Alex McCrickard’s Gunpowder River Stream Report

I fished the river last Monday for the majority of the day. I fished in the Upper Catch and Release section and started at around 8 in the morning. As sunlight seeped through the trees and reflected over the water, the Gunpowder River seemed to be an excellent place to be prospecting for wild brown trout. All morning, Caddis were sporadically coming off in size #16 as the sun warmed the water.
Gunpowder River Wild Brown that fell for a Caddis

I saw many midges in sizes #20-24 hatching in the riffle water. Lots of midges were clouding up together over back eddies and flats, dancing above the water. I skated a size #16 tan Elk Hair Caddis through the riffle water in front of me, which accounted for a few browns. As I worked my way through the riffles, I switched to nymphing. I fished a size #14 bead head Pheasant Tail nymph with a smaller Hare’s Ear nymph as a dropper. I attached a small split shot above the Hare’s Ear nymph to attain more depth. I added a stick-on indicator four feet above the Pheasant Tail nymph on my 9ft 6x leader. I worked my way up the riffle and picked up many fish on the smaller hare’s ear nymph. The average fish was a chunky 8 to 11 inch brown trout eager to take a fly. The nymphing was a ton of fun and I was filled with euphoria every time my indicator shot underneath the surface as I found myself tight to another Gunpowder River brown trout.
I fished hard throughout the morning and into the afternoon. Early in the afternoon I ran into Gunpowder River Guide, Bill Wolf. At this point in the day, sulphurs were coming off here and there. The bugs were in sizes #16 and #18. It was a light hatch as the bugs were not incredibly thick. However, Bill and I scanned the flat water and saw a trout nose or two breaking the surface.
Nice Gunpowder River Kamloops Strain Rainbow We worked the water together and fished Comparadun patterns and CDC emergers. We were able to fool a few fish that were rising and it was satisfying getting some surface action. I consistently caught fish throughout the entire day. The fish of the day was a nice rainbow I caught in the morning. Stop in by the shop and we’ll recommend some effective patterns. The river is fishing well so wet a line!

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Introducing Alex McCrickard

Alex McCrickard’s East Gallatin Stream report from Bozeman, Montana