The Gunpowder is flowing at 34 CFs, low and clear. The lower sections of the C & R have slightly higher flows from the smaller tributaries that enter the river. The flow in the Glencoe Rd stretch leveled out at 75 Cfs, after spiking from recent rains. The low water conditions make for challenging fishing, but anglers are still catching fish on a variety of patterns. Dry flies are still working as searching patterns and indicators with small nymphs dropped behind. Olives and X-caddis patterns are working and we have a number of these locally tied patterns. Nymph rigs with tiny nymphs and midge larvae are working well in the deeper pools. The shop has a lot of newly designed midge and nymph patterns from sizes 18-24. In the low water conditions where anglers spend their time will lead to success or failure. Anglers should stay out of the flat water areas and limiting wading as much as possible. Deep holes, bend pools and logjams are good places to focus on fishing. The upper accesses are always more popular, while the lower sections require more walking to find the good spots. I recently noticed the majority of the leaves dropped and cleared out, so the worst of the “leaf hatch” is behind us.

In these low water conditions it is pretty easy to spot fish like the one above in the crystal clear water. This is also the time of year where it isn’t uncommon to see numerous browns in the shallows. On a few recent outings I noticed some redds in different sections of the river. During a guide trip I pointed out a few redds to a client, and we watched a thick sixteen inch brown and smaller brown paired up. We actually saw them in the process of spawning, and moved onto another area. Be sure to limit wading around riffles and tailouts, especially if the gravel appears cleaner than the surrounding bottom.