Author Archives: Jason du Pont

Backwater Angler Hats in Stock in Monkton, MD

All hats feature stitched BACKWATER ANGLER logo on the front, and MONKTON, MD on the back.
These hats are available in four fabrics, (tactel, oil-cloth, wool and supplex) nine colors and are currently in stock.The wool and supplex hats are not pictured but feel free to pick one up in store or online.

The Tactel brushed nylon hats are great for all around wear and available in Sienna, Olive, Khaki and Mocha. These hats feature a Velcro closure, Cool-Tech sweatband and water repellant, quick drying Tactel material. Stop in Backwater Angler or shop online for these hats.

The oil cloth hats above are my favorite for Fall and Winter fishing. These hats feature water repellent English Oil Cloth, dark underbrim to prevent glare, Cool-Tech sweatband and Velcro closure. Available in Dark Green, Dark Oak and Khaki. Stop in Backwater Angler or shop online for these hats.

Steelhead Fly Fishing Video on the Salmon River, New York

When the indicator paused and I came tight on a fish, it was unlike any feeling I’ve had chasing fish with a fly rod in a freshwater river. These fish surprised me with the raw power they had when they made the reel sing and knocked your knuckles on blistering run after run. When a fish was first hooked the violent surface eruptions and head shaking was heart stopping. The thought “fish!” hits you when the line comes tight then a combination fear, uncertainty and quick reaction take over. The speed and strength of the fish in the river made everything happen so quickly. The realization overcomes you that this fish is in total control and you are merely along for the ride. If all goes well you find yourself minutes later a hundred feet down river trying to turn the head of a fish that just won’t give up.

Many fish feign that they are tired only to go on blistering runs over and over at the net. A ratio of one fish landed for every three hooked was normal. I hooked up and landed three fish in a row only to have the next two grab the fly, then throw the hook and rocket out of the water before the indicator twitched.

Top Ten Fly Fishing Gifts

Shopping for anglers for the holidays can be tough, but many products we stock make useful gifts no matter how knowledgeable, skilled or well stocked an angler may be. We constantly test new products from some of the biggest companies in fly fishing every year, and also get angler’s opinions on favorite products and top wish list items.

#10 Airflo Ridgeline Tactical Trout Fly Line– Fly lines often get overlooked by anglers, yet a great line can help with casting and improve fish catching numbers. This line has a five year no crack guarantee and its “ridged” design and slickness means added distance and quicker load time for all rods. A perfect gift especially for angler’s who own numerous rods and reels that may need a new line somewhere in the arsenal.
Price:$59.99

#9-Hareline Fly Tyers Grab Bag– Fly tyers tend to accumulate a lot of materials over time, although few tyers get really good products that have multiple uses. As a fly tyer and guide I constantly search for and discover great materials to create unique flies. Purchase a personalized and customized materials selection picked out by our guides based on type of fishing the angler enjoys. Mix and match a few different items for a small gift or load up on multiple items for an incredible tying selection.
Price: $15.00 up to $75.00

#8-Backwater Angler Gear– Long sleeved shirts featuring brown, rainbow and brook trout with the backwater angler logo on the front will be in stock before the holidays. Wool, oil cloth, supplex, tactel and cotton hats are available in a variety of colors and feature the Backwater Angler logo.
Price:$25.00 up to $30.00

#7-Cloudveil Shirts- Cloudveil has two styles that have become popular sellers in the shop. My favorite is the Spinner Inertia Peak Shirt that is totally water repellant, features snap button front and three zippered pockets. The Cool Shirt is lighter for tropical and warmer weather use and wicks away moisture and drys quickly. The Cool Shirt has button down front and three zippered pockets.
Price:$75.00 up to $115.00

#6-Bauer Fly Reels– Bauer Mackenzie Superlight reels have been used in the Backwater Angler guide service for years and have proven themselves as durable, reliable reels. A smooth drag, light weight design and sleek look make the Bauer a highly prized reel.
Price:$275.00 up to 375.00

#5-Patagonia Deep Wading Jacket– Patagonia’s deep wading jacket is a light weight water-proof jacket with a shorty design. The jacket features two front pockets, adjustable hood and folds down to a easily packable size. It can be worn fishing or around town and has Patagonia’s “iron-clad” guarantee.
Price:$200.00

#4-Patagonia Capilene socks, shirts and pants- Midweight and heavyweight socks aid in keeping feet warm during winter fishing and even cold summer Gunpowder flows. Light to heavy fleece pants and tops provide warmth while wicking sweat away from skin. An extra pair of underlayers is always a good gift idea for anglers who fish frequently, as they can always use a spare pair on multi-day trips.
Price:$15.50 up to $100.00

#3-Cloudveil 8X Waders and Wading Pants– Cloudveil’s 8X waders are the ultimate gift idea for the serious angler. The 8x waders feature chest high design with three waterproof zippered pockets, built in gravel guards and five layer Gore immersion fabric, and XCR upper fabric which is more breathable than previous wader fabrics. The Wading Pant is a wader created to fit like a regular pair of pants, which allows more comfort for anglers fishing smaller rivers and streams. The waders feature front and back zippered pockets, built in gravel guards, suspenders and a front zippered fly.
Price:$365.00 up to $445.00

#2-Loaded Fly Box- The C & F fly box features slotted foam, a leaf insert design and is sized to fit into any pockets or pack. No matter how many years angler’s fish they can always use flies, as many end up in trees or large trout. Let our Gunpowder River guides choose one of these boxes and load a selection of Gunpowder producers for a gift that keeps on giving. We can make a selection however big or small, but this box can hold 564 flies at two dollars each, so watch out!
Price:$39.95

#1-Bamboo Fly Rod– Many anglers dream of laying out tight loops on a hand crafted piece of working art made by an expert craftsman. We have a selection of various rods built by Maryland and Pennsylvania anglers, who are recognized as local bamboo craftsman. We also have access to rods built by the larger companies such as Scott, Eden Cane and Sweet Grass Fly Rods.
Price:$695.00 up to $3, 950.00

Backwater Angler Gift certificates are great choices and can be chosen in any dollar amount and may be redeemed for guide trips, casting lessons, clinics, gear or even flies. Gift certificates allow family and friends to buy for anglers who are difficult to buy for and leave endless options for the angler receiving the gift.

Steelhead Fly Fishing on the Salmon River, New York

For some unknown reason Steelhead fishing managed to stay off my fishing To Do List, until recently. I loaded the Mariner Hybrid with my heavier Scott rods, a big net, vise, 2x heavy scud hooks and tons of egg yarn. Patagonia Capilene layers were essential to cold weather fishing along with heavy socks and micro puff clothing. Matt Devlin and I made the seven hour drive to Altmar, New York on twelve gallons of gas on Sunday November 10th.

We arrived that afternoon to find 60-80 people lined elbow to elbow in the first 100 yards of river below the town bridge. I am not exaggerating, we could barely find a place to park! To say the conditions are crowded on the Salmon River is an understatement. Using my Scott E2 ten foot six weight, I had people so close below me that I could barely swing my line with little more than the leader on the water.
The Douglaston Salmon Run cost $30.00 for a day pass, and was worth the money to get some space, although we only spent half a day there out of four days fishing. Depending on your luck the fishing could be fun or frustrating and may not be for everyone. If you enjoy solitude, or are easily rattled by anglers fishing above and below, stay at home. The fly fishing stretch had fewer people not crowding as close, with some even offering to net fish. In some situations the indicator darted upriver, and the line ripped through the water with an unforgettable sound.

On our final morning a heavy lake effect snowfall began and the action got hotter as the conditions got colder. We had established ourselves the day before in a tough to wade area, and had it all to ourselves at 5:45 a.m. with some familiar faces on the far side of the river back for more action. It wasn’t long before people were yelling, “fish on” and you struggled to clear your line of a ten pound plus steelhead leaping and splashing down river like a dog swimming after a stick. The fish created a big white wake at the surface and loud splashing would snap you out of the trance of dead drifting for hours. At times as many as four fish were on the line at once in our area. Twice I hooked up and had to wait until the angler below me swung his fish into the net, so I could do the same. It was surreal to be in a snow storm around fifty other anglers on an eighth mile of river who are all willing to brave the cold, crammed conditions for these fish. At times my hands were so cold they felt painfully hot, yet digging a heavy steelhead out of the net for a photo was an exciting moment.

Low Flow Tips for Fly Fishing the Gunpowder River

The low water, at 24 CFs, has changed the fishing on the Gunpowder River compared to the higher flows we’ve seen the past three months. Gone are the days of big indicators, three spilt shot rigs and waist high water that threatens to knock you down. The soft edges that held trout weeks ago are now bone dry, but trout are still taking flies eagerly. Let’s face it, we dodged the low water bullet all summer while most rivers in the region suffered. Dry flies are a great option as they land softer than bead heads and won’t hang up in shallow riffles. Many good sized pools and runs now hold a lot of fish that have left areas that are now too shallow to hold fish. Caddis, olives and midges are good ideas for searching patterns.
Anglers need to stay out of the water and stay low! The low water levels mean that anglers are now much more visible in the fish’s sight window. Avoid peering over high banks into pools below, and wading downstream. Walk downstream on trails away from river’s edge, not down the exposed gravel below the high water mark. Target the better pools, approach from well below and stay low. Kneeling or crouching may help in some areas but usually is not required in most places.
Longer casts can help avoid spooking trout, but a lot of false casting over fish will put them down. Leaders 10-14 feet ending in 7X are a great idea right now. Prospect with dries while stalking upriver, and keep an eye out for trout holding on the bottom. Using 7X on nymphs is also a good idea where sight fishing is possible. A standard two beaded nymph rig needs little additional weight to reach pools 3-4 feet deep, if you cast well above the fish.
Fish streamers in the best looking areas around deep water, structure or large rocks. On a recent outing one small brown was nearly taken off my hook by not one, but two 17 inch browns that appeared from a big log jam competing for the eight inch brown writhing on my hook. A followup streamer cast a few hours later drew the two big browns out of hiding and nearly to my feet, but neither would commit. Streamers may be the best option for bigger fish, but lower water in some stretches makes for unproductive streamer fishing.
The flows are not expected to change for the next few months, so the fish will adapt to the change and so should anglers. The leaves are turning vivid reds and yellows, and these low flows are stranding many of leaves along the exposed shoreline. The leaves have yet to end up in the river in such number that fishing is tough. At least not yet.

Fall Fly Fishing on The North Branch of The Potomac River 2007

November through December are exciting times to fly fish for trout in Maryland. The possibility of catching a really big trout is very good on the North Branch of the Potomac tailwater fishery. This Fall the rainbows made up the bulk of what was being caught by many anglers. Small midge pupaes were producing fat, chunky rainbows up to four pounds.
These fish looked good, fought hard and some appeared to be second year or older stockies. A few of the shorter, “fatties” were freshly stocked but fought hard in the river’s flows. The extremely low flows made accessing the river very easy, but may have forced the bigger browns into deeper water or made them very skittish. Warmer days and a slow Fall transition may cause spawning rituals to unfold later than normal.

This video short shows some trout that were caught on small midge patterns nymphed behind rapids during mid October.
Want to go on a guided trip next Fall?
Mark some dates on your calendar and check out our Guide Trip Gift Certificates on our secure site.

Expanded Maryland Fly Tying Materials Selection

Revising and reworking flies, even the classics, can be an easy way to tie patterns you already know. Many tying companies offer new materials that add flash, weight and movement to create new versions of old designs. Hareline’s selection and innovative products offer something for all anglers and the Backwater Angler fly has recently expanded our tying room selection to offer more tying materials for Mid-Atlantic fly anglers.

Looking for soft hackles capes, wires and tinsels? We currently have plenty of genetic hen, english grouse, starling, hungarian partridge and over 26 different colors and sizes of wire and tinsel. 17/0 and 14/0 thread are new additions along with kevlar and heavy duty threads for spinning hair. Chenille isn’t just for green weenies and worms anymore. We have over 30 colors from micro through standard sizes and three styles. Midge Cactus chenille is an estaz style chenille scaled down to the thickness of a single strand of peacock herl, and can replace herl to create new styles of old patterns. The Micro Polar Chenille and standard Polar Chenille are great for larger streamers and nymphs.

Individual dubbing packs are available in over 30 colors and 5 styles including Hare-tron, Scud, Ice, Quick Descent and standard rabbit dubbing. Large selections of marabou, arctic fox and feathers are available for streamer patterns. Zonkers have accounted for numerous fish over twenty inches on the Gunpowder and rabbit strips, some barred, are in stock in every shade. Looking to scale down a Zonker to a smaller size for casting on bamboo and lighter weight rods? In stock are squirrel strips, which allow tying of zonkers down to a size 16. Many of the tying classes will focus on using some of these materials to create new patterns or tweek an old design. We select new and unique materials to provide tyers with quality products and the local knowledge to create great flies.

Testing Out the New Cloudveil 8X Stealth Wading Shoe

Each Fall Backwater Angler staff demos new products for the upcoming season. A pair of size ten wading boots from Cloudveil are about to be put through the paces on the Gunpowder River. After a few days of fishing, I plan to hand them off to other Gunpowder Guides for more testing. We will be posting reviews by different guides in the coming weeks.
The Cloudveil 8X Stealth Wading Boot is extremely lightweight and features a 5.10 rubber sole. Soft rubbers like 5.10 are found on soles of rock climbing shoes. The sole smears to the rock, wet or dry, and provides constant contact by placing as much surface area on the rock’s surface. The shoe comes with inserts to allow custom sizing between a full shoe size.

Rubber soles are becoming more popular and anglers are dismissing the myth that rubber soles can’t compare to felt. I’ve been in a pair of Patagonia sticky rubber shoes for two years, have rock climbed for years, and guide on Maryland’s three premier tailwater fisheries. Rubber soles are great where rocks dominate river bottoms and trails. Slick bottomed rivers like the Savage and North Branch are tough wading no matter what shoe is worn. The issue in those watersheds is high PH, which creates a fine algae on the rocks.
One big thing to consider in the ever changing world and climate is that felt is becoming a vector for transporting aquatic invasives. Didymo, an invasive algae was recently discovered on the lower portions of The Battenkill River and East, West and main branches of the Delaware River. Felt has been found to contain and harbor 100% of Whirling Disease and Didymo spores when exposed to these invasives.
Maryland’s Department Of Natural Resources has issued the following request to anglers and boaters:

If possible refrain from using felt on your boots.

Proper drying times, 3-5 days, can prevent fishing for days, or risk spreading the diseases to other watersheds.
A second pair of old wading boots designated for infected fisheries can be a great way to prevent further spreading.

Rubber doesn’t absorb spores, hold water or small particles of mud. In the winter the rubber soles prevent “high heels,” which is when snow on the bank freezes to wet felt soles. Rubber soled shoes are far lighter and clean easier with a simple rinse and scrub brush. Drying time can be minimal, as the shoe has few materials that hold water.

Maryland Fly Tying Materials and Patterns

Fall can be the time for pursuing wild browns amidst the changing colors of leaves and reflecting on the past year’s fishing. Journals can help, often times a fly box can be a great place to look to bring back memories from months ago. The tattered snow shoe hendricksons and soft hackle nymphs in my box bring back early Spring evenings. Size twenty midge pupaes, zebra midges, caddis larvae and the faithful San Juan kept things hot on cold winter days. Wet flies, caddis pupae and pheasant tails in many colors and sizes dominate rows and rows of slitted foam in my boxes. My “fur lined” streamer box is a menagerie of creatures lined in tight rows, which give the appearance of one multi color pelt.

I recently pulled quite a few flies from my boxes in a effort to make room for future patterns. Those future patterns have yet to be tied, some even yet to be dreamt up. I prefer ushering out old patterns and leaving big gaps in all those rows of slitted foam. The mayflies, beetles and terrestrials that have served their purpose for the summer are stored until next year. Caddis, midges and attractor nymphs are reliable and effective patterns year round. Flies that rarely work, despite looking realistic or patterns that have little place locally all need to go. There can be no greater sense of satisfaction than to open a fly box that has been crammed full of flies tied by you. No greater sense of frustration than tying and fishing patterns that seem to fall short of productive. A level of comfort is gained by a full fly box, although random flies and prototypes from years past are just taking up space. An empty fly box makes anglers anxious, and that nervous feeling can best be remedied at the vise. Tying new patterns, whether from books or websites can provide inspiration along with seining insects on local waters. Tying and fishing flies is a constant progression toward having a fly box that is filled with patterns that catch fish.

Gunpowder Trout By The Bucketful

The shocking survey on the Gunpowder River is pretty incredible to witness. On September 24th a team of Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Biologists shocked the Falls Rd area on Gunpowder River. A line of wader clad, net wielding biologists and volunteers pushed upstream behind biologists wearing electro-fishing backpacks. The shocking prod stunned anything within a five to six foot range with a low volt charge. The stunned trout floated to the surface where they were gently netted and placed in buckets. Trout and the occasional big sucker floated up from every little hole. The contents of the buckets were placed into tubs with meshed out bottoms to allow water to flow through. The area sampled was over a hundred feet long and was comprised of shallow riffles. During the survey, seven to ten tubs lined the shoreline each filled with 75 ten inch adult brown trout, and many smaller and young of year trout. In this video short, the trout in these tubs were anesthetized with a quick acting liquid solution that allowed the biologists to handle and release the fish with minimal injuries to the fish. Once the trout were sedated each trout was measured, weighed and looked over for hooking injuries. Many of the trout sampled did show signs of being hooked and safely released many times. After the trout recovered in a fresh water bucket, they were placed into the tubs in the river to recover and then released.

The Gunpowder has such a high density of wild trout that most anglers wouldn’t believe the results of the shocking survey, unless they saw it with their own eyes. In recent years the survey has uncovered browns over twenty inches and up to four pounds, but not this year. Although three fish in that size range were caught and documented on film by Backwater Angler Guides this Summer. Jeff Lewatowski’s big brown was caught one day after shocking surveys ended and was landed within earshot of where I video taped the survey. Big fish can make your day or even year, but the Gunpowder does not give up big fish easily. It does yield more wild trout than any river in Maryland, and its density of trout can allow skilled anglers the chance to catch dozens of feisty, beautiful trout in one outing. Once you become proficient on the river and resign yourself to catching these often acrobatic nine to twelve inch browns trip after trip, the big trout may start hunting you.