Bauer Fly Reel, Scott S4 and Sulphurs

Thanks to Seth for the gear review of the Scott 10ft 4wt 4pc S4 and Bauer M2SL. He also sent in this picture of a wild Gunpowder river brown trout along with a stream report. Great mid-day action on the Gunpowder. Caught five decent Browns, all on a dry fly (Sulpher). They weren’t just sipping either – they were hammering the fly! The new Scott S4 cast like a hot knife through butter and the Bauer M2SL reel had the smoothest action of any reel I’ve ever owned. Thanks again to Jason and Backwater Angler for pairing me up with the greatest rod/reel combo I …

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Bauer M2SL, Winston BIIt and Sulphurs at Masemore

The Gunpowder river is flowing at 84 Cfs , is clear and 60 F. Sulphurs sized #14-16 and Caddis in the #16-18 range have been the ticket. Small soft hackles, cripples and emergers are working in the flat water while more traditional duns and spinners are tricking fish in the riffles. Cloud cover and passing thundershowers are a joy to behold. Long leaders in the 10 to 12 foot range ending in 6x and 7x will help your cause. If you’re starting early, try small pheasant tails and unweighted sulphur nymphs in the pocket water. With the water warming up, zonkers cast upstream along log …

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Sage Z-Axis, Rio Streamer Tip and Great Flows on the Gunpowder

The Gunpowder has remained fishable the past weeks despite levels reaching the mid 200 Cfs range. Fishing streamers and nymphs was very effective in the higher flows, and dry fly action was good in the wider slower moving areas of the river. Flows have leveled out around 100 Cfs, with temps fluctuating from 60-64 depending on air temps and surface water temps on Prettyboy Reservoir.  MD Fisheries and Baltimore City are working together to increase insect hatches by allowing the spillover/releases to warm up the river in a way that is closer to typical freestones in the region. The result being that Sulphurs are out …

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Simms Headwaters Pant Review

Thanks to Ben for the Stream report and Review of the Simms Headwaters Pant. Theaux, Just wanted to say thank you for steering me toward the Simms Headwaters Pant. I really like the reinforced knees for kneeling down in those quiet, shallow pools. Jason pointed me toward the Cloudveil boots which I absolutely love. They are extremely light for hiking those trails and still handle the slippery rocks in the river. The fishing was fantastic this weekend. I started out prospecting with a caddis pupae and hooked into a big brown. Unfortunately, he wrapped my leader around a submerged log and got away. I switched …

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Cinco de Mayo and No Crowds

Cinco de Mayo and no crowds? It’s not the 2009 Influenza A Virus subtype H1N1 keeping crowds from the Gunpowder river-just a few passing thundershowers. Be sure to bring along a rainjacket-masks are optional unless you want some truly undisturbed space out there. River conditions are great, if a little on the high side, the Gunpowder river is flowing at 219 Cfs, is clear and dropping. Water temps throughout the catch and release stretch are ideal at 57 to 59 F. A variety of Sulphurs, Caddis and streamers have been producing along the Gunpowder this week. We have quite a few local patterns on the …

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Dry Fly Fishing On The Gunpowder River

The last two weeks of April brought warmer water temps and good hatches of Hendricksons, Blue Wing Olives and Midges. Lately my 9 foot 4 weight Scott G2 has been getting a lot more use than my ten foot Scott “nymphing” rod. The soft action of the whole G2 rod series excels at short casts, turning over long leaders and protecting light tippets. The brown trout may not be rising, (if you hit a good hatch they will), but putting a fly through the good lies produces strikes with regularity. The most successful technique for me has been fishing shallow riffles/rough pockets using light Hendricksons …

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