This video post features two large Gunpowder brown trout caught in the last week of September 2007. Angler Matt Devlin landed his seventeen inch brown on a tiny nymph in higher water and Gunpowder Guide Jeff Lewatowski landed a solid twenty inch brown on a small nymph during a lower flow.
The flow level at 300 Cfs can be tough wading for anglers not used to battling waist high water. Many anglers are foregoing fishing due to the belief the water is too high, but recent guide trips have accounted for first time anglers landing ten to fifteen trout. Dry fly enthusiasts may be disappointed, but nymph fishermen can expect to see some of the best fishing right now. A wide assortment of nymphs are working, but the main hurdles to overcome are using a lot of weight, and rigging the indicator the appropriate distance from the flies. The best way to locate where trout are holding is finding large current breaks, such as logjams, rocks or the insides of bend pools. The trout are not always holding in the calm edges, but many are favoring the tail out areas below rougher water. Using three to four split shot or large balls of weighted putty helps bounce the nymphs off the bottom, where fish are holding.
The Gunpowder may seem foreign to regulars at this high level, but it has become a streamer fishermen’s paradise. Five and six weight rods, large zonkers and 3X-4X tippet are recommended for chasing big browns. Various colors and retrieve styles have been working, but one important tip: Fish the streamer in slower moving water where the trout have a chance to grab the fly.
The current flows may continue into next week or longer, but anglers should expect to see levels drop significantly once Loch Raven Reservoir is filled. The leaves are already turning in the Gunpowder Falls State Park, the wild browns are biting and there is more cold water flowing down the Gunpowder than many of Maryland’s major river’s combined.
Author Archives: Jason du Pont
Fly Tying In Maryland? Time To Dust Off The Vise
Backwater Angler will continue offering fly tying classes on both Saturdays and Sundays on weekends through the Fall and Winter. Classes will vary from beginner to advanced and many will focus on tying techniques, hatches or special materials. This is the time of the year when days get shorter and an angler’s time can be best spent at the vise restocking the fly box. If you put off tying, or thought it was too difficult, costly, or time consuming sign up for a class and learn how to produce easy fish catching patterns on the cheap. For all the experienced fly tiers our classes are run by Gunpowder River Guides who have spent hundreds of day a year matching hatches and testing new patterns on the Gunpowder. Learn how guides dissect, imitate and design flies to match what the fish are eating.
We recently beefed up the tying room with a wide assortment of hooks, beads and totally new materials. Midge Cactus chenille, Velvet chenille, Scud and Ice dubbing are just a few additions to the back room in a variety of single color packs. Those tiers looking for natural materials will notice we have six different colors of snow shoe rabbit feet and twelve colors of rabbit strips, in addition to thirteen colors of deer, elk and comparadun hair. Arctic fox, CDC, peacock herl, ostrich herl and four colors of pheasant tail fibers are great materials for buggy fall nymphs. Blue Ultra wire? We have it for those anglers raving about blue copper johns and brassies. We currently have ten colors of Ultra Wire in three sizes, and sixteen colors of 6/0, 8/0 and 3/0 Uni thread.
Big Browns and a Notable Rainbow On The Gunpowder River
Another enormous Gunpowder brown trout showed itself to take a nymph presented by Gunpowder River Guide Jeff Lewatowski. The big trout struggled in every possible way, and despite swimming under numerous rocks and making deep runs was successfully landed on 6X tippet.
The brown measured out at twenty inches and Jeff estimated the weight of the fish at four pounds. This video still photo is from an upcoming video short of the exciting catch.
We barely had time to recover our nerves when I set the hook on the heaviest eighteen inch Gunpowder rainbow I have seen, but as Jeff tried to get into net position the hook pulled free. Days earlier, Gunpowder River angler, Matt Devlin, hooked and landed a seventeen inch brown on a size 18 midge pupa. Jeff’s and Matt’s fish fish are the most recent in a number of browns over sixteen inches that I have seen on the line, landed or photographed this year.Caddis are hatching in so many numbers it can be hard to ignore them. The trout may rising and slashing at adults, but are feeding heavily subsurface on caddis larvae and pupae. The rising flows have dislodged a lot of log jams, and pushed a lot of debris and bugs downstream. Big nymphs, brighter patterns and tiny midge pupae are producing four to six fish in each good riffle or pool. Weight and the distance between flies and indicator are the two biggest factors in reaching the fish and detecting the strike.
Gunpowder River User Conflicts
I want to begin compiling angler reports about the river user conflicts experienced with floaters and fishermen in the catch and release section from Pretty Boy Dam Rd through Bluemount Rd. If you would like to report any incidents of floaters, (tubers, kayakers, ect…) affecting fishing or would like to express your opinion on the subject, please drop us a line at info@backwaterangler.com with a description of an incident. Please include your name, address, phone # and how often you frequent the Gunpowder River and what time of year the incident occurred. Anglers need to make ourselves heard if we hope to alleviate this problem in future years. Take a few moments to express your opinion.
Note: Some of the responses will be used on this website and/or used in a letter to Maryland DNR and Gunpowder State Park Officials.
Thoughtful respectful responses, (no rants please) will help us lobby to make changes to prevent future river user conflicts. Thanks!
Water Levels To Rise By The Weekend
The water level took a downward turn and leveled off at 24 Cfs on Monday morning to allow shocking surveys to take place on the river. The flows will be kept at current levels until surveys are finished on Wednesday the 26th of September. Flows should return to higher levels by Thursday the 27th, based on water needs in Loch Raven Reservoir.
Cold Snap Brings An End To The Tubers!
Fall weather has arrived in North Baltimore County. The morning’s air temps began rising from 44 degrees at 7:30 am and river temps should remain below 60 degrees in the upper river. A bass angler on Prettyboy reservoir stopped in to comment that the surface temp on the reservoir dropped 8 degrees from last week. Water temperatures south of the confluence of Little Falls are now at safe fishing temps to the Sparks Rd access.
Float trips have accounted for some nice fish outside the catch and release section. Long riffles, quiet water and summer float traffic will end even in the most heavily floated stretches as the cool weather continues. This cold snap will mean quiet water for anglers accessing areas south of Bunker Hill Road that have been crowded by weekend tubers and kayakers all summer. York, Big Falls (parking is still open at bridge), and Blue Mount Rd are all now viable options for fly fishing with few interruptions or intrusions.
Today’s morning angler update:
“It’s cold out there, but caddis are hatching until 11:00 a.m.”
Warm fleece pants, socks and shirts will be needed as water and air temperatures continue to drop over the next weeks. The colder water temperatures should get the trout feeding as the start of their pre-spawning cycle nears. Dry fly fishing is providing good results for anglers fishing caddis, midges, adams and small olives. Size 18-20 Comparadun patterns in gray, rust, cream and olive have worked well for many anglers. Stop by the shop to check out some hot new caddis patterns to arrive early this week. We have a snow shoe olive pattern that when combined with the Magic Pen Floatant and Dry Shake is nearly unsinkable. Terrestrials are still getting bites, but hoppers can be a great indicator for nymphing caddis pupae and pheasant tails.
Streamers will begin to catch more of the larger fish for anglers willing to fish areas with lots of structure and deeper water. Wet flies and soft hackles are also good choices for anglers looking to swing flies and cover more water.
Water levels will be dropped on September 24-26 for the electro-shocking survey. If you have not netted a large Gunpowder brown yet, now is the time to assist MD Fisheries staff in the annual shocking survey.
Fly Fishing the North Branch of the Ausable River, Michigan
The anglers who watched the Canoe Hatch video of the Ausable River got a wrong first impression of Michigan’s trout rivers. I got phone calls and emails at the shop about how amazed people were that we not only kept our cool, but caught fish. One reason I didn’t mind the insanity, was that we rarely saw anyone else all week long. Except for the “Holy Water” and “Big Water” we never saw another angler fishing on any of the branches of the Ausable. Michigan has so much good water, that I didn’t want to show only that day, which was the exception for the week.
The North Branch of the Ausable was such a quiet place, even the riffle water blended with the sound of shore grasses blowing in the wind. On one of the last days an afternoon chill began ushering in thoughts of Fall, the journey home to Maryland and fishing the Gunpowder again. I tied on a favorite fly, an olive bodied, gray X-caddis to better work the riffles. As the sun dropped behind the treetops, fluttering gray wings and dancing bodies on the water brought splashy rises to a caddis hatch. A short while later I had landed over ten fish, used a good portion of my Frogs Fanny and felt the air getting colder. The seven and eight inch brookies fought hard, while the ten inch browns bulldogged toward structure. I lost all interest in nymphing, streamer fishing and what the big fish were doing. I was placing my powdered gray caddis near the naturals and watching it disappear in a white foam surge. As things began to slow Matt hooted from a stand of trees and we left the water satisfied with the quick hatch as darkness closed in on us.
The footage shows grassy riffles, weed choked runs and plenty of brush in the water. The North Branch brookies were aggressive and more orange on the belly than the ruby pink you see on brookies in Maryland. The buttery browns, weedy beds and clear water of this stream made it one of my favorites of the trip. A slow approach, minimal casting and proper fly selection was rewarded with wild trout in some great water.
When leaving home waters to experience something all together new, yet finding something all too familiar, a strange realization occurs. I will say that traveling and encountering a regional treasure can put into perspective an often underrated fishery that exists much closer to home. The pursuit of wild trout in beautiful surroundings is easily taken for granted when those trout are not large, abundant and easy to catch. Although the challenge in the simple pursuit of merely catching a trout, any trout, while far from home can be the most rewarding experience.
Float Trips Available On The Gunpowder River, Maryland
I am now offering float trips on the Gunpowder River to take advantadge of the better flows and cooler water temperatures in September. Access will focus on areas where pressure is lightest, and rest assured, the wild browns are plentiful. Streamers, dries and even nymphs can be drifted through runs as the boat floats and we will wade some of the best riffles and pools to allow more time for hookups. Expect to fish while seated in a comfortable chair and the longest casts need only be thirty feet off the bow or stern. Streamers are always producers. We typically moved some good trout while stripping these flies through miles of water.
A stout nine foot four or even six weight streamer rod is a great choice for anglers looking for the most action or best shot at a fish over fourteen inches. I usually bring a pre-rigged dry fly or streamer rod for clients to use if they want to switch as we float through various pieces of water. I will provide lunch and a few “producer” fly patterns and can accommodate two anglers. This is not only a relaxing, fun way to see and fish the river, but a great western river primer for anglers who have yet to fish out of a drift boat. Learn some techniques to help prepare for the faster pace of drift boat fishing anglers encounter on a western float.
Trips average five hours depending on the amount of wading time, but could be a straight three hour nonstop float. Float trips are priced at $275.00 for one angler and $375.00 for two anglers for a five hour float. Waders, boots, rods and reels can be provided for beginning anglers, who I welcome to float, Although, anglers that have some experience accurately casting flies near cover will be more successful from the boat.
Available float dates the next two months are;
September; 3rd, 6th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 17th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 27th,
October; 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th, 12th, 15th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th
Weekdays and early weekend start times can mean quieter water until cooler weather chases off the majority of weekend boaters and tubers.
The Many Faces of the Ausable River, Michigan
I recently made the journey from North Baltimore County, Maryland to the Grayling area of Michigan. Matt, a Gunpowder regular joined me for the 14 hour drive across several states with my raft in tow. Nick, a Michigan native and former college chum of Matt was waiting at what felt like the farthest northern tip of the state. We pulled in his cabin’s drive around 1:30 a.m., but he wasn’t there. He pulled in ten minutes later and said he just got done mouse fishing. “Rolled two fish,” he said. Mouse fishing at midnight puts me a little out of my element, but we had five days of fishing before we had to head east again. I’d try to adjust.
Our first morning we arrived on the small North Branch of the Ausable River, that looked oddly enough like the Masemore section of the Gunpowder with flat slicks, tree falls and flat riffles. I heard the words uttered in a local fly shop not hours before that “these are wild fish, not likely to bite under the midday sun, but you can still catch a few ten to twelve inchers on a beetle or hopper.” Things started sounding all too familiar.
We put in and floated that day and every day after on different branches, and finally the main stem. Probably floated twenty five miles in total. The North Branch provided scenic views of trees and clear water with long green waving tendrils of grass. The brook trout were aggressive and many taking beetle, ant and caddis imitations. The occasional brown would show its face, but this branch was not known for really big fish. The best fish may have topped out at 12 inches, but we had just seen four miles of totally new water.
The next few days we fished small mouth on the lake the cabin was on, floated the bait stretch of the main branch of the Ausable with a local guide and friend of Nick’s. We waded the Manistee in the afternoon, choose our pools, set up camp and returned sometime around 11 p.m. Headlamps were strictly forbidden if you wanted a serious shot at a trout over 22 inches. I pulled the 2X knot tight on a freshly tied deer hair mouse pattern and it was lights out until we all hooted and began sloshing our way to camp around 12:15. You essentially swing the mouse and locals advise as much action as possible to entice a strike. None of us had felt a thing, except the excitement of wading in the dark in a good sized river. Fly fishing totally blind is pretty tough. We floated the Manistee the next day, hearing stories at the put in of huge trout by anglers who had just finished mouse fishing hours ago. We did see one enormous 25 inch plus trout sulking in the hollow of a weed bed and we pulled off to rest him, but he refused my two drifts with a nymph and slid farther into the grassy beds.
Some strange similarities of the Ausable and the Gunpowder kept showing themselves to me. Long forty foot wide riffles and glassy flats were common for many miles until small bends narrowed them. We got caught in a frenzy of rising fish on Tricos one morning at the put in, although few were larger than six inches. A good sized trout was twelve inches, and they were awfully hard to catch. The truly big fish in Michigan were caught on large streamers ,Hexs or mouse patterns. As always the bigger ones we hooked all got away.
The final float day we took some advice to fish the “big water” and it turned out to be the best and worst day of the week. We caught more fish than we could have ever wanted, but the catch was you had to roll cast to avoid hooking hundreds of nearby canoers. It was the wildest thing I ever saw, and is by far my most memorable day of the trip. For a good laugh watch the video, and realize this went on for hours. We were more afraid of hooking tubers or being run over by canoes than them affecting the fish.
Recognizing a good fishery is an angler’s hardest task. We missed the Hex hatch by months, whiteflies by days and the first run of salmon by about a week. The trip was productive, we caught fish each day, avoided any major problems and never fished anywhere twice, except one area that was some of the best looking water I have ever seen anywhere. We caught glimpses of the river’s worth when we nymphed four fish from one hole, or when I tied on a size 26 midge and begun to work through all the trout that were now greedily rising, but formerly refusing. Michigan has some incredible branches and stretches of the Ausable river, just one could require years to learn.
Fly Fishing the Canoe Hatch on the Big Water of the Ausable River, Michigan
On a recent float trip down the Ausable River in Michigan three anglers encountered the most prolific aluminum hatch ever documented on film. East coast anglers may find these “hatches” are spotty at best in comparison on most of their local waters. Brown and rainbow trout were biting subsurface and our indicators barely floated for thirty feet in the better runs. The screams and splashes didn’t bother the trout, but line management was taken to a whole new level to avoid hooking anyone. Personally my biggest concern was being run over while wading, as I was constantly playing a game of river Frogger to avoid the silver bullets and raft parties. Fly fishing throws many challenges at anglers, and all too often it is easier to make excuses than to adapt to tough conditions.
We answered “how’s the fishing?” a few hundred times before agreeing to a nonverbal response or lifting the rod in a well timed triumphant hook set. When hooked the trout headed to the nearest structure, usually tubers legs or canoe paddles. The fish seemed to enjoy the shade provided by six to ten canoes lashed together, in what I call a “warship.” The huge party boats consisted of rafts, tubes and air mattresses tied together, and some nearly spanned the width of the river. One huge raft pile I dubbed Bikini Island for obvious reasons. We heard local river float songs, got cheered on with each fish on the line and turned a few heads in the AIRE boat. We netted fifty trout between three of us, and an unopened can of Busch Light, which was highly prized. The action was constant and each of us briefly hooked up and lost ten to fifteen additional trout. The trout were gorging themselves on caddis pupaes, SJ worms and streamers.
When I saw the first 100 people pass I thought about how many people complain about the Gunpowder floaters. I have caught fish on many rivers with heavy floating on weekends and notice how little they affect the fishing. Trout are more likely to spook when a dark figure inches ever closer at a heron’s pace splashing line onto the water over and over, than when two to three pairs of legs bob down the river every ten mintues. By day’s end it became apparent these people do this every weekend all summer and the trout are no longer bothered. Once the floating pressure lightened the bite slowed significantly. I think the water was no longer being stirred up by dangling feet, which put the fish on the feed. The end of day brought solitude, quiet and the occasional fish before the takeout. It was a day I will not soon forget.