With snow out of the forecast for a while, I’d make weekend plans to fish the Gunpowder. Flow is the nicest we’ve seen in a while at ~160 Cfs and the water temp has been climbing into the mid 40’s. Little black and early brown stoneflies have been tricking lots of fish lately between Falls Rd and Bunkerhill Rd. A renegade, big griffith’s gnat or a bivisible are essential early Spring patterns-don’t leave home without them.
The following is a review of the Winston Boron IIX 4 Piece Rod by Michael Maas. Thanks Michael! I just purchased the Winston Boron IIx so I can only offer my first impressions on the rod. The first thing that I noticed about the Winston Boron IIx was the weight, or rather the lack thereof — the 8 wt weighs less than my trout rods. However, despite being incredibly light, this rod does not sacrifice backbone, being able to handle a tremendous amount of line with very little effort. Even long casts with a heavy bass bug were made with very little difficulty, despite the …
The water is in great shape and the warm weather has really turned things around.Following are a few tales from anglers fishing the catch and release section for your enjoyment. From Bill, “There were quite a few large brown stoneflies on the water, but the fish were being real selective.I managed to land six fish skating a #14 versionof the pattern I gave you,including a nice 13 incher… From Scott, Hi guys. Fished today with a quill winged stonefly (dark wing, brown hackle) and knocked ’em dead. Stoneflies were coming off in large numbers from 12 until 2. Dry fly fishing as good as the …
Where are they? Was the most asked question in the shop this weekend. Water temps were still on the low side of 40 F and Falls Rd. through Masemore was very busy by mid-morning and some early birds were off the water by 10:30 or so. Fish are still midging and a cream cdc midge emerger in a #20 or #22 behind a #14 stonefly is still my pick. If the water warms up through the week, try those stones again in the riffles and sunny flats. In the morning, start out with a #16 bead head prince or zug bug before switching to a …
We had a nice report from a young man at Masemore yesterday that was picking up fish on a #16 Little Black Stonefly. Water temps have risen to 41 F through most of the catch and release section and the flow is back down to a nice level. Warmer weather this weekend bodes well for those who wish to trick fish with dries. Riffles from Masemore downstream through Big Falls should not be neglected. Get out and fish. Note: Safety first! As the float passes, if you can’t catch beads or doubloons in your hands, don’t pick them up off the street-instead place your foot …
It’s nice to see some grass for a change. The gauge is showing flow at 180 Cfs. The water level is up a bit from mid-week and the river temps are still in the high 30’s. Midges have been more important this week than the stones. A #22 cream or grizzly midge should work fine-if you’d like to fish two flies, try a heavily hackled stonefly in a #16 with a #20-22 cdc midge emerger behind it. The river should warm up over the next few days and as the water temps hit the the low 40’s it’s best to hold onto your hat. The …
