I spent my second morning on the Frying Pan River nymphing midges in shallow riffles. I started out on a wide riffle at a lower access point, and caught a brown on a holographic midge larva. After fishing for thirty minutes I wasn’t seeing the midge hatches I had the previous morning in the upper sections, so I moved upriver. I found a good midge hatch and rising trout that lasted for two hours. Dead drifting zebra midges, holographic midges, and black fly larvae under an indicator accounted for a dozen fish by lunch time. The majority of the browns and bows I caught were between nine and fifteen inches. Some larger brutes not willing to rise (the reason I was nymphing) would occasionally bite, and tear off across the river. Most of these trout were big rainbows, between three and six pounds, and went ballistic once hooked. The Thingamabobber would dart under, and a big bow would go airborne before I got a chance to set the hook. One memorable twenty inch plus brown ate the fly, and was down river in six seconds into the backing. I gave chase thinking I got through the initial run, until it swam toward an angler on the far side. To the angler’s surprise the trout swam at him in a series of jumps, leaping up, breaking me off and nearly hitting him. I think the fish actually hit his fly rod, and it definitely splashed him a little. He shot me a bit of a look, either because I was laughing, or he was trying to figure out where the fish came from. Keep in mind I was over a hundred feet above him, on the opposite side of a wide river. Once the hatch slowed, the bite did as well. I headed back into town for lunch.

The midday fishing was a little more work than the morning midge action. I focused on working up the river from the lower sections, covering the rougher areas where few anglers were fishing. I hit the slow edges off rough water using the rubber legged nymph and Sparkle Pupa above. One section of river had a series of riffles where the river washed up along the red rock bluffs. The bubble line hugged the ledges, and the water was just a little deeper against these bluffs. I managed to catch ten fish in one of these runs, and all of these spots looked like they held three times that many fish. Instead of changing flies, I just kept moving, trying to see what was around the next bend. The Frying Pan would change dramatically from narrow, swift chutes to wide sections of shallow broken water, and even some deep slough type sections. I gravitated to the faster sections where the trout were in predictable holding lies, and aggressively feeding. Before dark I pulled out my Scott G2 for some dry fly fishing when the midge clouds and drake spinners hit the water. The trout were focused on the size 22-24 midges, and could have cared less about the size 10 drake spinners on the water. I ended the day with a few more fish in the net before heading back into town. In the latest video post I filmed more fishing on the Frying Pan River.

I recently returned from a week long trip to Colorado. This was my first time fishing in Colorado, and I narrowed down my efforts to the Frying Pan River near the town of Basalt. I landed in Denver and picked up a rental, driving four hours through the mountains. The Frying Pan, a tailwater, offered many miles of public access, and connected to the Roaring Fork River a short walk from my motel. I arrived on Sunday just in time to get a fishing license, check in and wet a line for thirty minutes. On Monday morning I drove up the Frying Pan to the first mile below Ruedi Dam. The road hugged the river most of the way, and I marked some good looking pull offs on a map. The section below the dam was popular, as anglers and guides were all suiting up when I arrived. Even with twenty to thirty anglers nearby I walked into a nice spot below a low head dam. The sun was just starting to break over the mountains, and when it did a good midge hatch began. I was rigged with a mysis shrimp pattern and small midge larva pattern under an indicator. It wasn’t long before browns and bows began rising in the soft spots below the small dam. I caught my first fish on the shrimp pattern, a smaller wild brown. I eventually swapped out the shrimp for a zebra midge pattern, and by lunchtime landed eleven trout. I drifted my midge tandem rig through the risers using 6X tippet, and watched the Thingamabobber take off. The browns and bows I landed ranged from seven to fourteen inches, but I stung a few larger fish in this run.

I headed back into town for a quick lunch and began working my way up the river from the lower sections. It was clear after a few minutes of surveying the water that the midges I had on the line were not likely to produce. I could see a number of large and small mayflies peeling off the water. The small gray baetis were in the 20-22 range, and a few larger mayflies were tan bodied in a size 14-16. I even saw some larger green drakes hatching. After a few minutes I noticed one nice brown flashing under the surface in a riffle. After a number of unsuccessful drifts with tandem nymph rigs, both big and small, I noticed some size 16 caddis crawling on a log. This became an ephipany of sorts, as the next pattern I tied on became the Go-To-Fly for the week. I tied on a small brown bodied Caddis Sparkle Pupa, and the brown took on the first drift. I spent the rest of the day trying different patterns, and pull offs along the road. I caught a good hatch with rising trout taking very small midges before dark. I ended the afternoon with more fish than I caught in the morning, but nothing big. I hooked a few fish between 15-17 inches, but only landed one thick fifteen inch brown. The lower sections of the Frying Pan reminded me of the Savage River, with rough pockets, deep slots and rock ledges. I decided that day to stay on the Frying Pan for the remainder of the trip, instead of spreading myself thin on other rivers. The Roaring Fork was close by, but I already locked down a few hatches, and I had plenty of the patterns the Frying Pan trout were willing to eat. The latest video post features footage of the drive through the mountains, river shots, and some of the trout I caught on day one.

The increase in flow last week on the Gunpowder created ideal conditions for fishing at 115 CFs. The trout certainly had more room to spread out, and were far less wary than at 55 CFs. I caught quite a few browns around ten inches, and the larger wild brown above. This pretty trout was just under fourteen inches, nicely colored with a large head. The shop was informed this morning that flows will increase today from double to possibly triple the current flow. The flow will increase incrementally today, and level out anywhere from 275 to 350 CFs. This larger release will send more water to fill Loch Raven Reservoir, and the higher flows should remain until that is completed. I’d wager a guess and say the higher flows will continue through this week, and into the weekend. Anglers reported this morning that the water is already rising, and at this time (2:27 pm) the flow is at 251 CFs on the Falls Rd gauge. These higher flows may be considered less than ideal by some, but the anglers in search of larger fish welcome these conditions. Now is the perfect time to fish streamers and heavy nymph rigs in search of bigger browns on the Gunpowder. The finicky wild browns either become less wary, or start feeding due to nymphs being washed down river. The higher flow may also increase the water temperature, since the increase from 55 CFs to 115 CFs also raised water temps from 48 to 51 degrees. The combination of warmer water, higher flows and dislodged food sources can lead to some great fishing. The downside to the higher levels is more difficult wading, and river crossings limited to the wider, shallow sections of all access points. The majority of rivers and streams in the region are still too low and too warm for trout fishing. Fortunately the need for drinking water also benefits the trout (and anglers) during a time when few would expect a chance to experience fishing “big” water in late Summer. In the latest video post I included some shots of a few nice browns I caught one day last week.

A water release was made this morning from Prettyboy Dam to raise water levels in Loch Raven Reservoir. The shop was informed that these flows should continue through this week into the weekend, and possibly the following week. The Gunpowder was ice cold all Summer at a medium to lower flow (5 times the bare minimum, and nearly double the dreaded 30 Cfs flow), but now is climbing to an early Spring level in the 115 CFs range. The conditions and fishing on the Gunpowder prior to the release really favor dry fly fishing. The trico hatch in the mornings and caddis hatches midday get the trout looking to the surface. Now the higher flows can be good for dries, nymphs or streamers. Last week Matt and I returned from WMD to take advantage of the good fishing on the Gunpowder. We started out the morning by locating a good hatch cloud of tricos and rising trout. The flurry of activity continued for over an hour before only a few fish rose sporadically. We caught over a dozen between us before moving into some riffles using caddis dries. Caddis began hatching and soon a few splashy rises resulted in two hours of great fishing. The two of us covered a lot of water, working the caddis to rising fish or fished blind. I caught this brook trout below in a riffle after seeing a caddis get smacked only moments ago.

The wild browns we caught were the typical 7 to 10 inch trout eager to eat dries, but we caught some larger browns between 11 and 13 inches. The action was consistent, and some riffles produced multiple trout. In one riffle I landed 7 browns without moving more than a few steps. By late afternoon the caddis hatch slowed, so we put on some caddis pupa patterns. The fish that were unwilling to rise were willing to eat our patterns subsurface. We ended the day with a lot of pretty wild browns on dries. The fishing was a change of pace from fishing the Savage days earlier, where we worked very hard for far fewer, but larger trout. We did locate one huge fish I call “the Salmon” that is among a bunch of big browns that reside in the Gunpowder, which are rarely caught. Matt drifted the biggest, heaviest nymph I had past a fifteen-sixteen inch brown we spotted on the bottom. We were shocked when a much larger brown appeared and spooked the smaller trout. We never knew for certain if the big fish ate the fly, but it swam three feet from its lair, and rolled slightly on its side before heading back to its hiding spot. The indicator never moved, but it was possible the fish hit-and-spit the fly. It was good to see this fish willing to move to a fly, because in the past I’ve tried and it usually spooks on the first cast. The latest video post features some browns we caught on the Gunpowder, tricos and a slate drake mayfly.

My buddy Matt was in town, so we decided to head to the Savage for a few days fishing. We arrived just before dark on Sunday and set up camp. On Monday morning we started on a stretch that has proven productive this year, and holds some nice trout. We were both fishing with nymph rigs on 5X tippet. Three casts into the first pool, and I set the hook when the indicator stopped. The brown above got the blood pumping before I directed it out of the faster water and into the net. This trout was only fifteen inches, but was built like a much larger fish with big fins, large head and thick girth. The markings on this trout definitely puts it into contention for one of my prettiest trout this year. We fished all day using small nymphs, midges and caddis pupa patterns. The fishing was tough at times, but I did manage a brown-bow-brookie slam. On Tuesday rain brought out some blue wing olives but the trout never started rising. We caught some fish on small nymphs, before leaving around 2 pm. We caught twenty trout between us after a day and half of fishing, mainly browns 9-15 inches, rainbows 12-13 inches and brookies 7-11 inches. We decided to drive back to fish the Gunpowder for a few days, and take advantage of the good dry fly fishing. The latest video post features the trout we caught while fishing the Savage river in late August.

The Gunpowder River is the ideal destination for trout fishing in late Summer. The prolonged high air temps and lack of rain have basically shut down trout fishing on freestone streams in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Low flows are not the big problem, but the warmer water temps over 70 degrees can be too stressful on trout. Fortunately the frigid bottom release from Prettyboy Dam offers refuge from the hot air temps, and allows us to fish the Gunpowder without concern. Yesterday I was curious just how much river was fishable based on water temperature. The Falls Rd area is 48 degrees, and roughly six miles down river warms to 57 at Blue Mount Rd. I took a temp of 61 degrees at 1 pm by the Monkton Rd Bridge. Anglers may not encounter high water temps until they reach the Glencoe Rd section, which means there are more than eleven miles of river below 65 degrees. Last Thursday when heavy rains moved through the region, the river rose but quickly cleared above Masemore Rd. The sections down river were stained from the tributaries running high and off color, but remained fishable. The river had 8-10 inches of visibility with a lot of leaves, sticks and other debris in the water. I hoped the trout would be in feeding mode and rigged two nymphs on 5X under a Thingamabobber. The next few hours it was steady action, browns from six to twelve inches, before a late afternoon storm chased me off the water. On Friday afternoon I took my girlfriend out to catch some browns gorging themselves in the murky water, but the river was clear. She caught a few browns and missed some strikes in an hour of fishing. More storms passed through over the weekend, so I spent Monday searching for cloudy sections of the river. In an hour of nymphing I landed six browns before switching to a streamer. The brown above measured fifteen inches and my next brown was just shy of fourteen inches. In the latest video post I filmed a few browns I caught yesterday on the Gunpowder.

The morning trico hatch on the Gunpowder is pretty late compared to most streams. The fish start rising after 9 am until 11:30, and sometimes continue rising until 1 pm. On Monday I fished a section of river in the morning with decent hatch clouds of tricos, but not a lot of fish rising. The interesting part of the day was around 3 pm when trout started rising everywhere. I noticed a lot of female tricos emerging and the trout were quickly sipping them off the surface. The tricos in the air even grabbed the attention of some birds, including a few hummingbirds. I snapped the photo above of a freshly hatched trico next to a size 24 trico pattern. Lately the mornings have been best for spinnerfalls, but good numbers of duns are also hatching in the afternoons. Blue wing olives are hatching on cloudy days, early mornings and late afternoons. Last year both hatches stayed pretty consistent until November, so anglers have months to explore different areas to find the heaviest concentrations of mayflies. In the latest video post I filmed the afternoon trico hatch and browns sipping them off the surface. I included some pretty wild browns I caught on the Gunpowder in the 100th video post on the Backwater Angler website. To all the viewers out there, thanks for watching and stay tuned!

The Gunpowder flowing at 50 Cfs, and well below 50 degrees in the first mile. Tricos and caddis have worked well, but the trout can be very selective during the trico hatch. The shop has a variety of size 22 and 24 trico spinner and dun patterns that are fooling wary browns. Small duns described by many anglers as BWOs, PMDS or “tiny sulphurs” are emerging in the afternoons. I never grabbed one to I.D., but did manage to catch a few browns on a couple variations of BWO’s during this afternoon emergence. In the latest video I filmed the morning hatch cloud of tricos moving upriver, a caddis pattern next to the real thing, and some wild Gunpowder browns.

Flows on the Gunpowder are still around 50 Cfs and the water is 48 degrees at Falls Rd. We are fortunate to have such cold water through the C & R sections, and temps are still below sixty degrees down past Monkton Road. On Thursday I planned to cover a few areas, and try some different patterns. Fishing the Gunpowder was surreal in the thick fog. I rigged up for the morning trico hatch around 9:30 am. I could hear the fish splash, but it was hard see beyond forty feet through the fog. I fished a few flats, riffles and back eddies catching browns on size 22-24 Tricos. Once the hatch action slowed I moved to another area and fished larger caddis pupa in some deep holes. After catching a couple nice 11-13 inch browns, and a bunch of 6-8 inchers, a thunderstorm chased me off the water. The storm dumped a lot of rain in a twenty minute period, and than it was clear blue skies. It was prime time to head down river to take advantage of the added off color inflow of the smaller creeks. The fog on the water became much thicker than in the morning, so I snapped the pic above. The water levels didn’t rise much, but the trout really started feeding in the murky water. A few hours turned into a marathon day, before I realized it was 7:30 pm. I covered 3 different areas, and saw only two anglers all day. The latest video post is some underwater shots of black nose dace, sculpins and chubs I filmed on the Gunpowder on another day. There are a lot of food sources, other than mayflies and caddis, in the mid-lower sections of the Gunpowder River.