This week the brutal cold spell finally lifted in Northern Baltimore County, and air temps hit the mid 40s toward the end of the week through the weekend. The water temps are still really cold, (37-39 degrees) with the majority of air temp influenced flow spilling over Prettyboy dam. We have been fielding a lot of calls and questions in the shop about where the water is warmest, and here is what I found. At Noon on Friday water temps on the Gunpowder at Falls Road measured 37.8 degrees, 38.3 degrees at Bluemount Road, and Little Falls was 38.1 degrees. On Saturday, on a guide trip the water spiked from 38.6 to 40.6 degrees midday at York Road, when air temps climbed to 46 degrees. The fishing has been challenging, but a few hours on the water usually equals a few fish on the line. Tandem nymph rigs or flashy streamers are working the best for the customers passing through the shop. On Friday, after checking temps I decided to fish an area I haven’t tried since the Summer. While nymphing a deep hole I lost a hard fighting fish on a nymph rig, shaking me loose before I had a chance to see the fish. A short distance upriver I came tight again to a good sized trout, but got this one into the net. The brown above measured 15 inches and was caught outside the catch and release section of the Gunpowder. I filmed some other fish and the first stonefly of the year in the first video post of 2010.
Aside from fishing and a little video work, I was breaking in a new pair of the Simms Vibram soled Headwaters boots, as shown in the pic above. This is the lightest, bare-bones, Simms boot and they work great on muddy banks, rock slabs, ice and snow. The clean gravel in the photo above and lack of Didymo is a welcome relief for anglers fishing the Gunpowder, since the past two Winters the algae thrived in the low flows. The high water through the Fall of 09 and the continuous precipitation and spillover this Winter has helped thwart this nuisance from taking hold again. At least for now anyway. Unfortunately, as some may already know, it was announced a month ago that Didymo was discovered in the Savage River in Western Maryland. There is a wealth of information available on how to contain and kill these invasives, but not much on the effects they will have on our fisheries in the years to come.
Archive for the 'video' Category
On Wednesday of this week the Gunpowder flow climbed to 400 Cfs, and it was prime time to swing some big streamers. Wading was limited at these flows to a few steps off the bank, as the current was quite swift, but many accesses were fishable from shore. In many cases the trout were pushed against the banks and extremely active on flies at the end of the swing. In a few hours ten fish landed was a small number compared to the number of fish chasing, short striking or the ones that shook the hook. I did land a heavy trout (pic above), just under 15 inches, that fought hard and felt huge in the heavy current. A trico mayfly spinnerfall was ongoing from 11 am to 1 pm, and trout were rising in the soft water along the shore. In addition to spill over increasing water levels, the water temperature increased a few degrees yet the water was still clear. On Thursday I fished at two different accesses, as the river dropped steadily through the day from the mid 300s to the upper 200s. Streamers continued to produce a lot of strikes and chases, but brought fifteen browns between 8-13 inches to the net. The patterns I was using worked on average size browns, but also piqued the interest of trout much, much larger than anglers would expect from the Gunpowder. The cloudy weather brought out BWOs and only seemed to intensify the trico hatch, as I filmed quite a cloud in the middle of a mating dance. While most of the river was still fast and pretty rough in the narrow areas, a number of long flats and backeddies had risers steadily working the surface. On Friday flows dropped down below 200 and while browns were still focused on streamers, a lot more fish were rising to the hatches of small mayflies. Saturday flows dropped to 150 Cfs, although more rain is forecasted so flows may climb again. If flows spike above 200 Cfs on the Gunpowder consider fishing, as the latest video features shots of high flows, clouds of tricos and some hungry wild brown trout.
I arrived on Sunday October 18th in the afternoon at the Savage River after a three hour drive across Maryland through some incredible Fall scenery. The air temps were in the high thirties in the mountains and continued to climb into the fifties each day through the week. I decided to focus on nymphing the deeper runs and chutes found throughout miles of the Savage, as levels were perfect at 100 Cfs with water temps in the high fifties. In a few hours that first afternoon I caught a few ten to twelve inch browns, and cycled through a number of different patterns. On Monday morning I hiked into a favorite stretch and started working a deep, almost bottomless pool. After three drifts, I made a weight adjustment and on the fourth drift the indicator shot under and I set the hook on what initially felt like a rock. The rod doubled over and the fish just bulldogged me to the bottom in a back and forth battle; over and over again. I never got a clear look until I turned the fish at the net, but by the strength of the runs I knew it was a big fish. I measured the brown (pictured below) out at 18 inches, thick bodied and a head as big as my size ten Patagonia River Walker boot. Finally recovered from my injury (foot also pictured below) I felt a bit of redemption landing this particular fish after missing out on a month of guiding/fishing and canceled trips to Colorado and Western Maryland.
Using my Scott S4 10 foot 4 weight I dredged the bottom of the deepest holes with long 12-14 foot leaders, thingamabobber and using a lot of weight to get the flies deep. I fished a number of nymph patterns, and the fish were willing to take a variety of different flies, if the drift was good. Cleaning leaves and algae off the hook were frequent chores, but deep nymphing as usual on the Savage. I covered a lot of water by Monday afternoon and landed over a dozen browns, with the majority over twelve inches. In addition to the brown above, and a number of nine to thirteen inch browns, I measured out one fourteen, one fifteen, one sixteen, and one sixteen and a half inch brown by day’s end. I had three more days of fishing left, and doubted any of the coming days would top this day. On Tuesday I moved a few miles into a different stretch of river with the arrival of warm and sunny weather. The hatches really started mid morning and I saw caddis, midges, and counted four different mayfly species. I saw a few risers at the end of a midday spinnerfall, but stuck with the deep nymphing rig. At the end of the day Tuesday I caught a few seven to ten inch brook trout and ten browns ranging from eight to thirteen inches, with three more browns over fourteen inches. Between the Fall foliage, warm weather and great fishing on miles of water with almost no anglers, it really couldn’t get much better.
On Wednesday the Savage flows increased to 250 Cfs in an attempt to meet elevation goals for draining the reservoir for dam repairs this Winter. It seemed as good a time as any to drive over to the North Branch and wet a line, as the Savage fish adjusted to the rising water. I fished the Barnum access and came across a number of other anglers who relayed decent catches on bead head nymphs, san juan worms, wet flies and egg patterns. I cycled through a number of different patterns but had success on caddis pupas, scud patterns and pink San Juans. The majority of trout landed were rainbows 12-19 inches, and a few smaller browns. After speaking to ten or twelve anglers on the same stretch, few big browns were seen or landed, so I planned to fish the Savage the next day. Thursday was spent finding pools and pocket water where a decent drift in softer water with nymphs was possible with the rougher 250 Cfs flow. I decided in the last hour of daylight to break out my streamer rig, a Sage Z-Axis 10 foot 5 weight paired with a sinking tip line and a five inch articulated streamer on 3x tippet. I had a number of chases and swipes, and only one solid hook up, which pulled free. I ended the day content with eight fish all over ten inches with one heavy fourteen inch brown to show for a lot of rough wading situations, lost flies and lost fish in the higher flows. Friday was spent working in the rain, guiding a client who had never fished the North Branch. We jumped in where we could amongst the crowds above Barnum and fished up to the island, having a good time landing bows from 13-19 inches, and hooking a few other trout that shook the fly. On Saturday I slept in late and headed for home mid morning after a great week of weather, camping and catching some beautifully colored, hard fighting wild browns. The latest video features a quick shot of a BWO, caddis and parallep spinner I saw hatching early in the week on the Savage. It also includes footage of wild browns in a variety of sizes all caught in the Savage River.
The Gunpowder River flow peaked late Friday night at 1,700 cubic feet per second at the Falls Road gauge and at over 2,600 cubic feet per second at the Glencoe Rd gauge. Recent heavy rainfall and a full reservoir resulted in spillover despite a release made by Baltimore City Friday afternoon. Flows are slowing dropping, and currently at 1,610 cubic feet per second at the latest 6:00 am gauge reading at Falls Rd. Generally flows on the Gunpowder are wadeable, but very challenging at or just over 300 Cfs, but higher flows present a real danger above that level. Anglers may not have opportunities to fish through this weekend, but can monitor flows to follow the status of the Gunpowder.
Related video post:
The Savage and North Branch of the Potomac rivers were at typical late Summer low flows while fishing last week, so these rougher rivers were much easier to wade. The North Branch flowing under 200 Cfs was at prime levels for nymphing the deeper slots where many fish concentrated and allowed sight fishing to big fish in shallow riffles. Hopper-dropper rigs were also a great way to fish these levels and effectively cover different types of water. Numerous miles were recently stocked with large rainbows in the 3-6 pound range, and some wild browns in the twenty inch range were visible in certain runs.
The MD Fisheries biologists were conducting the electroshocking surveys on the Savage River in the mornings, but flows rose and leveled out in the afternoon at 60 Cfs. Blue quills, caddis and midges brought fish to the surface sporadically during the day, but by evening trout were rising in the flat water pools. A highly successful tactic was highsticking the rough pocket water with big dries on long 6x leaders, which amounted to 10-12 fish to the net over a few hours of fishing in the afternoon. Numerous trout quickly erupted on dries in the pocket water, so missing a number of fish was common. The selective feeders in the pools were challenging midday, but the bright sun didn’t prevent the opportunistic fish in the swift water areas from rising. The flat water trout were more aggressively taking flies sized 22-26 toward the last half hour before dark each night. On my last day I caught a dozen trout and got the Savage Slam; eleven inch Rainbow and Brook trout, and a seventeen inch Brown.
The latest video includes a huge, rising brown trout feeding on tiny spinners at Noon on the Savage river, a mix of wild fish caught on the Savage, and heavy rainbows on the North Branch.
The fishing conditions on the Gunpowder are good for dry fly fishing. The fishing is certainly challenging, but between the morning Trico hatch and terrestrial fishing, trout are rising to a variety of patterns in weekday lower flows. On certain weekends releases may not occur if there is no need to send water to Loch Raven. The most important factor in low water conditions is not spooking the wary, wild Gunpowder trout, which is certainly easer said than done. Longer casts, 12-15 foot leaders, and staying out of the water where possible, will greatly improve the odds of catching trout. The shallow water and the heat makes for a warm day in waders, so consider wet wading. A pair of 2 mm neoprene Simms Guard socks in stock will keep your feet from going numb in the mid fifty degree water in the Upper river. These “spring creek” conditions present numerous sight fishing opportunities and a well placed first cast is all that is needed.
The morning Tricos are luring a number of anglers to the river, although many head home just after Noon when the hatch ends. Most access points are quiet and even boat traffic is limited or non existent upstream of York Rd, due to the shallow water. On two days this week I fished the Trico hatch, and stayed from 1-4 pm fishing a foam “Gunpowder” beetle on a 14 foot 6x leader. On both days the number of fish caught on the beetle exceeded fish caught on Tricos, and added up to a lot of trout with the combined morning catch. Terrestrials are always fun to fish, but spotting trout, making the cast and watching the take in crystal clear water adds a whole new element. For the late risers, haters of 7x, and tiny flies, consider fishing beetles, the shop has a wide variety of patterns. This video post features wild browns with big appetites for foam and rubber legged beetle patterns.
The Gunpowder river is flowing at 32 Cfs, is 54F and gin clear. Passing clouds this week have made tiny Blue Winged Olives a good bet. The Trico hatch has been consistent from Falls Rd downstream through Bunkerhill. We’ve had some reports this week of Tricos spinners falling as late as 1 PM. Long leaders in the 9 ft to 12 ft range ending in the 6 to 7x range will make a difference between fishing and catching wiley Gunpowder river brown trout. We have Mike Bachkosky’s Tricos on the front counter sized #20-#24 and lots of 7 and 8x should you need it!
If you’ve grown tired of the “dreaded tinys,” try a small hopper in front of them, then “drop” the Trico behind the large fly and hold on. Caddis pupa in the #14-16 range are also worth a shot but are best fished with a small Hare’s Ear dropper.
Related Video post:
Clouds of Tricos along the Gunpowder River
