The miracle on 34th St in Hampden properly rings in the season.
Merry Christmas Hon!
Flyfishing over the holidays?
Our Christmas Weekend Hours are:
Open 10 till 2 on Christmas Eve
Closed on Christmas Day
Open 10 till 4 on Monday
Archive
Thanks to Roy for the stream report and photo;
In all my ten plus years fishing this gem I’ve never had a day like this! I worked my way up from the bridge at Falls Rd practicing my euro nymphing skills, I pulled a few fish out of the deeper seams as I fished up stream. I got up towards the big rock that blocks the river up from the bridge and started working the deep hole, I detected a strike and set the hook and the fight was on. My three wt was screeming and I saw the tail of the fish and realized I had a 20″ plus fish on. As I finally tired this brute out I noticed that it wasn’t a rainbow as I suspected but instead a walleye. Yes a walleye, I figure it had to get past the dam and get down here with all this rain we had! This 22″ fish decided to chow down on my egg pattern, I was totally amazed as were the staff of Backwater Angler!
Thanks Backwater for being my fly shop!
Your fellow angler!
Roy Greenway
Thanks to Don and Norma for dropping by Sunday with some fresh baked cookies and a Baltimore Sun article titled; Trail in Gunpowder Falls Park to be Named for Kreh. Today is the official ceremony in Annapolis! The Gunpowder South Trail, now marked with white blazes, will be posted as The Lefty Kreh Fishing Trail by the time the Sulphurs are hatching. In the article, Joe Evans, Maryland DNR’s Fisheries Spokesperson added;
This winding, tree-shaded trail-previously called the Gunpowder South Trail-Follows the Big Gunpowder Falls River, a blue ribbon trout stream that serves as a right of passage for anyone getting into fly fishing in Maryland.
Congrats Lefty, you’re an inspiration to us all!
Round up some holiday stationary, give us a call before noon on December 24th and print out our fly fishing gift certificate at home. We can also send one priority mail with delivery confirmation by December 20 or stop by the shop prior to Christmas and pick up one for your loved ones. Gift Certificates are available in any denomination and can be used for fly fishing gear, fly fishing schools or guide trips. Flies, while not included are great stocking stuffers! Point your gift givers with a Mastercard or VISA to the Backwater Angler Gift Certificates Page.
Gift Certificate Suggestions:
Pick up a certificate for Gear from $25 and up!
Certificates for Fly Fishing Schools are $100 per person.
Spend a half or full day Fly Fishing the Gunpowder with a Backwater Angler Guide $225 to $325.
Remember that Backwater Angler gift certificates can be mailed or emailed in a flash without subjecting your loved ones to beltway angst.
Thanks for shopping where you get your stream report!
Thanks to Kevin for sending in a stream report and wishes of holiday cheer!
Theaux,
Just wanted to say thanks for the info regarding the Gunpowder. Chick and I hit the sections you suggested from dam down to the bridge at Big Falls Road over the day and ½ we had to fish. Friday (upper section Masemore Rd to the Dam) was much more productive than Sat (York to Big Falls Rd). We landed a mix of Browns and Bows on Friday but had only two small Browns on Sat. Water looked perfect but we either missed the timing, set up or they just were not interested. We struggled to even spot many fish in the lower section. We wanted to make a stop at the shop and thank you in person before we left on Sat but time got away from us and we had to hit the road back home. Looking forward to seeing you again and spending more time exploring the river.
Thanks again and have a wonderful Holiday.Tight Lines,
Kevin
The Gunpowder River is flowing at 191 CFs, is clear and 47.5 F. With the reservoir at full pool and spilling over, the river is still behaving more like a freestone than a tailwater. It has been moving up slightly with each passing rain shower and is still pushing a bit. Be sure to use the trails, limit your wading and stop by the shop and pick up a few lite-brite zonkers and a mini-sinktip before hiking down into the boulder pools. Reports of fish taking Blue Winged Olive patterns in the flats were still coming in this afternoon. The mild weather some lucky anglers took advantage of this week should be sticking around through the weekend so get out while you can. Pictured above is a chunky wild brown released by Capt. Jeff Lewatowski. Thanks to Tom for the stream report from the first week of December:
Hey Theaux - Good to see you yesterday. Got a chance to get out today and for the first time, took two strung rods with me. Carried one broken down on the backpack. Streamer on one and snowshoe bwo from the shop on the other. Had several nice 11″+ fish on the streamer and a handful of smaller fish on the olive. Even had a visit from a bald eagle. He perched up high about 30 yds away and hung around for about 30 minutes. An awesome day on the river.
Tom
The Gunpowder River is 49.5 F and is coming down from 336 Cfs today. This bright rainbow, released by Megan Lewatowski fell for a BWO nymph as the river was quieting down and flowing in the mid 200’s. Last weekend we had several reports that fish were moving on streamers. Blue Winged Olives were coming off and fish were taking snowshoe rabbit patterns in the flat water and pools. With more rain and a dusting of snow midweek the river started acting like a freestone again, moving up from 2.32 Ft and 196 CFs to 4.03 Ft and 665 Cfs. If you’re heading out this weekend leave the three weight in the truck, be sure to bring a wading staff and plan on fishing a five or six weight. The river has been clearing all week as the reservoir just turned over. Fishing streamers with a sink-tip line or Airflo sinking Polyleader might be in order, will be a lot easier to cast than a streamer with three BB shot and will allow the fly to drift rather than swing. With a few warm days ahead of us anglers interested in fishing through the afternoons this weekend should connect in the back eddies and flat water with Mike Bachkosky’s BWO unusuals and “Phunny” emergers from the muffin tins. Longer leaders are a must when the water is up-so try a 12ft 6x with the dries and emergers to allow for better drifts over fish that are holding behind woody debris and along shallow edges.
Note: Need a break from the relatives this weekend? The shop will be closed Thursday and will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10AM till 4PM. The shop will be closed on Monday and will resume regular hours on Tuesday. Happy Thanksgiving!
To say that the river is unfishable at these levels is a gross understatement. It’s dangerous, and not just for anyone trying to fish this holiday weekend. Anyone planning on using the river responsibly, (kayakers included) should give it a few days to settle down. Tuesday the Gunpowder River was flowing at a gauge height of 2.35 FT and 203 CFS. Today, the river peaked at 7.2 FT and 1, 690 CFS. The United States Geological Survey, (USGS) measures the Gunpowder River in feet and flow at the Falls Rd gauging station in Parkton, MD.
The top hydrograph shows the dramatic, sudden and dangerous effect that rainfall has on the Gunpowder River when Prettyboy Reservoir is managed by Baltimore City at full pool, (during hurricane season no less) and spillover occurs. The rise in river levels on the top graph is expressed in feet.
Floods caused by spillover are disruptive not only for any recreational users interested in spending a day afield but for the wild fish in this nationally recognized tailwater fishery that have been clearing redds in earnest to spawn the next generation.
At first glance, during a flood of this magnitude, the river is full of water and mud. Upon closer inspection, the spillover and accompanying high flows that cause dangerous river levels upstream in Gunpowder State Park accelerate erosion by undercutting and destabilizing banks and effect the degradation of downstream waters.
The concurrent sediment loading into Loch Raven Reservoir, ignores the 2006 Environmental Protection Agency Total Maximum Daily Load, (TMDL) for Phosphorous and Sediment in Loch Raven. TMDL’s are described in the document as;
A TMDL reflects the total pollutant loading of the impairing substance a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards. TMDLs are established to achieve and maintain water quality standards. A water quality standard is the combination of a designated use for a particular body of water and the water quality criteria designed to protect that use. Designated uses include activities such as swimming, drinking water supply…
As it relates to water supply designations, Loch Raven reservoir delivers drinking water to approximately 1.5 million Baltimore metro area residents. However, the protocol that allows severe flooding via spillover not only has the potential to degrade downstream waters but is also counter to The Reservoir Watershed Management Agreement of 2005, Which states in part, under Program Goals that;
The broadest and most fundamental goal of the Reservoir Program is to ensure that the three reservoirs and their respective watersheds will continue to serve as: (a) Sources of high-quality raw water for the Baltimore metropolitan water-supply system; and (b) Areas where the surface waters will continue to support existing environmental, wildlife-habitat, and aesthetic purposes, as well as beneficial recreational uses.
The rise in river levels on the bottom graph is expressed in CFS, (cubic feet per second). For perspective, triangles in the lower quadrant of the graph express daily median flows calculated over the past ten years. Today’s triangle represents a median flow of 49 CFS.
The agreement Penned by then Mayor, now Governor, Martin O’Malley and the City Council of Baltimore; Baltimore County, Carroll County; the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Maryland Department of Agriculture; the Baltimore County Soil Conservation District and the Carroll Soil Conservation District; the Reservoir Watershed Protection Committee; and the Baltimore Metropolitan Council is being ignored to the detriment of the river, its biological communities, recreational users and the residents of the Baltimore City Metro Area which depend on the Gunpowder River for their daily drinking water needs. If you’re still reading and are interested in this matter please contact us via email
Related post: Prettyboy Spillover leads to Gunpowder River Flooding Mayhem
The Gunpowder River is flowing at 124 CFs is 54.5F and clear. Blue Winged Olives are still coming off mid-morning in the flat water. Leaders in the 10ft to 12 ft range ending in 6 or 7x have been necessary to trick the wild fish. With rain in the forecast better fishing days are ahead of us. More rain means more spillover-more flow and ultimately, less selective trout. Hard to believe that it is 64 degrees mid-November! Fly fishing after noon with tiny Caddis are still worth a shot. Those intent on swinging flies are finding no shortage of leaves out there. A safer bet is to dead-drift streamers underneath an indicator-especially around the log jams! Judging from my float this past Saturday with Patuxent RIVERKEEPER Fred Tutman there are still quite a few stocked fish in the lower river that are holding in deep pools.
