fishing report - BACKWATER ANGLER

Streamers and Sulphurs on the Gunpowder River

May 18, 2010May 17, 2010

The Gunpowder river is flowing at 95 Cfs, is 62 F and clear. We’ve had reports of blue winged olives sized #18-20, tiny cream midges in the #22 and smaller range and caddis sized #16,in the mornings. Sulphurs have been coming off sporadically through the mid-morning to late afternoon with more flies massing towards dark. Spinner falls are not to be missed this time of year. Plan on dodging afternoon thundershowers and wait out the rains accompanying them the fish still have to eat. The first fireflies of the season are making themselves known and providing the sulphurs with a little light during their late …

Leaping Trout On The Gunpowder River

May 16, 2010

Trout rising to insects is a common sight on the Gunpowder this time of year. Midge, caddis and mayfly hatches during the course of the day keep the trout looking to the surface for a meal. The sulphur hatch is one that tends to send the trout airborne after emerging duns, and seeing trout flying out of the water isn’t unusual. Many reports from anglers this week mentioned fish rising and leaping out of the water along the Gunpowder. I’ve seen this occurring in just about every stretch of river in the afternoon when the sulphurs start hatching. Throw in a midge hatch and intermittent …

The Beauty Of Streams In Maryland

May 9, 2010

Small to medium size streams are abundant throughout Maryland, and many are downright scenic this time of year. Some of the streams support trout, either stocked or wild, but many also hold populations of bass, panfish, carp and other assorted coarse fish. The joys of fishing these types of places include not needing a big selection of flies, less wary fish, and rarely having to wear waders. The idea is an easy day of fishing where each cast may bring in a different species, and the fly choice boils down to either a black or white wooly bugger. I’ve always enjoyed covering new water and …

Hatching Sulphurs, Caddis and Midges On The Gunpowder River

May 7, 2010

Insect hatches and flows on the Gunpowder River remained consistent over the past week. Water levels dropped from just over 100 Cfs down to 82 cfs, and water temps are changing as less spillover from Prettyboy Dam enters the river. Due to the warm spillover, and the cooler tributaries entering the Gunpowder, the river is actually cooler farther down river. A quick dip of the thermometer reveals the water temperature in the Falls Rd area at between 65-67. The water temperature starts to drop with the addition of flow from numerous tributaries and in the Big Falls stretch the water is a few degrees cooler. …

Swinging Nymphs On The Gunpowder River

May 1, 2010

The hatches on the Gunpowder River over the past month provided many of us with great fishing. Hendricksons, caddis, march browns and sulphurs are all hatching through the afternoon, and many evenings the spinnerfalls bring the fish to the surface. Anglers are catching trout on dries during the day using all variety of patterns, but a great technique is swinging nymphs or pupa patterns. Many brand new anglers on guided trips are learning this simple technique of imitating emerging insects. The number of strikes is often two to three times higher than the number of fish brought to the net, so landing one to two …

Late April Float On The Gunpowder River

April 27, 2010

Matt and I did a second float this month on the Gunpowder. It was his last day on the river for quite a while, since he moves to Montana next month. The weather was ideal, and the water temps in the fifty-nine to sixty degree range. Craneflies and caddis hatched steady all day, in addition to midges and the occasional sulphur. Over the course of the day we spotted trout rising in the riffles and flats, but never tried a dry fly. We crossed paths with another angler who was catching fish on dries, but we were having consistent success with streamers and nymphs. The …