The Gunpowder river is flowing at 668 CFs and is dropping. A full reservoir, coupled with 19″ of snow from the last storm, and a warm and rainy Christmas weekend in the Hereford Zone, pushed the river up to 1, 070 CFs last night. An angler who stopped in the shop yesterday at 8 AM tried his luck at Masemore until a tree floated past him. Typically, flows below 275 Cfs are more reasonable for fly fishing the Gunpowder but even at those levels one should limit wading and use the excellent trail network to get around the river. If pitching streamers from the bank …

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The Gunpowder River flow increased to over 600 CFs midweek at the Falls Road gauge, when warm air and rainfall melted the snow that fell the previous week. Once the river flows dropped below 400 CFs, I spent some time nymphing and swinging streamers Thursday. A combination of cold night air and spillover dropped river temps into the 40s, but browns were still eating a variety of patterns. The increase in flow and colder water required deep, slow drifts for nymphing. The takes were really subtle, so using a Thingamabobber, and extra weight on the line helped detect these strikes. The trout preferred big or …

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The first snow storm of the year dropped three to four inches in the Hereford/Monkton area yesterday morning through late last night. Anglers braved the snow storm yesterday, and a number of reports included rising trout and empty parking lots at river accesses. Today the bright sun is melting the snow on the roads and trees, so river flows may increase over the next few days. A number of cars were parked along the Masemore stretch this morning, yet no anglers in sight at the bridge above. This week a good olive hatch had trout feeding on the surface on the tiny mayflies, and many …

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