Fly Fishing Tough but Necessary for Some

The Gunpowder river is flowing at 142 CFs, is gin clear and 38 F. Small #16-18 stonefly nymphs, san juan worms and large wooly buggers and sculpin patterns have been accounting for a few wild fish. Cabin fever is upon us! Fishing conditions are, well, tough out there, especially with headlines looming like, Snow Appetizer to the Main Event, but some lucky folks are at least managing to get their lines wet. As illustrated by the following stream reports, when it comes down to it, fly fishing is necessary and important to some no matter what the weather. However, if your feet, shins or knees …

Read more

Winter Small Stream Fishing Report

The cold weather is back in Northern Baltimore County, and the recent snow storm dropped close to five inches in Monkton this past weekend. The Gunpowder flows dropped to 137 CFs on Sunday, and water temps are still below 40 degrees. Earlier this week I found some respite from numb toes and tough fishing by playing a hunch and venturing to some smaller water in search of warmer water temps. On a forty plus degree day, I took a ride to a tiny creek armed with only one small fly box, my Scott Fiberglass six foot one weight rod, and a pair of Hunter boots. …

Read more

A Texas Fly Fisherman Leaves the Guadalupe and Returns to Maryland, Coldwater and Wild Fish

Thanks to Daniel for the fishing report and kind words from his trip to the Gunpowder this past Saturday. Hey Theaux, I just wanted to thank you for mapping out some of the local river crossings for me earlier today. I had an awesome time out there! It was my first trip on the Gunpowder and I must say I’m in love already. It was cold and the fishing was tough. I had to dip my tip often because of ice. I managed to fool a small brown into striking a brown bugger below a log jam, just as you suggested. Its been years since …

Read more

More Winter Weather, Leonard Rods and Cornhuskers

The Gunpowder river is flowing at 155 Cfs, is clear and river water temps are still below 40 F. The wind and cold this week has made for challenging fishing. Stoneflies are about but not many fish are willingly to commit to dries. We were paid a visit midweek by a hardy Nebraskan angler from the Cornhusker Fly-Fishers . They have a CCF CARPFEST listed on the site that looks interesting-any takers? Gunpowder regular Carl also stopped in this week with some old paper goods- a 1976 Leonard Spring Catalog and a 1969 issue of TU’s Trout magazine with a dead ringer for Curt Gowdy …

Read more

Mid-January Gunpowder Fishing Report

This week the brutal cold spell finally lifted in Northern Baltimore County, and air temps hit the mid 40s toward the end of the week through the weekend. The water temps are still really cold, (37-39 degrees) with the majority of air temp influenced flow spilling over Prettyboy dam. We have been fielding a lot of calls and questions in the shop about where the water is warmest, and here is what I found. At Noon on Friday water temps on the Gunpowder at Falls Road measured 37.8 degrees, 38.3 degrees at Bluemount Road, and Little Falls was 38.1 degrees. On Saturday, on a guide …

Read more

Stoneflies are in Your Future

The Gunpowder is flowing at 106 Cfs is clear, and is dangerously close to 38 F at Falls Rd. Slightly warmer water can be found a little further downstream as we still have a lot of spillover that’s keeping the upper sections cool. Large streamers dead drifted under indicators and stonefly nymphs fished through the shallow gravel are good bets. If conditions stay this warm, stoneflies should be buzzing soon. Black flies are also on the way and can be imitated with a number of midge patterns that have just arrived-just be sure to use plenty of 7x. We’ve had more than a few people …

Read more