Monthly Archives: May 2007

Backwater Angler Overnighter Schedule 2007

Would you like to fly fish in Western Maryland? Join us this Summer for a Backwater Angler Overnighter. Guides Jason Du Pont and Capt. Jeff Lewatowski will be hosting anglers from July through October in Western Maryland on the Savage river and N. Branch of the Potomac during the following weeks:

June: 4, 5, 6 ,7, 8, & 9
July: 23, 24, 25, 26 & 27
August: 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10
September:10, 11, 12, 13,& 14
October:1, 2, 3, 4, & 5

Savage River Brown

Related Posts:
Watch a Video by Jason du Pont of Insects along the Savage River
Read Theaux Le Gardeur’s description of one of last years’ outings in western Maryland

Backwater Angler Overnighter Itinerary:
The evening wade trip will start on the Savage river between
3:00 and 3:30 PM. Followed by dinner and an opportunity to fish out back
behind the house at twilight. The next morning we’ll wake to a quick breakfast, float or wade the North Branch of the Potomac, enjoy a picnic lunch, and we’ll be off the water between 2:00 and 2:30 PM. You may head back home at that point, or fish through the afternoon on the Savage River or some of the smaller feeder creeks like Poplar Lick for native Brook trout.

The total cost for the trip is $550 per person, and includes the evening
wade trip on the Savage River, three meals, lodging, and a wade or float trip on the North Branch of the Potomac.

Savage River Brookie

Interested? Book your Backwater Angler Overnighter early.
Please give us a call at 410-329-6821 or drop us a line at info@backwaterangler.com to pre-register.



Get your Maryland Fishing License by July 1, 2007

We’re seeing a lot of new folks in the shop and along the Gunpowder river this week and why not? The fly fishing is excellent, the hatches of caddis and sulphurs are on and they just saved ten bucks on their fishing licenses.

Related Posts:

Maryland Sportfishing Licenses to Increase July 1

Fishing License Fees Increasing

Buy your resident fishing license by July 1, 2007 or expect to pay an additional $10 for the privilege.

Gunpowder River Cleanup June 10, 2007

Join us for the Annual Backwater Angler Gunpowder River Cleanup on June 10, 2007. We’ll be focusing on the Big Gunpowder Falls River from Pretty Boy Dam Rd in Parkton, MD to Sparks Rd,
in Sparks, MD. This year American Rivers has estimated that 100,000 volunteers will get involved in stream cleanups across the country.

Shiny Thing in the Banks of the Gunpowder River

Please contact the shop if you’d like to take part in this river-wide cleanup.
Please give us a call at 410-329-6821 or drop us a line at info@backwaterangler.com to pre-register.

Fly Fishing Maryland: Sulphurs on the Gunpowder River

This video short by Jason du Pont describes fly fishing in Maryland for the week of May 6, 2007. In this episode, Caddis flies and Sulphur mayflies on the Gunpowder river in the catch and release section and tips on fly fishing the lower river are discussed.

A close up look at a freshly hatched Sulphur mayfly and a recap on this past week of fishing on the Gunpowder.

Caddis on the Gunpowder River Hon, Sulphur Mayflies are just starting…

Dry fly fishing along the Gunpowder river is outstanding.Water temps are 56-58 F and the river is gin clear and flowing at 98 Cfs. Caddis are coming off mid-morning till about 2:00 PM from Falls Rd through York Rd. We’re starting to see a few Sulphur mayflies in the #14-16 range. We just received some beautiful sulphur emergers and spinners from Mike Bachkosky and yes, you should be fishing right now, but if you can’t leave work early, try the river later this evening. It’s warm enough that me might see the first of the sulphur spinner falls tonight.
Gunpowder River Caddis
Thanks to Ellen for the following gunpowder river fishing report:

Hon — as in big [elk] hair, hon! Out on the Gunpowder at Masemore Rd 8 am on May 5th — after throwing a small midge at the jumping fish with no results, I noticed very large caddis flies flopping helplessly on the surface and being snapped up by voracious fish. Size 10, reddish — I mean large flies — and the fish were biting like crazy, leaping into the air at times. My 7 tippet was broken off twice, but I landed 10 beauties (rainbows and brookies) between 9 and 14″, and almost every cast drew a strike. All of this fun took place about 150 ft upstream from the bridge at Masemore, in deep riffles just below the beaver condo on the bank. Everything stopped at 10 am so be sure to get there earlier!

Ellen K. Silbergeld

Got Silt? Call the MDE Water Management Hotline

Thanks to Bill, Bob, John, Mark and Pete for emailing and calling about the muddy water they experienced while fly fishing the Gunpowder River yesterday. From the reports I’ve gathered, it sounds like the river was clear until about 5:00 PM. Most reports are pointing to the small feeder on the North side of the river above Whale rock in the Falls to the Dam section as causing this problem. But we did have reports at Masemore and as far downstream as York Rd. of muddy water just after 5:00 PM that might point to a larger problem.

If anyone was out yesterday and would like to comment or report on this matter, give us a call at 410-329-6821 or drop us a line at info@backwaterangler.com

I’ll be fowarding reports to our contact at MDE, (Maryland Department of the Environment) as I receive them.

If any of you are out and about and witness another event like this please call the MDE Water Management Hotline at 1-866-633-4686 with a report.

Kudos for BACKWATERANGLER.COM Flyfishing Videos

Thanks to Aaron for the following:

You guys are going to make me either quit or lose my job with all the enticing video work on the website. Seriously, what an amazing addition to the shop’s presence in the on-line world. Keep it up.Soon I might be unemployed and on the river every day!

Aaron M
College Park, Maryland

Caddis about to pop on the Gunpowder River

If this video by Jason du Pont is any indication, caddis are about to pop on the Gunpowder River.

Sampling the riffles using a collection net yields many nymphs and caddis larvae. Areas where good numbers of nymphs are present can be expected to produce;winged adults in coming weeks.

Maryland Whirling Disease Talk is Open to the Public

This Monday, May 7, 2007, Maryland Department of Natural Biologists Susan Rivers and Charlie Gougeon will head up a two part talk on Whirling disease and Trout Populations in Maryland.

The meeting will be held a few miles South of Backwater Angler at:

The Filling Station
14910 York Rd
Sparks, Maryland 21152

The doors open at 6:30 PM and the meeting will start at 7:00 PM.
Coffee, pastries, and light fare will be available for purchase prior to the meeting.

If you’d like some background on this topic prior to the meeting,
The Whirling Disease Initiative Website is chock full of information on this topic.

Related Articles:

State Works to Eradicate Parasite Deadly to Trout

Trout Disease threatens MD Fish

State Acts to Curb Disease that Threatens Trout

Workers Unwittingly Spread Whirling Disease by Moving Infected Fish