With almost three and a half inches of rain recorded in the past week, and a sprinkling of snow Sunday morning, we officially have frost on the punkin in the Hereford Zone. Yesterday the Gunpowder was spilling at 336 Cfs. If you’re planning on fishing through a brisk lunch hour today, the river has been dropping from 236 Cfs, (as of 10:15 this morning) and it is clear above Bluemount Rd and 53 F. The river should continue to drop in the next few days. With water levels falling along the Gunpowder, and with air temps becoming downright balmy by mid-week, conditions point to great …

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This morning Alex McCrickard stopped in after a productive morning fishing the Gunpowder river with large nymphs and small streamers at 249 Cfs. Alex, now a freshman at The University of the South, sent along some photos and a quick report after fly fishing the Elk River, Tenessee in between classes at Sewanee. What’s going on? It’s pretty crazy here but I’ve been trying to balance the work load with the social life. That’s an impressive fish Jeffs’ client caught. I have managed to get out on the Elk river twice since I’ve been here at Sewanee. It’s a tailwater that’s about 30 minutes from …

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Backwater Angler Staffer and bamboo rod builder Bill Felter sent in an interesting report from this past weekend in western Maryland- “My birthday was this past Sunday and my wife and I spent part of the holiday weekend doing some light backcountry camping in western Maryland. We passed up the Savage and its perfect flows and instead headed up to a tributary of Savage River Reservoir, for a little brook trout fishing. That was the plan anyway-to fish for brookies-but 10 minutes after leaving the house a deep sense of dread came over me. Oh, crap! The fly rods! I had forgotten the fly rods. …

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Thanks to Adam Wilner for the fishing reports from the San Juan and Animas. Thanks to a buddy’s wedding, last week I was able to re-visit my old stomping grounds in the Southwest where I used to be guide. The first morning we wet a line in the San Juan river in northern New Mexico. This river probably has more 17-24″ trout per mile than any other river in the country. This tailwater fishery flows through high desert terrain at about 48 degrees all year. Size 20-26 midge and baetis nymphs are the ticket and there are some pools and flats where a tiny midge …

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