are in the stream. There are crayfish in the stream as well as small fish that the bigger fish eat. The stream has overhanging trees so anything that can fall off of the trees becomes food for the fish.
Map of Upper Tail Waters
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Map of Lower Tail Waters
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Fly Recommendations:
Sneaky Pete
Small Poppers
Grasshopper
Wooly Worm
Matuka
Rubber Spider
Inch Worm
Wooly Bugger
Muddler Minnow
Zonker