Monthly Archives: July 2010

Carp Convert Speaks

Thanks to Yancey for the shameless Carp testimonial,

Theaux, Jason, I hate to say it but forget the browns. I’m now a devotee of carp fishing. My wife’s cousin was after me for months to try it and so I made the trip up to Syracuse, NY. Low and behold he was right. I hooked up with about twenty of these fish, going anywhere from 10 to 25 pounds. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but they fight harder than kings or steelhead. Landed about five and LDR’d the rest. I caught this scaleless carp, which is actually a hybrid, using a stone fly. I switched up to a shad dart and then a hellgrammite. Also landed some massive sheepshead. These fished pulled line out so fast that it busted my knuckles! Yeah, I’m a carp guy now.
See you guys soon….Yancey

Remember folks the shop is Steps from the Gunpowder River and we do have gear for Carp!
Related Posts:
More Carp Fishing in Maryland
Fly Fishing for Carp in Maryland
Tailing Carp in Maryland
Abel Reel Challenge Results

Heavy Fog On The Gunpowder River

Fog and Sunlight On The Gunpowder
Flows on the Gunpowder are still around 50 Cfs and the water is 48 degrees at Falls Rd. We are fortunate to have such cold water through the C & R sections, and temps are still below sixty degrees down past Monkton Road. On Thursday I planned to cover a few areas, and try some different patterns. Fishing the Gunpowder was surreal in the thick fog. I rigged up for the morning trico hatch around 9:30 am. I could hear the fish splash, but it was hard see beyond forty feet through the fog. I fished a few flats, riffles and back eddies catching browns on size 22-24 Tricos. Once the hatch action slowed I moved to another area and fished larger caddis pupa in some deep holes. After catching a couple nice 11-13 inch browns, and a bunch of 6-8 inchers, a thunderstorm chased me off the water. The storm dumped a lot of rain in a twenty minute period, and than it was clear blue skies. It was prime time to head down river to take advantage of the added off color inflow of the smaller creeks. The fog on the water became much thicker than in the morning, so I snapped the pic above. The water levels didn’t rise much, but the trout really started feeding in the murky water. A few hours turned into a marathon day, before I realized it was 7:30 pm. I covered 3 different areas, and saw only two anglers all day. The latest video post is some underwater shots of black nose dace, sculpins and chubs I filmed on the Gunpowder on another day. There are a lot of food sources, other than mayflies and caddis, in the mid-lower sections of the Gunpowder River.

Fly Fishing Skills Clinics

Gunpowder Brown Trout
Want to connect with one of these? The shop is now offering fly fishing skills clinics, in addition to schools and guide trips through the “dog days” of summer. Backwater Angler Guides will be teaching a variety of clinics including; nymphing, terrestrials, streamers and small flies. These clinics are ideal for beginner to intermediate anglers, and especially helpful for experienced anglers that might need a “brush-up” on techniques prior to a destination trip. Each clinic covers gear, techniques, and fly selection.

August 4~Nymphing Techniques
August 11~Fishing Terrestrials
August 18~ Streamer Techniques
August 25~ Fishing Small Flies

Clinics are held from 5:00 PM till 7:00 PM on Wednesdays during August. Cost is $75 per person and participants should bring their own gear. Please give us a call at 410-357-9557 or drop us a line at info@backwaterangler.com to pre-register. Clinics are held on the Gunpowder river by a Maryland state licensed and insured fishing guide. Each clinic is limited to three anglers.

Fly Fishing The Savage River In July

Savage River in Summer
I spent a few days fishing the Savage River in Western Maryland last week. MDDNR was shocking the river, so flows were down to 30 CFs. I opted to fish the North Branch of the Potomac until later in the week, when flows on the Savage would rise to 55 CFs. Alex was out assisting the shocking survey for three days, and said they electroshocked a good number of trout. I fished the Savage a few weeks this year and the majority of wild browns I caught averaged between eleven to fourteen inches. In two days of fishing I fished dries in the pocket water and caught nothing under nine inches. In addition to good sized trout, I’ve noticed rising trout on each day I’ve been out on the Savage this year. It’s pretty common to see fish get into a frenzy right at dark, but I’ve witnessed fish rising steady during periods of bright sun. This week the midday or afternoon risers were taking flies off the surface so small, that only patterns in the 22-26 range on 6X worked. I used a size 24 amber mayfly pattern and a size 22 black beetle to catch my larger browns. I saw a few larger mayflies, caddis, and lime sallies at dark. In the latest video post I include some shots of the Savage, some rising browns, and an up close look at a Red-Spotted-Newt.

Maryland Fly Fishing School

Please join us for a flyfishing school. On Sunday, August 15, a Backwater Angler Guide will be teaching a fly fishing school that is ideal for beginners. If you’re planning on fly fishing in Maryland, or anywhere else for that matter, this course is a great introduction to the sport. The school covers knots, casting, gear, fly selection and an hour of on-stream instruction. Schools are held in a meadow overlooking the Gunpowder river by a Maryland state licensed and insured fishing guide. Class is held from 11:00 AM till 2:00 PM. Cost is $100 per person and includes the use of gear. A Maryland Non-tidal fishing license and trout stamp is required and may be purchased prior to the class with check or cash at the shop. Class size is limited to 4 and pre-payment is required. Please give us a call at 410-357-9557 or drop us a line at info@backwaterangler.com to register.

Morning Mist On The Gunpowder River

Morning Mist On The Gunpowder River
The air temps cooled down to more comfortable levels along the Gunpowder river this week. I fished yesterday in the upper Falls Road section where the water was a frigid 48 degrees. The flows from Prettyboy Dam are at 75 CFs, a normal level for the river. The air temp hit the mid eighties, but after standing in the water for a while in waders I was comfortable, if not cold at times. The shaded river valley and ice cold water creates a much cooler environment than the expected daily high air temperature. I saw good number of Tricos dancing around, but far less than I’ve seen miles downriver. I caught a few of the risers, and switched to a caddis. After a dozen fish, I switched to sunken Trico spinners in a size 22 under a Thingamabobber. The browns continued to eat the sunken Tricos until about 1 pm. The majority of the wild browns were between 6-11 inches, and I caught 2 over 12 inches. I went down to Big Falls Rd and took a water temp of 59 degrees at 4 pm. I fished a beetle for a short time, with a few strikes to end the day. There are miles of river that are cool enough for trout fishing, and early morning hatches make it easy to miss the hottest air temps of the day.

Maryland Fly Fishing School

Please join us for a flyfishing school. On Sunday, August 15, a Backwater Angler Guide will be teaching a fly fishing school that is ideal for beginners. If you’re planning on fly fishing in Maryland, or anywhere else for that matter, this course is a great introduction to the sport. The school covers knots, casting, gear, fly selection and an hour of on-stream instruction. Schools are held in a meadow overlooking the Gunpowder river by a Maryland state licensed and insured fishing guide. Class is held from 11:00 AM till 2:00 PM. Cost is $100 per person and includes the use of gear. A Maryland Non-tidal fishing license and trout stamp is required and may be purchased prior to the class with check or cash at the shop. Class size is limited to 4 and pre-payment is required. Please give us a call at 410-357-9557 or drop us a line at info@backwaterangler.com to register.

Low Summer Flows On The North Branch Of The Potomac

North Branch Of The Potomac In Summer
I recently returned from a few days of fishing in Western Maryland. The 125 Cfs flows on the North Branch of The Potomac tempted me to spend some days fishing on the WV/MD border. In these lower flows the wading is much easier, and the fish tend to congregate in the deeper areas. I fished around the Barnum access, and also hiked in many miles down river. On Monday I met up with Nate, a Backwater Angler regular, and we fished nymphs in the deeper slots. My Thingamabobber shot under in a deeper chute, and I was tight to a big rainbow. The trout looked like one of the big Freshwater Institute Rainbows stocked in previous years on the North Branch. At over twenty inches, and at least three pounds, this rainbow was a torpedo. The bow took off down river and forced me to chase it at least a hundred feet downriver, before finally breaking the tippet. An hour later I was tight to another big fish, but never saw it before it wrapped me up on a root system. I caught a few small bows, before we both stumbled onto a pool loaded with stocked browns. They had decent coloration, but the combination of beat up pectoral fins and eagerness to eat a fly was not typical of a wild trout. The ten to eleven inch browns were aggressive on hoppers, beetles and caddis patterns. The fishing was getting a bit ridiculous during the time we fished in the one pool, since the browns were so numerous.
North Branch Of The Potomac Rainbow
On Tuesday I fished a section of the North Branch many miles down stream of Barnum. I covered some shaded banks using a hopper, and caught a few rainbows. One of the bows was really vividly marked, and had all the traits of a wild fish. I also caught a six inch native brook trout, one of two I have ever caught in the North Branch. Hopefully in the coming years there will be more of these wild fish in the river. By the afternoon I switched to a big six inch long streamer and headed back down river. My hopes of finding an elusive big brown never worked out, but I caught some nice sized rainbows. I did get a couple of swipes from some decent sized browns, but none of the huge fish I’ve seen in the past. In the latest video post I filmed some river shots and fish. I also included a few minutes of casting and hook ups. The weather was hot, the fish were biting, and I saw two people fishing in two days on the North Branch.

Maryland Fly Fishing School

Please join us for a flyfishing school. On Sunday, August 22, a Backwater Angler Guide will be teaching a fly fishing school that is ideal for beginners. If you’re planning on fly fishing in Maryland, or anywhere else for that matter, this course is a great introduction to the sport. The school covers knots, casting, gear, fly selection and an hour of on-stream instruction. Schools are held in a meadow overlooking the Gunpowder river by a Maryland state licensed and insured fishing guide. Class is held from 11:00 AM till 2:00 PM. Cost is $100 per person and includes the use of gear. A Maryland Non-tidal fishing license and trout stamp is required and may be purchased prior to the class with check or cash at the shop. Class size is limited to 4 and pre-payment is required. Please give us a call at 410-357-9557 or drop us a line at info@backwaterangler.com to register.

Fly Fishing Winston Fly Rods in Montana

Thanks to Fred for the stream report from Montana!

Theaux,
Matt and I had a great week of fishing in the Missoula, MT area last week. We fished the Blackfoot, Rock Creek and the West Fork of the Bitterroot. All dry-flies, catching the tail end of the Salmon fly hatch, stone flies and some green Drakes. Lots of Rainbows, Browns and Cutthroats, mostly 12″ to 15″. Matt caught a 19′ Brown. -90% of the fishing was from float boats. The water, for this time of year, was high, fast and a bit muddy, not conducive to wading, but we had very good results from the boats. Absolutely beautiful country. Matt and I were both delighted with the performance of our new Winston rods. During a few windy periods when we were casting huge Salmon flies, we could probably have used a 6wt., but overall, we loved them. Fishing 6 hours a day and floating 12 miles, we were casting hundreds of times. Holding a good drift for more than 30 seconds was unusual. After fishing 2x and 3x leaders and tippet with #3-5 giant Salmon and Stone flies, it will take some adjustment to get back to 6-7x with #20+ flies on the Gunpowder! We will be there!

Best regards,

Fred