The Gunpowder River is flowing at 37 CFs and is 55 degrees at the Falls Road bridge. Wet wading is an option in the shin to knee deep water, as air temps reach the upper 80s and 90s. Conditions in the upper miles of the Gunpowder are similar to spring creek fishing. Low, clear water and wary browns require stealth, long leaders and delicate casts. The anglers who enjoy sight fishing will find the trout are easy to spot in these lower flows. While walking the river I spotted dozens of trout, and quite a few browns in the 10-15 inch range. In many cases the browns were holding close to the bank in very shallow water. I also noticed some trout holding a few inches under the surface, inspecting small insects floating past. Small midges, BWOs and trico patterns are catching trout on the surface. Zebra midges, WD-40s, and other similar patterns sized 20-24 under small indicators work great in riffles. The shop recently received a large shipment of hoppers, beetles, and various ant patterns that will produce over the next few months. In the latest video post I filmed a number of browns in shallow water, and a great blue heron looking for a meal in a riffle.

Summer hasn’t officially arrived in Baltimore County, but we got a taste of the heat this past week. Fortunately the recent gate changes and increased flows from Prettyboy Dam have dropped water temperatures 8-10 degrees. In the upper miles the water temperature is a chilly 52 degrees, although a few miles downriver may see temps reach 55 degrees. Yesterday the water was well below 60 degrees at Montkon, and was only 62 degrees as far down as Glencoe Rd. The Gunpowder has miles of fishable water, flows in the 82 CFs range and sections offering a variety of water holding wild trout. Recent trips and days fishing in the upper sections yielded trout on caddis and BWOs, while nymphing is always a great trout catching technique. Terrestrials are starting to get the attention of trout along the shoreline. Earlier this week I noticed a lot of brown trout were holding just off the banks, inches under the surface. These browns are looking for a meal to fall off nearby branches, and can be fooled with an ant, flying ant or beetle pattern. In the latest video post I shot some footage of a typical brown caught on a caddis, and one brown I filmed hovering under the surface. The rest of the video includes some footage Max and I shot yesterday while floating the Gunpowder. We nymphed some deep riffles, but mainly threw streamers and caught wild browns and holdover rainbows. We didn’t land any large trout, but the action was great early in the day. We had cool air coming off the river, nice weather and the added bonus of never seeing another angler, boater or tuber all day.

The flows on the Gunpowder are at great levels at 91 Cfs, and a gate change yesterday released more cold water. A slight increase in flow from the bottom is negating the warm spillover, so temps are down in the 56-58 degree range in the upper miles of river. Yesterday I wet a line down at Sparks Rd and the water temp was 65 degrees at 3 pm. The Gunpowder has over fourteen miles of fishable water, and wild browns looking for a meal. In the different sections of river anglers will encounter different hatches. In the upper sections the sulphurs are still hanging on, but the action is very late in the evening. A few anglers mentioned seeing an emergence midday on Thursday, and trout eating the duns. Tricos are starting to appear in small clouds by 12 pm, but not in the big numbers we will see later in the Summer. Blue wing olives can be seen even on bright days, but the cloudy, rainy days are the best for this hatch. In the middle-lower sections of river there are stonefly shucks on the rocks and light cahills hatching. Terrestrials are already catching fish, and flying ants are working under overhanging branches. Streamers are also a great way to search for larger trout, especially in the lower sections of the river. In the latest video post I filmed a light cahill, BWO spinner and a sulphur spinner with egg sack attached. I also included a minute of rising trout that can be found along miles of river. The rising trout may not be big, but for dry fly enthusiasts there are plenty of fish working the surface during the day.

I’ve obviously spent a good deal of time on the warm water scene from my recent posts and videos. A few anglers have sent in their own reports, or stopped by to let us know they have had success fishing for these big fish. Other anglers have had a hard time getting these finicky fish to eat a fly. There is no secret fly, and no sure fire approach to catching carp. On an average day I will make dozens and dozens of casts to fish that seem completely and totally uninterested in eating a fly. Varying the retrieve, pattern size and color doesn’t seem to help when dealing with fish that are clearly not hungry. Just when I’m ready to give up I find one fish that acts a little different than the rest. I’ve learned to disregard, or not bother casting to fish that don’t exhibit the “I’m looking for a meal” body language. In the latest video post I tried working some tailing fish on a muddy flat, but left for clearer water after an hour. In the second spot I cast to a dozen different carp that had no interest in my fly. The next fish cruising along the shoreline noticed my fly the moment it hit the water, and followed it to the bottom. The carp ate the fly and put up a great fight. I think this might be the biggest one I’ve landed this year, although there are many fish much larger in our local waters.

I’ve enjoyed the change of pace exploring warmer water in search of carp and other fish. The really bright, hot days that most trout anglers lament over are perfect for this type of fishing. It shouldn’t be long before these big fish will be taking bugs, seed pods and berries off the surface. “Clooping” is the term for carp feeding on the surface, and I’ve seen them do this often. If rising trout seem difficult to catch….try to get one of these brutes to eat a dry. I haven’t tried dry flies much, but know a few anglers who catch them on hoppers, beetles and other patterns. Larger nymphs imitating damselflies or dragonflies are good choices to present to fish in shallow water. A slightly larger size 8 olive zonker pattern tied with medium weight dumbbell eyes is one of my go-to patterns. I let the fly dive to the bottom 8-10 inches in front of a fish, and wait. I watch waterboatmen and other insects diving into the mud, which may explain why carp suddenly decide to start rooting around on the bottom. Recently I used this tactic where I dropped the fly in front of a fish, and let it sink to the bottom. No stripping, no twitching and the carp decided to dive down to inspect the fly. A flash of the white mouth, one hard strip set and the carp was hooked. This carp had numerous options to wrap me up, but I tightened up the drag and put on a lot of pressure. The fun is usually the long distance runs into the backing, but putting the brakes on a big fish can be exciting. In the latest video I put a good bend in the rod on this heavy carp.