The Gunpowder River is currently flowing at 138 cfs and the temperature is 41 degrees Fahrenheit. With the higher and warmer water I have been fishing a lot of streamers and euro nymphing smaller jigged leaches to try and entice fish that are  looking for a larger meal. Streamer patterns such as the Baby Gonga, Madison Sculpin, and wooly buggers have been working well. Leech patterns such as the sculp snack and jigged leech are working best with small twitches during the drift. Nymphing has also been very effective. Patterns such as the perdigon, mop fly, and hares ear jig are working very well for fish that are looking for smaller nymphs rather than a large streamer. We have Filson socks in stock that are a terrific solution to having cold feet in the winter months. They work great!

The river is beautiful as always with new snow. It is flowing at 90 cfs, clear and 38.5 degrees. The fishing has been best with nymphs in the #16-18 size. The best nymph colors have been olive, red, cream, and red. I have also been fishing many streamer patterns such as the Baby Gonga, Dragon Bond, and Slump Busters. With the snow and cold temperatures the trails are very dangerous and slippery so make sure you have studs or a wading staff to walk the trails.

The river is running at 61 cfs and the temperature is 41 degrees. Over this last week with the colder temperatures and snow the river has dropped in temperature and has raised in flows.  have been fishing a lot of small zebra midge patterns and also some small dry flies such as a sz 20 Griffiths gnat or a very small parachute style fly. although it has not been as productive the past couple of days, streamer fishing has been pretty good as well. Black and olive buggers have been working best with the occasional  Maddison sculpin picking up a few fish here and there.

We will be closed Sunday January 9th due to harsh weather conditions

The river is flowing at 138cfs and the temperature is 45 degrees, both dropping quickly with the cold front hitting today. The Gunpowder has been fishing best with streamers and small nymphs. With the cold streamer fishing could slow down, but with the water being higher fish may still be active enough to chase a bigger fly. Some patterns that have been effective have been the slump buster, grey ghost, and wooly  buggers.

Nymphing should be the go-to tactic if you want to maximize the amount of fish caught in the winter months. The most effective patterns have been those imitating midges: Zebra midges, WD-40s, etc. We often pair these with a hare’s ear or a euro-style nymph to help get the smaller flies down. It’s best to target the faster runs because there will be more food available so fish will eat more readily.

As always, keep a look out for the redds on the river, especially through the areas with more gravel.

Cooler temperatures are right around the corner. This means cooler water and happy fish. The river is flowing at 140 CFS and has been holding there consistently. The water temperature has ranged from 58 down to 54 degrees throughout the day. with the rain last night the river is up but it will go back down soon. Streamer fishing has been very productive as well as euro nymphing and the occasional caddis emerger. Flies such as a classic prince nymph and copper johns are working exceptionally well right now as well as most euro nymphing style flies.One can’t go wrong with a classic wooly bugger, royal coachman or even a grey ghost. My personal favorite ly to fish this time of year is a big sculpin pattern. Flies such as the Maddison sculpin and the near Nuff Sculpin are great patterns.