fishing report - BACKWATER ANGLER

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 …

Winter Nymphing Pays Off on the Gunpowder

February 26, 2009February 26, 2009

The Gunpowder river is clear, flowing at 49 Cfs and is warming slightly from the high 30’s to the low 40’s. Much of the spillover that had been contributing to lower than normal stream temps throughout January and February has lessened, and river temps will start moving up the thermometer in the next few days. Snowshoe rabbit midges sized #20-22, Z-lon, quill and deer hair winged stoneflies #16 and small streamers are worth a shot. If you’re starting early, bring your nymphing game. Dark bead head nymphs in the #16-18 range are typically great Winter go to flies, but until temps move into the high …

Winter Stoneflies and Woody Debris

February 19, 2009

The Gunpowder river is flowing at 68 Cfs and is clear. The sun is shining and river temps are 38 to 42 F throughout the catch and release section. Nymphing with small bead heads, and red butts is an effective way to cover water. Most of the fish are holding in shallow riffles near logs and downed branches in the river-the stonefly nymphs crawl out onto these before pulling out of their shucks. So, if you don’t mind covering a lot of water, (not a bad way to stay warm) use the great trail network, a stream thermometer and keep moving until you find slightly …

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 …

Simms Waders and Winter Fishing Report

January 22, 2009

Thanks to Steve for the following report. Theaux, I had a chance to get in a couple hours of fishing the day after Christmas. Fished upstream from Big Falls Road, experimenting along the way, and after figuring out how to get a bead head pheasant tail close to the bottom, landed a small brown, about 7 inches. The fish was pale, the par marks were very visible, the spots were brilliant red, and the adipose fin was bright orange/red. A beautiful fish indeed. And thanks for helping with selecting my gear. The Simms Rivershed waders and Cloudveil wading boots are perfect. As someone who has …

Fly Fishing Codorus Creek

January 21, 2009

Throughout the past two weeks, I have been exploring a creek located in southern Pennsylvania, just West of the small borough of Jefferson. The stream is called Codorus Creek, and it is only a twenty-minute drive from our Gunpowder River. Codorus is a small tailwater, about twenty to thirty feet wide, and flows year round from the cold depths of Lake Marburg. The stream has some interesting characteristics and features that are different from the Gunpowder. However, Codorus is similar in the fact that it is dominated by wild brown trout. Most of the stream winds its way through cornfield after cornfield. I have only …