The month of April is prime time for dry fly anglers since the fish begin to respond to hatching mayflies and larger fly patterns. The midge fishing on the Gunpowder has been good early and late in the day, but reports of trout caught on hendrickson patterns increased this weekend. Some anglers witnessed emerging hendricksons midday and fish taking naturals and dries, while other anglers fished the dries blind in riffles. Swinging wets and soft hackles has been really effective any time of day, but especially in the evenings. When I got a call from my buddy Matt that he would be in town, we hit the evening bite on Sunday. We both caught five fish in two hours swinging a soft hackle that produced lots of hits and some fiesty browns in the 7-10 inch range. I saw a half dozen hendricksons, although most rising fish in the slow water were eating midges. A few anglers on the same stretch of water mentioned they did catch fish on midges and hendrickson dries before dark. On the next day we decided to take advantage of the great flows and float the Gunpowder farther down river. Water temperature was great in this section at 58-59 degrees with a few caddis and lots of craneflies hatching throughout the day. I saw only a few mayflies from a distance, most likely quill gordons or female hendricksons. I rarely find rising trout in this section, but when a hatch is good the subsurface fishing can be phenomenal. Swinging wet flies through the riffles was a good back up plan, so I decided to make a pass with a streamer in the first run. A brown charged the streamer on the second swing, and struck the fly as it swung through a current toungue into the bouncing chop below. The trout took line downstream, bowed the rod over and finally surrendered at the net. It was healthy trout measuring just under fourteen inches. I decided to break from my normal routine and fish streamers all day without switching to nymphs. Two hours later my three biggest browns measured between 13-15 inches, all thick fish like the brown pictured below.
Matt was finding plenty of action in the good spots on small nymph and emerger patterns under an indicator. The amount of craneflies on the water by mid afternoon meant they were surely a staple of the trout under the surface. Small rubber legged nymphs also caught fish, as they have in the upper sections of river the past month. We fished hard through an eight hour day, targeting the same areas with our different techniques. Each particular trout was looking for a meal stripped as fast as possible, or small nymphs drifted through riffles and deep water. We even picked up a few trout while in motion using both set ups, including a few browns and rainbows in the 9-11 inch range. One of Matt’s favorite spots where he encountered larger trout in the past, gave up this healthy fourteen inch plus brown below. The weather was great, the flows perfect and we encountered 2 other anglers over miles of river. The latest video features some of our fish, river shots and a good cranefly hatch.
Author Archives: Jason du Pont
Custom Dry Fly Patterns and Accessories in Maryland
We have a wide assortment of dry flies in the shop tied by Mike Bachkosky to match our Maryland hatches. There are quill bodied parachute patterns great for spinners, which can even be used as cripple/dun patterns in flat water areas. In the photo above are snow shoe winged Unusuals for midges, PMDs, olives, light cahills, hendricksons and sulphurs. The mayfly hatches are just starting, and the muffin tins are loaded in preparation for the next months ahead. These patterns are not just generic flies found in most catalogs, but are tied in the sizes and colors we see in Maryland. Mike is always willing to gather input and alter the patterns he ties for the Delaware, for use on our local waters. Another reason we get so excited about these flies is they are unsinkable when used with the products pictured above. The Dry Magic pen is a special gel designed for snow shoe rabbit fur and CDC feathers, which both utilize natural oils to repel water. Gink is great for hair wing and hackled patterns, but can actually counteract the natural oils and sink CDC or snow shoe patterns. Dry Shake is another popular alternative to gels and coats small flies with a white dust, making them easy to see on the water. Dry Shake Primer rubbed on the fly, is a wax that greatly enhances the effectiveness of the Dry Shake powder, by allowing the powder to adhere to the fly longer. “Priming and shaking” the fly often will allow the fly to ride higher, longer and be much more visible than using only gel based products. We have the patterns and accessories that can make the hatch fishing experience much more productive and enjoyable.
Sixty Degree Water Along the Gunpowder River
A week of unusually hot weather has changed water temps dramatically along the Gunpowder River. The air temps hovered in the 80s in Nothern Baltimore county all week, and the river is much warmer than two weeks ago. The cold spillover that slowed the fish’s metabolism all winter, is now warmer than the bottom release, which may jumpstart our hatches early. The past two weeks kept us busy guiding on the river, which allowed us to fish a variety of access points. On a number of trips we encountered brief periods of rising trout, and the clients enjoyed a break from the nymphing and streamer fishing. The streamers continue to be a sure bet, and one client this week landed a fifteen inch brown that had the brown pictured above beat by a solid three inches. The dry fly enthusiasts should get excited with the photo below, as this was the water temperature at 2 p.m. on Wednesday of this week.
The river flow leveled out today in the mid 130 CFs range and is crystal clear. The Didymo is still worse the closer you fish to the dam, although it can be seen floating down river at many access points. If the past two years are any indication of what to expect, we should see a “breaking up” phase where the algae dislodges from the bottom over the next weeks. In the next few weeks we should also see an increase in the number of mayflies already hatching sporadically along the river. Midge hatches are good now, and I filmed a foam line in a back eddy where the river had collected a number of small midges. I also noticed a small fish moving about and after a bit of watching, I confirmed it was a freshly hatched quarter-half inch brown trout fry. I began to look for more and found them in good numbers along the slow side of the river. I also turned over some rocks and included a nice brown in the latest video while “creekin” with my Scott Fibertouch Fly Rod.
Scott Fibertouch Fly Rod, Small Water And Big Brown Trout In Maryland
I recently hit the road in search of some water I only fish a couple times a year. I rigged up my Scott Fibertouch six foot one weight fly rod. This particular Scott Fiberglass rod works great on the smallest of native brook trout streams in Western Maryland, and the smaller wild brown trout streams across the state. I spent the afternoon sneaking and crouching, threading casts through tight cover onto small pockets and pools. The wild browns were aggressive, taking dries on the first drift in each piece of new water. A light rod is great because most trout in these streams are a few inches bigger or smaller than the trout in the pic above. I now use the term “most” loosely, as the pic below shows a brown quite a bit larger than I expected from this stream. I switched to swinging a small streamer on my walk back out, and drew a half dozen strikes. Near the car I tried one last cast into a nice hole, and was shocked by the hard take and subsequent head shaking. When I laid eyes on the fish I never expected to bring it to hand using such a light rod and tippet. The rod was seriously overmatched, but the soft fiberglass may have helped save the 5X tippet numerous times. The brown tried every trick in the book to get off, but quickly surrendered for a picture. I never put a tape to the brown, but it was easily approaching the twenty inch mark.
Bamboo rods are certainly growing in popularity, but few anglers realize many of the fiberglass rods have similar slow actions, without the four figure price tag. Scott makes a number of models perfect for small stream brookie/brown fishing found across the state. These rods are available up to a four weight model perfect for fishing the Gunpowder, Savage or larger streams with small dry flies. A few Fibertouch rods are scheduled to arrive in the shop this Spring. These extremely soft rods are fun on trout streams of all sizes and can also handle big trout, especially when you least expect them.
Rising Water Temps On The Gunpowder River
The fishing this week on the Gunpowder has remained challenging, but some anglers are finding rising trout taking midges and blackflies. Jon managed his first trout on a guide trip, nymphing amidst a pod of risers and it was a nice brown as shown in the photo above. In the background Jeff’s client was working over another group of risers until the action waned in the afternoon. We had numerous guided trips this week and while the fishing has been slow at times, most anglers caught a few trout using nymphs and streamers. The water temps are climbing and should soon be in the fifty degree range throughout most sections of the river.
Midges, blackflies and olives on cloudy days are bringing fish to the surface, but the window of opportunity is often small. On a really warm afternoon last week I witnessed stoneflies dropping out of the trees and flying down onto the water’s surface. The bugs continued to fall onto the water in waves, but only a few browns hit the bugs on the surface. I heard a report from an angler fishing a section of river where he saw a good Quill Gordon hatch, and fish taking them. One of our guides even saw a lonely Hendrickson, hatching a few weeks early. Multiple reports from customers mention trout caught on the surface this week, so dries are now an option on warmer days. The river is slowly waking up and we are on the verge of some good fishing in the coming weeks, as the water temp continues to climb.
This video post features some midge fishing footage, a grand slam I got in four casts, and up close footage of some interesting insects found while seining the river bottom.
March Rains, Higher Flows and Hatching Insects On The Gunpowder
Flows on the Gunpowder have climbed with melt off from the snow and steady rains, so it’s no surprise levels rose over 300 CFs today. Once flows hit 400 CFs the wading and fishing opportunities begin to dwindle, but the upper sections usually remain clear enough to cast streamers from the bank. The past week conditions improved on the Gunpowder as warmer weather increased water temps and more insects began hatching along the river. Water temperatures in the upper miles of river are now over 40 degrees, and sections farther downstream are closer to 45 degrees. I fished on Wednesday seeing midges and blackflies hatching in decent numbers, but no risers. Stoneflies were hatching after the ideal extended warm weather we experienced early in the week. I watched over a dozen fluttering adults float downriver before a good sized trout decided to rise up and inhale one off the surface. I walked the river for a few hours nymphing the better runs and keeping an eye out for more risers in the flats. Even with a brief flurry of activity from the insects, the majority of trout weren’t active enough to take the bugs off the surface. In the coming weeks the increasingly warmer weather will get these bugs hatching and the trout feeding on dries. I used the down time on the river to test out a new purchase I made recently. The new array of video cameras on the market is staggering, and with all the new features and smaller sizes, I decided to upgrade. My latest purchase shoots in full 1080 full HD quality, features a 25 power zoom lens and can hold 16 GB of footage, yet is smaller than a 12 oz can of soda. In the latest video I seined up some insects, tested out the macro lens and filmed some stonefly adults, and two nice browns.
Discontinued Abel Super 4 Reel in Brown Trout Finish
At the Backwater Angler fly shop we get a chance to look at and demo tons of reels, lines and rods from the top manufacturers in the fly fishing industry. We all have our own personal tastes in gear, and either gravitate from a purely functional point of view to something beyond eye catching that we just have to own. It’s no surprise when Abel started producing the fish graphic series at pro-deal prices, that I coughed up the cash for a new trout reel in the brown trout finish. The purchase was more fueled by the past experiences I’ve had using Abels than the fancy fish colors. I used an Abel reel when I caught my first Bonefish in Hawaii, my first Atlantic Salmon in Quebec, my first Permit in the Bahamas, and has survived years of both warm and cold saltwater use. I figured based on the performance and durability in the corrosive saltwater applications, I’d have this Abel Super 4 for trout fishing for the rest of my life. It’s a good thing too, because Abel will no longer make this size reel in this series, and is offering a heavy 25% discount on Super Series size 2, 4, 6 and 12 reels. I pulled this information below from Abel’s website:
In an effort to constantly improve products, we continuously evaluate our line. The newer designed reels which include the Super Series 3N and 5N have replaced some of the classic reels due to their narrow profile, increased arbor for better pickup and reduced weight.
The latest Super Series reel to be discontinued is the Super 4 large arbor, excellent for 4-5 weight applications and designed for trout fishing. The standard arbor version of the Super 4, (formally the Big Game 1 model) was once our most popular selling saltwater reel. The width of the reel is at .800, one of the narrowest Super Series in our lineup and had excellent line pickup due to its narrow profile.
Backwater Angler currently has a Super Series 4 brown trout reel in stock, which retails for $700.00, but is currently available for $490.00.
March Fly Fishing On The Gunpowder
The Gunpowder river is flowing at 187 CFs, and water temps have increased a few degrees after a week of warmer air temperatures. The access has improved as far as parking, and most of the catch and release lots are plowed. Access along the trails is also improving as some spots are melted, others packed snow, yet some areas not getting sun are still knee deep. Yesterday water temps in the Falls Road section reached 41 degrees midday, which is up from the previous week’s temps in the 37-39 degree range. The slight increase helped start a sparse midge hatch, which has been long overdue, but I didn’t see any fish rising. Stronger hatches and rising trout may not be far off, if the weather continues to improve. Nymphing midge patterns paired with small nymphs is a good bet, although anglers bottom bouncing may notice the presence of Didymo again in the upper miles below Prettyboy Dam. Sections downriver with a siltier, gravel substrate don’t have as much algae visible as the areas further up river. The best way to minimize “fouling” your flies frequently is to use less weight, rig the indicator closer to the flies and make shorter drifts. Streamer fishing has yielded the best results, and is easier to keep the fly close to, but just off the algae on the river bottom. The past two days on the water I noticed the fish much more aggressive, chasing streamers and landed a couple browns. A few anglers sent in these reports relaying similar success on the Gunpowder.
Guys,
Went out at York Rd. Had only 1 bite (a chub I think) that I long-distance released, and caught one 10-12″ brownie. Caught him on a black articulated bugger, drifted downstream just at dusk between the interstate overpasses and the York Road bridge. Didn’t even see any others! The water was very cold, but not particularly deep, so there didn’t seem to be too much runoff.Other than the cold, the weather was beautiful and it was great to get out! If the snow stays much longer, I’m contemplating carrying snowshoes on a day pack!
Bryan
and another from a 12 year veteran of the Gunpowder,
Hey guys, just to let you know that I’ve noticed since fall that the fish in gunpowder are getting bigger. Before I was catching fish in the 6 to 10 inch range and since fall they’re in the 8 to 14 inch range. I do most of my fishing off the NCR trail near Monkton. Water is high and cold, but the brownies still need to eat. A 14.5 inch brown was caught off a size 16 beadhead pheasant tail dropper off a size 12 of the same. Thanks for the time and effort on your web site and happy fishing.
Jason miller
February Steelheading and Bonefishing
Taylor Brown sent in this recent report where he divided his time between breaking ice off the guides in New York, and wading tropical flats in the Bahamas.
“Theaux, Hope all is well. With the blizzard coming a few weeks ago I was able to get a week and a half off school. I took advantage of the opportunity. I made it up to Pulaski for some steelhead and to the bahamas for a few small bones. I even managed a very very late season COHO. The fishing was on FIRE north and south! Here are a few pics. Enjoy.”
Taylor
Sweetgrass Bamboo Fly Rods In Stock
We recently received four Sweetgrass Bamboo fly rods in the shop with two rods in two different series. The Sweetgrass Series 7’3” Pent, 2 piece 4/5 weight rod above features two tips, agate stripping guide, sterling silver hook keeper, nickel silver ferrules, and polished nickel silver reel seat hardware. The rod is priced at $2000.00, and without the 15 month waiting period, it is no surprise one of these rods already sold quickly. Rod #1287 is available, although with quality craftsmanship and unique components, like the banded agate stripping guide pictured below, it may go fast.
The two Mantra Series bamboo rods in the shop are roughly half the price of the Sweetgrass Series, although all series are built with the same tapers. The Mantra series rods come with one tip, Carballoy stripping guide, black steel hook keeper, nickel silver ferrules and black aluminum reel seat hardware. The Sweetgrass Series Bamboo offers “very high grade cane work,” while the Mantra rods feature “minor cosmetic imperfections.” The description below is off the Sweetgrass website:
These 1-tip rods represent an unparalleled value in bamboo rods. With the same taper as our regular, Sweetgrass Series, the Mantra rods will delight with the same action you would expect from a Sweetgrass Rod. And at half the price, it’s a bargain in artisanal craftsmanship.
The Mantra Series rod pictured above is a 7’9” Hex, 3 piece 4/5 weight bamboo fly rod, which retails for $1250.00. The Mantra Series rod pictured below is a 7’3” Hex, 2 piece 3/4 weight bamboo fly rod, which retails for $995.00.
These five and six sided bamboo rods are ideal for fishing our local rivers and streams in the coming months. All three rods are in the shop for those interested in giving them a closer look.