Jason du Pont

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 …

Read more

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 …

Read more

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 …

Read more

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 …

Read more

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 …

Read more