Gunpowder Falls

[Bob Richey]

Has anyone fished it lately?  I've only been there once but enjoyed it.

[TurbineBlade]

I haven't been up there in a couple of months, but I've always had *some luck with soft hackles, even into late December last year.   

I was told (by some random old guy with a flask who said "I don't generally drink during the day, but I'm working nights now") that every foot of stream bed in the GP holds about 60,000 trout, and with the low water in the summer you stand a real chance of stomping many fish to death.  

I don't know how many times I've lifted my wading staff out of the stream to find a 26" brown trout impaled on the end of it.  

Gene

[D. Walker]

I fished it early September with no luck.
Saw tons of trout but they weren't biting. Heavy pressure from what I can assume. Non of the other fly fisherman were catching anything either.
It was my 1st time up there

[Andrew Wiggins]

I've fished there a few times over the past month and have had decent success, mostly on nymphs above Falls Road. My wife Jillian tagged along the last time and promptly caught her first brown trout (see attached).

On Tuesday, September 30, 2014 12:34:22 PM UTC-4, Bob Richey wrote:

[Dave Marcus]

I took the day off on September 18th to celebrate my 30th birthday and drove up to fish the gunpowder during the week (when I hoped I would have the river to myself, I did). It was very low water and crystal clear i.e. spooky conditions. Full disclosure, I've never ever had any luck on the gunpowder and I've fished it a hand full of times, kinda feels like my white whale. Andrew if you hadn't posted a picture I would have called you a liar ;) as I don't think anyone has ever caught a fish on that river. Ever.

I was using 7x on a 13-15 ft leader with tiny 18-22 tricos and midges. I saw a few fish tracks near the boulders on some long pools beneath falls rd, but overall it was a big skunk. A rough day on the water is always better then a good one in the office so I can't really complain about getting to spend my birthday by a river but in my experience that's a tricky stretch of water, and more so right now with low flows.

David M.

[Jeffrey Silvan]

I've always had great luck - to the tune of 30 fish days - fishing ants there during late summer and early autumn. I've never fished there this late, but I have heard terrestrials will still work pretty well, particularly since no frost yet. Until I figured out the ant thing, though, I had a much harder time but could still typically coerce a bite or two on a midge. I've always found Backwater Angler will lend some pretty good advice on what's been working lately, so give them a shout or preferably swing by to chat with them.

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[david marcus]

I did stop by the shop in the morning and was using the recommended setup. I can almost guarantee the difficult fishing was due to user error :)

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[Bob Richey]

Thanks for all the input.  I'm going to try my luck on Sunday.  It looks like they will get some rain Saturday, so maybe the levels will be up a bit.

On Tuesday, September 30, 2014 12:34:22 PM UTC-4, Bob Richey wrote:

[tperkins]

If water levels are up, streamers can work nicely against log jams and such. I haven't been up there in a year or so, but I like parking at Masemore road and going downstream.

[Matt Geiman]

The Gunpowder is a great place! I grew up a few miles from there and thats where I learned to fly fish. One piece of advice for those have little success there is fish the riffles. When I was a beginner I assumed the fish were in the deep pools however the most active fish are usually In the riffles waiting for something to drift by. You'll be surprised how many fish can be in such shallow water especially above Masemore. Last time I was there this time of year I caught fish on an elk hair caddis all day in the riffles. Never tied on a nymph. Just how I like it!

[Andrew Wiggins]

There's lots of great advice here. I've only started fishing the gunpowder (and for trout in general) but found that stealthy, spring creek like strategies helped with the low water in September. This included working upstream and not entering the water unless necessary (which helped Jillian as waders fit her poorly). Also, riffles/shade/undercut boulders seem to be most productive throughout the day as the fish seem less spooky and likely to take a fly. I started using something like a dropper with an ant or beetle on top. I had some success on the point fly in the late afternoon/evening but caught fish most reliably on the nymph, resorting to tight line techniques for the deepest pools. Hope this helps.