Hoppers and beetles…

The river is at a great level for wading at 115 CFS and is clear. Water temps are between 57-59F throughout the catch and release section. We’re seeing lots of caddis in the morning between 6:00 and 9:00 AM. Fireflies have been working towards dusk. Fishing has been challenging on bright days. Nymphing with smaller than usual, (#20 and smaller bead heads have made a big difference. Japanese beetles are working.

We had a sixteen inch wild brown take a beetle in a deep pool last night as the mist was rolling in…fish on!

Thanks to Stan for the following report:
Had a pretty good day all considering.Walked up to the dam about 7:30 A.M. only landed about four all were nice browns some blue gills and missed about another dozen; Only fished the first two pools and only saw two other fishermen. Caught fish on hoppers, Parachute ants, small olives and some scuds on a dropper combo as well. Small caddis, cream midges were coming off and I saw a big trout chasing a damselfly in the pocket water and one rather large dead 16-17 inch brown.)The Fish Were Very Enthusiatic!

and thank you Ryan–welcome back to the Gunpowder!!!

What a nice day on the Gunpowder this past Sunday…I fished the river for the first time in almost a year and was joined by good friend I haven’t fished with in a couple years. We started at 7am and covered about 1 mile below Falls Rd…ant & beetles yielded about a dozen browns ranging from 6-10 inches for the first 3-4 hours and switched to hoppers for the next couple hours resulting in a 16 and 13 inch brown…can’t wait to give it a go again in a couple weeks!

Note: A few words on the dead fish…Hooking injuries can usually be prevented by using barbless hooks and returning fish to the water asap. It’s better not to take them out of the water and be sure to limit your handling of fish if you can. Thanks!