The Gunpowder River is flowing at 110 Cfs, is gin clear and 46 F. Just a few cream midges, tiny olives, stoneflies and Hendricksons were lifting off today. Not many fish were rising freely but they are starting to look up. It’s still tough to move fish with dries first thing in the morning but one will find more active fish as the day progresses. Streamer fishing with zonkers across runs and deadfalls continues to be a sure bet.

Please Note: The shop will be closed Easter Sunday and will reopen on Monday, April 1 at 10 AM.

Thanks to Chic for the steelhead report from Erie, PA.

Backwater Angler and Gunpowder regulars Chic and Kay Dambach drove 7 hours northwest to Erie, PA in late March to play with some beautiful and enormous steelhead. The weather was cold and snowing, but guide Mark DeCarlo helped find the fish and he picked the right flies – small pale egg patterns and white wooly buggers. Chic and Kay did the rest. Chic has done it many times, but this was a first for Kay. She hates the cold, but she’ll be back for more regardless of the weather.

The Gunpowder River is a green, flowing at 152 Cfs and is 41 degrees. Fly fishing this weekend should prove to be a little more comfortable (warmer and less windy) than during the past week. Wednesdays anticipated snowstorm resulted in more blackbirds falling out of the sky than snowflakes. While most of the white stuff left us by Thursday morning, the trails are still plenty wet and a little greasy. If you have a pair of studs in your shoes use them. If you need a pair, stop in and we’ll make sure that you pick out the right kind for your Simms, patagonia or Chota boot before you head out. If you were planning on taking dramatic shots of snow covered boulders along the Gunpowder this March, photoshop may be your only hope now. Stoneflies and Olives are a good bet as the water drops and the air temps rise through the weekend. Try #14-16 red butt soft hackles in the gravel during the morning hours and bring along some snowshoe rabbit BWO’s in the flats and pools and a few Troth style Deer hair winged black stones to fish the riffles mid-afternoon. Leaders in the 9 to 12 ft length ending in 6 and 7x will do the trick. –Always remember that one has a much better of catching fish if, and when, one actually goes fishing.