Jason du Pont - BACKWATER ANGLER

October 2009 Western Maryland Fly Fishing Report

October 27, 2009

I arrived on Sunday October 18th in the afternoon at the Savage River after a three hour drive across Maryland through some incredible Fall scenery. The air temps were in the high thirties in the mountains and continued to climb into the fifties each day through the week. I decided to focus on nymphing the deeper runs and chutes found throughout miles of the Savage, as levels were perfect at 100 Cfs with water temps in the high fifties. In a few hours that first afternoon I caught a few ten to twelve inch browns, and cycled through a number of different patterns. On Monday …

Fly Fishing Western Maryland Streams

October 14, 2009

Backwater Angler Staffer and bamboo rod builder Bill Felter sent in an interesting report from this past weekend in western Maryland- “My birthday was this past Sunday and my wife and I spent part of the holiday weekend doing some light backcountry camping in western Maryland. We passed up the Savage and its perfect flows and instead headed up to a tributary of Savage River Reservoir, for a little brook trout fishing. That was the plan anyway-to fish for brookies-but 10 minutes after leaving the house a deep sense of dread came over me. Oh, crap! The fly rods! I had forgotten the fly rods. …

October Spillover and Fly Fishing The Gunpowder

October 12, 2009

The Gunpowder flow is increasing as spillover crests Prettyboy Dam and raises river levels with an additional ten to twenty Cfs. Watch for rainfall to increase flows even more, and allow warmer spillover to jump start hatches by raising water temperatures. The fishing is productive right now using a variety of patterns, and also fishing at different times of day. A number of tricos are still hatching in the mornings, and blue wing olives on cloudy, overcast days. Caddis and midges are hatching in bigger numbers mid to late afternoon, and trout are rising toward dark each day. A small caddis or olive mayfly pattern …

Wild Brown Trout, Fall and Quiet On The Gunpowder

September 26, 2009

A change in the seasons is ushering in a shift along the river, as Fall has finally arrived. Both air and water temps have dropped, favoring anglers in waders versus Summer temps drawing tubers, swimmers and boaters to the river. Fishing midweek will offer the most solitude along miles of water with fewer vehicles in the parking lots. Weekends are even quiet at times on the Gunpowder, especially in the afternoons when the football fans have long left for home. After the shop closed on Sunday, I wet a line after a week of “taking it easy” and saw four hikers, but no anglers. The …

Cooler Temps and Good Trout Fishing On The Gunpowder

September 19, 2009

It is starting to feel like Fall in Northern Baltimore County. Crisp air temps in the mornings and evenings combined with ice cold water temps feel like October came early this year on the Gunpowder. A few trees have even begun to turn and drop a few of their leaves. The change in temps and seasons always gets the wild browns feeding, and in recent weeks some quality wild trout were caught in the Baltimore area. Small streams in Maryland can even produce some quality fish, like the fish pictured below which fell for an olive bugger stripped across a submerged log. Blue wing olives …

Fly Fishing in Western Maryland

September 8, 2009September 8, 2009

Western Maryland has some great fly fishing opportunities in remote areas and for gorgeous wild trout. We answer many emails and phone calls inquiring about the fishing in this region. The latest follow up report came from Nick S. who just returned from his first trip out to WMD. Jason, Thanks for the info and pointing me in the right directions. As for the fishing, it was fun and humbling. I did not get as much quality time on the water as I was hoping, but was impressed by both the Savage and NB in terms of beautiful settings, variety of fishing situations, and quality …