Following are a few October Gunpowder river stream reports from Backwater Angler regulars:

Thanks to Jeff Aicroth for the following report:

Theaux,
Was fishing at Big Falls upstream Sat and on my way out in the evening I came across a silver-ish wading belt on the trail. I’ll drop it off at the shop next time I come by. If anyone reports it missing – it has been found. Streamers and caddis seemed to be the ticket Sat afternoon (as predicted). Thanks. Saw a pair of trout rise to my strike indicator at the pre-corner pool – one even took a light sip at it before turning away. Nothing natural comes in a mix of Biostrike chartreuse and pink but they were definitely interested. Another hit on the indicator when I was drowning a pheasant tail with no success. Gotta get a hook in that thing. Maybe gunk up a Mcfoam bug and see if that works.
Other than that I fooled several fall fish in my travels. Also had a hit on my line /leader connection in a fast moving chute – not sure what that fish thought it was – but he wanted it. A worm maybe… who knows… Later on, letting the caddis hang in the current while I was talking to Carl , (who was fishing the same area) resulted in no less than 3 strikes. (We talked for a good while…) Nice guy. He’s very pleased with his Sweet-Grass rod, by the way. It is a thing of beauty for sure.
Anyway, I’ll swing by and drop off the belt.
Tight lines…we’ll be talking soon.

Jeff

And thanks to Gary Corriero for the following report…

Fished the upper section yesterday from 11am to around 4pm. There were bluewings, caddis and tricos coming off and the fish were actively feeding…all the bugs were small…20-26 range…nothing feeding on the top. I didn’t catch anything big but switched to a streamer and picked up 6 nice rainbows (small footballs) all in the 6-8 inch range. The rainbows were all holding in the fast riffles and the extra water was perfect cover for them. The water didn’t turn brown until the end of the day.

Gary

The trees are turning various shades of oranges, yellows and golds along the river. Many leaves have already dropped, so the leaf-hook up ratio isn’t too bad. The water is low, clear and in the fifty degree range, fluctuating from cold nights and warmer day time temps. Aside from leaves crunching underfoot, the Gunpowder State Park is quiet and a perfect place to wet a line in solitude along seventeen miles of trout water. Fishing the river at these low levels has been productive for anglers using stealth, long thin leaders and small dry flies. Move slowly, wear drab colors, and use polarized glasses to spot and cast to fish in the shallows.  Avoid wading too deep or down river to improve your chances of not spooking the wild browns. Tricos are beginning to be outnumbered by Olives in the mornings, and afternoons on cloudy, rainy days. Reports from customers and guides confirm that the Olives extend through the C & R area, and I have seen the clouds myself at York, Bunkerhill, Masemore and Falls Rd.  This hatch is frequently overlooked or mistaken for a midge hatch, as many of these mayflies range in size from 22-26, although the fish have been eating larger patterns.  The browns are sporadically rising to the olives early in the flat water, and are quite selective, so consider small caddis patterns or olives around riffles and pocketwater. Midges, caddis and brown stoneflies are also hatching in small numbers, in isolated pockets along the river.