Typical summer fishing. Early mornings, caddis are generally good. As the day progresses, shift to beetles, ants, and hoppers. Finding shaded areas during midday has yielded some big trout (for this river, anyway). The catch-and-release section has been incredible all season. Starting to see tricos in 20-22, and even smaller, all the way up to the Prettyboy Dam. Plenty of fish eating nymphs (the usual assortment: GRHE, PT), green weenies, and san juan worms.
I have been fishing during hot days, dropping a size 18 ant off a foam beetle (sz 12), with yesterday being one of my best days dry fly fishing yet. Caught my biggest brown on a dry, a 17 inch male that raced out from under a boulder to gulp down the beetle. That fish was caught after the two previous casts each yielded 14-inchers from the same 15-yard stretch of rock and tree overhangs.
I’ve seen a bunch of snakes lately, and not knowing what kind they are, I’d caution anyone who ventures out there to tread loudly unless you’re in the water.
the river is alive in the early morning with caddis, sizes 20-22, maybe a few 18s but not many. BWOs are hatching at least above Falls Rd in large numbers. I witnessed a thick one this morning, despite the sun. It must have been the cooler air, but regardless the fish were all over them. sizes 18-20. fish are not feeding on anything else during the BWO hatch…not even caddis.
after 11 AMish, fish are looking at everything: nymphs, dries, even buggers. I and two buddies caught several fish on ants, beetles, copper johns, stimulators, caddis and brown woolly buggers. My personal favorite is a size 12 foam beetle (herl body and silly legs) with a size 18 black ant as a dropper. 7X will guarantee more looks at this time of year when the fish are busy earning their PhDs in dry fly discrimination.
as usual, nymphs in riffles and deep holes, terrestrials near banks, rocks, and overhanging flora. I caught the same fish this past tuesday as I did on sunday in the same place, so they’re not ALL brilliant.
a special bonus came tonight after a few hours off the water. went back and first fish was a beautiful 14" rainbow that jumped half a dozen times on its way to hand. ate a drowned ant.
im thinkin about heading up there labor day weekend, hafta see what the wifes schedule is first thought, is it typically crowded that weekend? or is everyone at the beach?
You might as well stay away, with all the crowded parking lots and guys out there ruining the river by wading, flyfishing, and catching (and releasing) fish.
You’d be better off waiting until January when the water temps are in the low 40s, the trails are iced over, you get to fish midges, and the fish are all the dumber for not seeing an artificial fly in days rather than minutes. And go on a weekday, just to be safe.
OK, seriously, it will be crowded Labor Day weekend. It’s generally crowded every weekend - depending on where you go and what your definition of crowded happens to be. The cooler it gets the less you have to contend with tubers, kayaks and canoes. Personally they don’t bother me for the most part, until the beer-swilling holligans come through in groups of 20, splashing and screaming.
The farther downriver you go, the sparser the fishing crowd but the thicker the boating crowd. I enjoyed some success this weekend in both atmospheres.
Maybe MikeL will show up (probably not, especially if there are too many cars in the parking lots) and we can all fish together.
Drop me an email when you figure out your plans…should be back from vacation by then.
How long have you been fishing there? It is substantially more crowded than it was just 3 years ago. Id really rather not share a run or hole with another angler which is why I fish the small streams on the weekends. The fishing is still great but I enjoy my solitude. Keep up with the reports, there is really no skin off my back but I really dislike seeing all these hook scared fish that I have seen the past couple years. I guess nothing is a secret anymore, not since the internet became fly fishers main way of getting information.
Ill fish with you some time, even on a weekend.
PS Feel free to correct my grammar as you see fit.
mike dont critisize the net, read the midatlantic fly fishing mag sometime. the gunpowder is in it all the time, articles and reports. avaialable at any flyshop
It use to be my little piece of heaven and now, while the fishing is still great, it is everyone from 4 states little piece of heaven. I’m just bitter I guess and don’t like the hotspotting.
Im not entirely guiltless either. When I first started posting on Flyfishing websites I would always be posting my bragging reports about it too.
A report full of negative results would be minimally helpful, I suppose. “Here’s what didn’t work…” I’ve been skunked there many, many times.
You have to be in serious denial to think the secret of the Gunpowder has been given away just recently. It is all over the Bass Pro reports board, it’s all over the Mid-Atlantic mag, it’s in scores of books and it doesn’t stop there. :roll: It was set up the way it was with the cold-water release agreement for the sole purpose of being a year-round wild trout FISHERY. I enjoy taking advantage of all the hard work those guys put in for that effort.
I’m also a little jealous that you get to fish on weekdays… :evil: Just don’t try to fish on Wednesday nights, because that’s the day the BWA guys have off.
I agree that there’s a lot of traffic there, but there are more and more young people getting into it. We all had to start somewhere and it’s unfair to wish that you had the place all to yourself. Doesn’t it make you the least bit happy to see other people being good stewards of our incredible resource? Come on man, life’s too short to be ornery about that sort of petty stuff.
My only regret is that there aren’t more places like it that were within a half-hour’s drive from me.
Call it bragging, I just get excited about fooling a fish every now and then. It doesn’t happen like that for me most days. I do find that comment somewhat out-of-line because you don’t know me from anyone else, but you are entitled to your opinions and I’m sure you call it as you see it.
Your right, it was never a secret. But it didnt start getting the pressure it does now until about 3 years ago.
Im not saying this is the only place I see it being mentioned but I do think the flyfishing boards such as this one, the BPS reports board, etc. etc. increase the pressure on the fishery. Instead of people having to do the leg work, figure out what flies are working, etc. etc. they can just come here and read up on which stream is fishing well whatever weekend they want to go out. Its good that people can get that info and figure out where they have the best chance of catching fish but its bad because then the parking lots get full and you cant walk around a bend without seeing another fisherman in the pool or run you had planned on fishing. I guess it kind of has been a blessing in disguise as I have found a ton of other local trout fisheries that produce well for me.
I guess I’ll hop off my soapbox now. Good fishing to you, mabye we can wet a line one of these days.
PS I am one of the ‘younger’ guys out there. Im 25 now and have been fishing the river since I could drive.
I moved to Baltimore in '98. Certainly less pressure on the river, but I was in grad school and didn’t fish nearly as much as I do now. I have a few theories as to why things have become busier, among them the average size of the fish, overall numbers of adult trout, improvements in water control, perhaps even a local upswing of flyfishing interest. Access is very good, too, though this is not a recent issue.
The state is very proud of the tailwater, as well they should be. It got a great deal of press from about 1997 on and has without a doubt boosted tourism and the local economy. I think every trout fisherman should get his or her day on the river, if for nothing else than the breathtaking scenery in many spots.
That said, if I don’t feel like dealing with the hordes of fishermen, I just go somewhere else. There are a few decent places that are just a shade farther out of the way, like “Gopher” Creek outside of “Fredneck” (names changed to protect the innocent from hotspotting). Places like that don’t tolerate the pressure as well because they are still being established. But the Gunpowder seems to be holding up well, and the trout are still dumb enough for a hack like me to catch a few, rarely.
My feeling is that FAOL is about sharing information. Grumbles belong in the sound-off board anyway.
If you ever get the itch, I’d be honored to wet a line with you. And I’ll even keep quiet about where we go and what we (don’t?) catch!
