New Abel Vaya’s in Stock

We have just restocked our reel case with some beautiful Abel Vaya’s. There is simply no other reel like it. The Vaya is one of our favorite reels here at Backwater Angler not only for its stunning looks but also for it durability and technology. Crafted by avid Colorado anglers, the VAYA series debuts an all-new technical look and feel paired with outstanding performance. The partially-ported VAYA frame offers the unique combination of minimized weight, incredible rigidity, and just enough surface area to highlight Abel’s hand-anodized finishes. The frame interior also features varying sets of CNC-milled fly patterns, relevant to each size of reel. The large-arbor …

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January 8th Gunpowder Fishing Report

The river is running at 61 cfs and the temperature is 41 degrees. Over this last week with the colder temperatures and snow the river has dropped in temperature and has raised in flows.  have been fishing a lot of small zebra midge patterns and also some small dry flies such as a sz 20 Griffiths gnat or a very small parachute style fly. although it has not been as productive the past couple of days, streamer fishing has been pretty good as well. Black and olive buggers have been working best with the occasional  Maddison sculpin picking up a few fish here and there. …

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New Scott Centric Fly Rods in the Shop

Recently we received three new Scott Centrics this week at Backwater Angler: The 9 foot 4 weight, 9 foot 5 weight, and 10 foot 4 wight, all 4 piece rods. Each rod provides advantages in different situations and are Scott’s top of the line rods. The 10 foot 4 weight is the most specialized of the three rods. The extra length makes it ideal to use for nymphing, both tight-line and indicator nymphing. The tip section provides enough sensitivity to use for tight-line nymphing, however still has the back-bone to lift heavy nymph  rigs and cast them upstream. The biggest advantage of the extra length …

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The Gunpowder River New Year Stream Report

The river is flowing at 138cfs and the temperature is 45 degrees, both dropping quickly with the cold front hitting today. The Gunpowder has been fishing best with streamers and small nymphs. With the cold streamer fishing could slow down, but with the water being higher fish may still be active enough to chase a bigger fly. Some patterns that have been effective have been the slump buster, grey ghost, and wooly  buggers. Nymphing should be the go-to tactic if you want to maximize the amount of fish caught in the winter months. The most effective patterns have been those imitating midges: Zebra midges, WD-40s, …

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End of the Year Gunpowder River Fishing Report

The Gunpowder is flowing at 58.2 cfs and 44.2F. With warmer temperatures in the next few days, fishing should be exceptional until we get a cold snap. You can find fish sipping midges in the slower pools. Fishing Griffiths Gnats and small parachutes in sizes 16-22 will be the most productive. Often the smaller sizes work better this time of year. Although nymphing has been effective on the river, the blooms of didymo can make nymphing tedious. One of the best ways to combat this is fishing a dry-dropper. The most effective nymphs this time of year are going to be midge imitations. Putting these …

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New Winston Bamboo

We are now listing a new 7’9″ 5 weight bamboo fly rod from Winston. The rod comes with a spare tip section and has three pieces making up the rod. If you are looking to get into Bamboo rods you will not find a better rod to purchase. This rod is listed at $3500 from Winston. If you are interested please contact us at 410-357-9557 or at backwateragnler@gmail.com and we will get back to you as soon as we can. Winston has been making BAMBOO rods since 1929, when Robert Winther and Lew Stoner first began innovating using split bamboo cane. We have patented the …

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