Posts Tagged ‘gunpowder’
Technical
Well, now that I’m back from Jackson (another great trip, even if the snow gods haven’t been very kinds this year), it’s on to fishin’ season!
The Hendricksons have been coming off very sporadically (if at all) over the last few days, but it hasn’t quite been enough to get the fish excited about those big mayflies… yet. However, the fish are definitely still out there and hungry, as evidenced by the hundreds we’re seeing every evening feasting on the various midge hatches. So with little recourse, we’ve found ourselves fishing teeny tiny midges, and with pretty good success at that.
Starting out the season fishing such tiny flies as these (#22 – #26!!) has been a bit more of a technical start than I would have liked, but it’s nice to see that I haven’t lost my edge over the winter months.
Look carefully, the #26 midge my father’s holding in front of his thumb is super tiny!
Now this has been great fun and all, but bring on the Hendricksons!
Solstice Tiger Trout
Well, I’m back in Maryland for the holidays. And since it’s not snowy around here (or New England, for that matter… ugh!), we decided to spend some time out on the water today throwing around some streamers. Unfortunately, since I’d been running late all day on the shortest day of the year, we weren’t left with too much time on the water, but we made do with what we had. I guess it didn’t help that I forgot my wading boots at home on the first go…
After getting suited up, my father showed my the streamer technique that had been working on the Gunpowder of late, and I headed upstream to start swinging flies. A few minutes later, I hear him yell out “holy shit!” Excitedly, I ran over to see what he’d gotten himself into…
And found he’d caught a tiger trout!
Tiger trout are an infertile hybrid of brown trout and brook trout, and they’re quite rare in the wild. But I guess there’s got to be at least a few of them out there.
Looking sly with his solstice tiger trout.
Although not a great shot, here’s a close-up of the fish. They’re pretty damn cool lookin’.
We had another half hour or so of fishing before it became too dark, and although I had a few hits, I wasn’t able to connect with any fish. Seems to be about right given my luck on the Gunpowder this year… Suppose I’ll be out and back at it again sometime in the next few days, especially since there sure isn’t any skiing to be had around here.
I sure do wish it was snowing, but hey, since it’s not, this wasn’t a bad way to spend the solstice. Now LET IT SNOW!!
Gunpowder Flooding: A Day Later
Well, it’s a day later and the water is still stupid high. The waters peaked sometime in the pre-dawn hours this morning, with around ~3,600 cfs (!!) and at about 11.6 ft !! For those of you not familiar with the river, it’s normally running around 50-120 cfs and somewhere between ½ and 2 ft. So, needless to say, there’s roughly a metric shit-ton of water in the river right now.
I drove around again this afternoon to take another good look to see how things were shaking out. However, I didn’t really take any photos today. For something a little different, I was playing with my fathers D7000 and took some video. I’m no videographer, but I’m fairly pleased with how it came out.
Have a look:
I’m glad to see the waters coming down, and relatively quickly, but it will be a long while before things are settled down enough to fish on the Gunpowder again. Oh well, guess I won’t be hitting the tricos again around these parts…
Gunpowder Flooding
Well, it’s rained here in MD. A lot. Like nearly 5 inches in the past day! With 5 inches of rain, the flooding has been pretty nuts. I took a drive this afternoon/evening to see just how big the Gunpowder was, and hot damn, it’s enormous!!
UPDATE: If you’re interested in the flooding situation, I’ve posted a video from some of the river accesses from the day after these pictures were shot. And trust me, there’s still an impressive amount of water in the river. Check it out here.
First, I headed towards the Falls road access. Along Evna road, it was clear that this little brook had been raging much stronger not long before I’d been there.
Based on this log, the waters were at least a good foot higher.
Lots of mud was left on the road.
Even as the water was clearly lower than it had been, it was still running high and dirty.
Already impressed, I continued down towards the Falls Rd. bridge. As I approached the bridge, my jaw dropped.
Looking upstream from the bridge.
And downstream along the trail.
There are supposed to be a bunch of rocks there…
The trail was totally flooded out. Wow.
A final look downstream from the Falls Rd bridge. This is unbelievable.
I wanted to check out Masemore, one of my more frequented accesses to the river and trails. However I didn’t want to drive back out along Falls and Evna roads, so I took the back way.
I thought I’d be able to make it across the bridge… Guess not.
I thought that there was a parking lot here.
And a foot bridge here… Wow.
The river fully co-opted the parking lot for its own purposes.
And finally, looking upstream from the Masemore road bridge. I don’t even recognize the river, jeez…
Since I didn’t really feel like testing the capabilities of the car in the 12-15+ inches of water on the road, I turned around and headed up to check out the dam. I’d heard from a few folks that it was quite the site.
Yup, quite the site indeed. So much water flowing over.
That’s a tremendous amount of water!
It’s scary, really.
Already thoroughly amazed by what I’d seen, I wanted to check out one more spot: the access at Big Falls road. Although I don’t fish here too often, I use the trails here a lot.
Guess I won’t be parking, let alone hiking here today.
The water was barely making it under the bridge. Normally, there is about 10 feet (give or take) of clearance between the water and the bridge. Wow.
Yup, that’s a whole lot of water.
A final look upstream from the Big Falls bridge. Just as the view up from Masemore road, this is totally unrecognizable.
What I’ve seen today has been simply stunning. What’s worse is knowing that it’s supposed to rain another 1-3″ overnight and seemingly continue raining again tomorrow. If you’re out and about the rivers, stay safe – the power of water is simply stunning.
Tricos Are Tough
I got out on the Gunpowder this morning to hit the tricos, which have been going off pretty well lately. Although I had planned on going up to the Falls Rd access, I got turned around by some BG&E workers who were dealing with a tree and power line down in the road. Going back downstream to the Masemore access, I saw tons of fish feeding right in the parking lot pool, the ultra-flat, very technical and arguably most fished pool of the entire Gunpowder. I was feeling some odd mix of both lucky and stupid, so I decided to try my luck right there. With no other anglers (or any people at all, for that fact) to be seen, it was a rare opportunity to get pool without any other ruckus.
Well, I spent about 2 hours trying out just about every trico pattern I had with me, but at that point it seemed that the dumb feeling was taking over, quickly joined by some serious frustration. By then the hatch was mostly over, but there were a few fish here and there still rising. My father showed up to join me, and we moved down stream a few hundred yards to work our way up the pool from the bottom.
Well, after an outrageously long and perfectly placed cast, my dad landed this wild brownie.
I ended the day out fish-less, which is pretty frustrating, but that seems to be the way the Gunpowder has been lately (ugh). Either way, I’m glad to see that the tricos are in full swing.
Quiet And Foggy Mornings
Here’s a quick shot from another foggy morning getting skunked on the Gunpowder. Man, I hope the fishing gets better soon before my time in MD is over…
Another Tough Day On The Gunpowder
I went out again this morning for another session on the Gunpowder. Having heard that the tricos are really starting to pick up in the mornings, I was excited to get out to fish these tiny (#20, #22 and even #24!) flies. I had my best day ever on the Gunpowder last year fishing tricos, and I actually quite enjoy fishing these barely visible flies, so I was excited when I saw the fish rising as I got out into the water.
However, the river is still flowing low (33cfs) and the fish are spooky as ever, so the fishing has remained extremely technical. Ultimately, I wasn’t able to catch any fish on tricos, and although I did get a few hits on a big carpenter ant pattern, I wasn’t able to hook any fish.
My father, however, was able to catch a few for the day.
The Hardest I’ve Ever Worked For A Fish
After a disappointing day on the Gunpowder yesterday, I decided to get out again this afternoon to try my luck with these wily browns.
Once I geared up at the parking lot, I walked downstream for a good 10 minutes studying water I was going to be fishing through. As I continued down the trail, veering towards the river, I could see the fish darting about every which way. Were the fish really spooked from just my walking down the bank? Oh boy, this could be a tough day on the water.
I watched the fog rolling around the river as I was fishing through the flats.
Ginormous Ridiculous Zonkers
This morning, my father and I were gearing up this morning to go fish the great caddis hatch we’ve been having here on the Gunpowder since the flows were raised up to around 115cfs during the previous week. Well, before leaving I decided to check out the stream gauge to make sure the fools running the dam (it is part of the city water supply) didn’t do anything silly. To my great dismay, they had raised the river up to 250cfs, just about as high as it can be to wade and fish the river. Well, that certainly changed our plans… We grabbed our heavy gear, and after a quick stop in at the local shop, we were on our way to the river to throw some streamers.
We worked our way through a good stretch of river, not getting much attention to the few flies we were trying out, so mostly in jest, I decided to tie on a ginormous ridiculous zonker that I had pulled out of my father’s streamer box. Well, not too long after tying that bad boy on, my zonker was rabidly attacked by one of the wily Gunpowder browns, and I hooked into the biggest fish that I’ve ever caught on the Gunpowder, around 15 inches!
[Edit:] I managed to get some pics from this post featured over at our local shop’s website! Check it out here.
Zonkers do the trick, especially ginormous ridiculous ones!
This guy has a nice blue shine to him.
A little while later, I managed to hook into another great Gunpowder brown, this one around 14 inches! Woohoo!
I just love the vibrance of the red on that adipose fin. These fish are so beautiful.
That ginormous ridiculous zonker really did the trick for me today! Although I much prefer dry fly fishing, the higher flows and the streamers did allow me to get into some seriously big Gunpowder browns, so all in all, I’m not really going to complain. Unfortunately, I did loose this zonker in a wood pile the next day, but I know exactly where it is, so once the water comes down the magic fly will be back in my hands.
The Tricos Are On!
Knowing that the trico hatch had begun, I went out for a serene and foggy morning to catch the hatch this morning. After battling some wasps for my waders, I got to the water only to find a disturbing number of cars in the small lot – oh well. I headed out anyways hoping that there wouldn’t be anyone where I was heading, and when I got there, I was shocked to not see a soul around me. Ok, so part of that was due to the thick and heavy fog sitting on the river, but even so, it was wonderfully quiet out there.
A few minutes after I had gotten into the river, I landed my first fish for the morning, and it was a good sized one at that. After that, I just kept on catching and catching fish, and they were all (except for one) good sized fish for the Gunpowder! I ended the day with a total of 11 fish – wow!
And so it begins.
These fish are beautiful.
Just one little guy.
And finishing the morning out with yet another good sized fish. And a pretty one, at that.
After I let the last one go, he went and hid out under this rock. These fish are sneaky…
This was an unbelievable morning – by far my best day on the Gunpowder ever, and probably my best day fishing anywhere. I can’t wait to get out again for this hatch.
Biggest Gunpowder Brown Yet!
Another day out on the Gunpowder, we went out on the water for a few hours in the afternoon. Although there wasn’t terribly much activity going on, I did manage to catch my largest ever Gunpowder brown trout! He was by no means huge, but certainly still a pretty decent fish for this small tailwater.
What a fish! Man, they love those beetles. I guess they must be quite tasty.
And back you go, fish.
I’m glad to finally have caught a good sized Gunpowder brown. Now if only the fishing would pick up a bit more… although, after today I suppose I’m not really going to complain!
Where Did All The Fish Go?
After having a few slow, but moderately successful days on the Gunpowder, the fish seem to have lost pretty much all interest in anything that I’ve been throwing their way. I did manage to find a few nice things to take pictures of though.
One of the nice things about going out in the early summer is that the lilies are in full bloom.
My father looking for some fish.
Although this shot is a bit blow out, I still think it’s a neat one.
Like I said, the lilies… they’re very pretty. As well, upstream and in the background, my father’s still looking for some fish. If I recall correctly he was able to nab one on a big hopper.
Another evening, another spot and sadly another fishless few hours. But the fog on the water is pretty cool, if you ask me.
Even though it’s tough to see in the photo, the fog was coming rolling over the river in some very distinct layers.
Although it’s still nice to be out on the water, I’m really hoping the fishing picks up soon.
Back On The Gunpowder
Now that I’m back home for a bit (in the unfortunately hot Maryland), I’ve had a chance to once again wet my line on the lovely Gunpowder Falls river. Here are some shots I’ve managed in a few outings, the late afternoon of the 14th and the evenings of the 15th and 16th.
We saw this guy as we were walking up to our fishing spot.
A little while later I hooked into this guy.
These fish sure love the beetles.
And a bit further upstream, I hooked into another nice brown.
And back he goes.
Now, onto the evening of the 15th. With the water running low and cold and the humidity running entirely too high, a nice fog develops over the water in the mornings and evenings.
Although it was getting dark and the visibility was tough, I did manage to hook into two fish that evening.
My father fishing in the fog.
Fishing once you can’t even see is, in a twisted way, surprisingly fun. Granted, actually catching a fish at this time of day (9pm) would be difficult at best.
Another hot and humid day (the 16th) brings a rather foggy evening on the river. Fishing through the fog is good fun.
Although the fishing wasn’t too great this day, I did manage to land two decent fish (I only took pics of the first one though).
It’s been nice to be back home for a bit and to get back out on the Gunpowder, and I’m especially pleased that I’ve finally hook into some fish this summer (although one of these days I’ll finally figure out those New England streams!).
Christmas Eve Cross Country Skiing
There’s no better way to get ready for the insanity of family and everything else to do with the holidays than by spending some time out in the woods – even just an hour will do. This time, with the snow still remaining from the epic weekend snowstorm, we went cross country skiing on the Mingo Forks trail of the Gunpowder Falls state park.
The players were me, my brother Marc, our father, and the canine companion, Moose.
Moose, looking handsome as always.
Marc skiing.
Having some fun and getting rowdy.
Dad skiing along.
And myself.
Our tracks in the woods.
Lovin’ it.
Of course, after getting home everything for crazy in order to get everything ready for the night. Even so, it was nice to get out into the woods for an hour or so, especially while there is still snow on the ground (especially given the grim forecast for the 26th).
The Powerline Couloir
Although I don’t really live in MD anymore, it’s still home these days. I figured that this year I’d spend most of december skiing in VT, now that I finally have moved up north for grad school. However, after having spent 10 or so days of only mediocre skiing in VT, I heard of this incredible storm brewing for the mid atlantic region. Could it be true? MD, getting snow? I had thought that this was a thing of the past. But as I followed the weather, the storm kept on its track to pummel MD. So, after hitting MRG on friday and against all my gut feelings (leave VT early?!), we headed back home to MD to get after this storm (and not have to deal with the roads, which are epicly awful around here when it snows even an inch…).
We waited around all day on saturday as the snow just kept piling up, taking a few hours out to go snowshoe around the river. By the time all was said and done, we had 20″+ of fresh! FKNA!
The only logical thing to do was to hit the legendary power line couloir – a line that we often run by in the summer, and had long since thought about skiing.
The players were me, my brother Marc, our father, and the canine companion, Moose.
Starting the journey
On the way up
Breaking trail in chest deep snow isn’t easy
First run down the couloir. We found this to be not quite steep enough, so we moved to a steeper pitch for the next few laps.
Stoked
Marc and our father skinning back up
Skinning along the top in search of more steeps
We thought that we could find some steeper pitches farther down the powerlines. However, after skinning maybe 1/4 mi, we realized that we were wrong. Here’s pops coming back.
Myself on the steeper pitch, with Moose following
Powder turns in MD. I couldn’t help but be happy
Our turns from the first run down the steeper section of the couloir.
Skinning back up for some more
Dad and Moose getting some
Marc getting some. Guess those Icelantic Shamans are good for something!
The slayage after two laps
Marc skiing back down the way we came up
Dad’s almost back at the car
Oddly enough, this was my first real touring experience, and damn I had a blast! I can’t wait to get after it some more. And really, how many people out there can claim to have their first touring experience in MD?
Snowshoeing On The Gunpowder
After coming home from VT with the imminent snowstorm coming to the mid-atlantic, I woke up to find the snow piling up here in northern MD. Since we got in really late after driving home after a day skiing in VT, we slept in a bit. But after that, it was time to go play in the snow! With not quite enough snow to go ski touring yet (that being the plan for the next day, once the snow had stopped), we decided that the best way to spend a snowy afternoon was to go snowshoeing around the Gunpowder river. The roads were deserted, of course, and barely plowed out, but we made it down to the river, and set out on our journey.
The players were me, my brother Marc, our father, and the canine companion, Moose.
Marc, Dad and Moose out in the woods.
Snow just makes everything prettier.
Hiking along the trail
The Gunpowder river, as the snow piles up. Note the object that’s sticking out of the river, with a huge mound of snow piling up on it.
Moose amongst the snowy bushes
An unplowed Falls road. Glad to see that we were the only ones crazy enough to be out and enjoying this awesome snow storm.
Moose is loving the snow!
There’s a lot of snow out there. And it kept snowing for hours and hours!
Not quite adventurous enough to head out into the water, but still curious.
Although it only snows rarely in MD these days anymore, it’s still quite a treat when it does. We were only out for a bit, but it’s always great to get back out into the snow, especially when it’s so close to home!
Morning Fishing On The Gunpowder
Went out for the morning to fish tricos up above Falls Rd on the Gunpowder River. Those tricos are really impossibly small – sizes 22 or 24 – but it’s a lot of fun fishing with them.
After the tricos ended, we went a little lower down to try our hands at some streamer fishing – that didn’t go too well, for whatever odd reason.
The players were me and my father.
Here are a few I caught on the tricos, ending a few days of getting skunked.
My father laying out the streamer.
As always, it’s nice to get out, and especially since I was able to catch a few fish, which hasn’t happened in a few outings. Of course, I practice catch and release fishing, so those fish were back in the water as soon as I’d snapped a few pics. It’s a good way to maintain a healthy population of browns in the Gunpowder.
A Foggy Morning on the Gunpowder
Out for a nice foggy morning on The Gunpowder with pops.
Layin out the line with the bamboo.
Got a brown on the line.
And he landed a nice Gunpowder brown! Of course, we practice catch and release fishing, so this guy was let go a moment or two later.
