Jason du Pont - BACKWATER ANGLER

Savage River Fly Fishing Report

April 1, 2009

The forecast last week predicted mild temps and scattered rain showers for the western Maryland region, so I decided to fish the Savage for a few days midweek. The whole river was empty, and I saw no anglers until my last day on Friday. Water temps hovered in the 42 degree, and flows stayed at 60 Cfs. The fishing improved during the warm parts of the day, and rising fish could be found in numerous pools along the river. Blue wing olives sized 18-24 were bringing the fish up sporadically, so the dry fly action was a waiting game in some pools. Neil, a customer …

Didymo and Rubber Soled Wading Boots

April 1, 2009April 1, 2009

A year hasn’t even passed since we learned about Didymo’s presence in the Gunpowder River, and yet the angling community’s awareness about aquatic invasives has grown tremendously. Suddenly the act of just going fishing on two different waters over the same weekend can make people apprehensive. At least it should, as the photo above shows a rock on the Gunpowder nearly covered in the invasive algae, which appeared last Spring, and has been appearing in recent years throughout the Northeast on popular trout rivers. An overwhelming number of local anglers are shifting to new rubber soles for travel, and designating old felt soled boots …

Stoneflies In March On The Gunpowder River, MD

March 9, 2009

The factors for a good stonefly hatch usually include consecutive, sunny days with air temps above 45 degrees. Prior to the recent snow storm, stoneflies began hatching in small numbers on the warmer days. Now the temps have risen again to optimal conditions and midges, blackflies, and stoneflies are hatching. On the 6th I spotted numerous flying stonefly adults, found four crawling on my waders, and a few dozen more after searching around some logjams. I saw a dozen splashy rises over an hour, when the occasional lumbering stonefly landed on the water. The fish were definitely more active under the surface than in recent …

Mid February Gunpowder Fishing Report

February 13, 2009

Winter weather has shifted to warm air temperatures, but the melting of snow and ice are keeping water temps down. Spillover from Prettyboy, which has ice on its surface, has water temps as much as 6-8 degrees below the normal low-mid 40’s of February. A rough mix of half bottom release, and half icy spillover from Prettyboy has reversed the normal “warmer release closer to the dam” theory. Here are a few things we thought we would share about some differences this year in regards to water temps from previous years. The Gunpowder has hovered around 37-40 degrees F midday for the past few weeks, and the recent warm days did have an effect on water temps and …

Fishpond Packs and Piopods in Maryland

February 12, 2009

Fishpond’s innovative designs in their packs, accesories and luggage allow anglers to be better organized and show these products are designed by fly fishermen FOR fly fishermen. Many anglers are trying to start 2009 off right, by carrying less and staying organized. Backwater Angler has a wide variety of packs, vests, bags and accessories from Fishpond in stock. My personal favorite is the San Juan Vertical Chest Pack, and I’m on my fifth year guiding with this pack. The best features are external tippet spool mounts, elastic floatant/dry shake holders, and an outside pocket to hold a myran box with split shot and indicators. Tools …

Coming Soon… A Fly Fishing Film

February 6, 2009

It’s been over two years since I put the first fly fishing video on the Backwater Angler Website, and now we have over sixty videos online. I really enjoyed filming the hatches and the wild trout on the Gunpowder River. I’ve also enjoyed hearing the support from so many of you who tune in to see the latest videos. I recently checked the views to date on the web videos, and the total is just over 53, 000 views! Many people mention they watch the latest videos to see the river, when they get too busy to fish or after they have moved far from …