fishing report - BACKWATER ANGLER

Fly Fishing the Gunpowder River with Caddis and Midges

June 29, 2011

The Gunpowder river is flowing at 66 Cfs, is gin clear and cold at 52F. Mixed hatches of cream midges, Bwo’s, caddis and a few #19 Sulphurs are spurring wild fish to look up-prompting folks to try their luck on the river with dries. With the holiday approaching the river is surprisingly quiet. Nymphing with #16-18 pheasant tails trailed by a zebra midge in the mornings is a safe bet. Switch gears instead of swinging streamers, slide on an indicator at about twice the water depth and cast upstream and dead-drift a zonker along the log jams. Thanks to Kiki for the pic and stream …

Another Release On The Gunpowder River

June 23, 2011

The shop received an update that a release was made this morning at Prettyboy Dam. The latest release is an attempt to draw down reservoir levels to eliminate spillover. When reservoir levels drop below the lip of the dam, the release will be cut back to a lower flow. Flows are expected to level out at 100 CFs through the weekend into early next week. Water temps are fluctuating from the low to mid fifties through the day. Caddis and sulphurs are still hatching midday, and bringing fish to surface. Nymphs are working well, and anglers should consider fishing midge or nymph patterns down to …

Cold Water Release On The Gunpowder

June 14, 2011

The Gunpowder River flow climbed into the 600 CFs range over the weekend. A release was made to stop the hot spillover, which began after a thunder storm produced heavy rains. The water temp rose into the low seventies, but quickly dropped when the valve was opened. Flows are now back to a normal 103 CFs, and a chilly 50 degrees. Sulphurs and caddis are still bringing fish to the surface, and small nymphs will work when the hatch slows. A black Zonker worked well for me on the Gunpowder, as the flow dropped yesterday evening. A few days ago I decided to try my …

Higher Flows On The Gunpowder River

June 11, 2011

Flows were bumped up to 65 CFs at Falls Road on the Gunpowder River. Currently the gauge is down, but the water is flowing at good levels. Water temps climb from 48 degrees to around 58 during the afternoon. The change in flow and fluctuation in temps has the sulphurs hatching midday. I guided an angler yesterday, and we encountered a quick sulphur hatch from 1-3pm. One of our other guides was out in the morning, and reported seeing sulphurs hatching all morning. The evening is still a good time to catch a spinnerfall. Many anglers reported rising trout after 7:30 until dark. The river …

Warm Water Fly Fishing In Maryland

June 9, 2011

There are many warm water fishing options in Central Maryland during the Summer months. Anglers can fish large reservoirs, ponds, rivers and even small streams across the state. Once June arrives I start to spend a day or two a week exploring numerous warm water hotspots. I went over to Loch Raven Reservoir last week armed with my 1 weight Scott fiber glass rod. I quickly located a fallen tree swarming with crappies. My camera was dead, so it was just an hour of catching and releasing a few dozen “paper mouths.” A few days later I returned to the area to find the fish …

Low, Frigid Flows On The Gunpowder River

June 6, 2011June 4, 2011

The past two releases from Prettyboy Dam brought water temps down to safe levels for trout. The water temp was climbing into the upper sixties last week due to surface spillover. The flow went from a mix of spillover and release to a flow of 150 CFs. The river temps dropped down to the low fifties, and the reservoir levels dropped just below the lip of the Prettyboy Dam. Wednesday morning flows were cut back to 30 CFs with 46-48 degree water pulled from a lower gate. The threat of thunderstorms and water lapping only inches from spilling over was cause for an additional release. …