Thanks to Josh Reider for the shots of one healthy Brookie. Going to school in Carlisle was a great move!

The Gunpowder River is clear, flowing at 68 Cfs and 38.8 degrees F. Midges and stonefly nymphs are a good bet. The trails are icy so it’s better to access the River carefully at Masemore or York Rd access points and stay in the River. Windy days have been better spent tying flies or organizing boxes for the spring. Thanks to Emma Reider for the great shots taken along the Gunpowder River and to Josh for the stream report:

After the snow storm came through this past week temperatures have been intimidating. Dressing in the correct clothing this time of year can make or break your time on the water. I have been wearing a Capilene 3 top from Patagonia as a base layer then adding a fleece or shell over it. Wearing a warm hat and gloves is also key. The Simms wool fingerless gloves are easy to fish with but keep one very warm. With such cold temperatures, fishing has been tough. Nymphing with a small stonefly or midge imitation will be your best chance for the next few weeks until we start to see the Black fly hatches in the upper River. After that, the stoneflies will pick up towards the end of the month.

The Gunpowder River is flowing at 123 CFs, is slightly off color and 42.5 F. If you have a rain jacket you can rely on it might be time to make a splash play of your own to ring in the New Year. When the River levels move up opportunistic browns can often be tricked with a sink-tip/streamer combination. An 11″ Brookie was caught just outside of the catch and release area last week on a cone head, squirrel-tail something. Small nymphs like Zebras and black flies behind fished behind larger, heavier stoneflies are also worth a shot. We fielded more comments and questions about the rainbows in the upper section last year than in any other previous year. If you’ve seen, heard or wondered about these fish drop us a line and we’ll put together a quick summary of comments for the fisheries folks to review. With a clipper coming through as early as Monday night today might be a great opportunity to get out and fly fish the Gunpowder before we experience some real winter weather.