Gunpowder Fall Fishing, 50 Best Tailwaters book

Sorry to slack on the fishing update.    The boat was down for to weeks last month due to a busted gearcase, but I have been back in action for a few weeks now on both the Chesapeake bay and on  the Gunpowder.

We have had good success on several recent trips to the Gunpowder.  We are seeing the last of the years tricos hatching in mornings on certain stretches of stream, and still have some scattered caddis and blue winged olives.    Stream flows have been good, around 100 cfs and fish are biting.   Fall colors make the river a great place to spend the day.  Mike Colegrove, from Backwater Angler helped me out on a trip last week, we fished upstream of Bunker Hill road to fish rising for olive bodied caddisflies.   We took several fish on a size 16  x caddis in the riffles.

 

Fishing should continue to be good through the fall.  Nymphing always seems to take some good fish as  browns take on their spawning colors and prep for the late fall spawn.  Small pheasant tails and midge pupae are a good bets fished in pocket water stretches of the stream.

I recently contributed a chapter on the Gunpowder to a book titled " 50 Best Tailwaters to Fly Fish."  The book was complied by Terry and Wendy Gunn who guide out of Lee's Ferry Lodge in Colorado.  It offers great information, hatch charts, photos and more on some of the best trout streams in the country.  The book is due for release later this month.  Check it out on facebook at "50 best tailwaters."

Ocean City Maryland Summer Fishing Update

We have been fishing steady out of Ocean City  the last week or so.  Weather has been strange, we had strong southerly winds for over a week keeping the bay waters a little bit off.  The best fishing has , as usual, been on periods of clean water.  Ocean water temps are still well below 70 on average, not typical for July.

We have still been catching  good numbers of  stripers early in the morning and in the evenings fishing jigs and lures. We have also been regularly catching some nice puppy drum up to about 23".

 

Flounder fishing in the back bays has picked up too.  We have had good catches of flounder just about anytime clean water and moderate tides coincide.  Our best lure for the flounder continue to be jigs tipped with Berkley Gulp. 

 



We mixed it up a bit and did some Tautog fishing this week too.   Caught some really nice fish on green crab baits.

Ocean City Inshore Fishing Update

Summer is in full swing on the coast, and fishing has remained good out of Ocean City.  In the last week we have had good catches of  Rockfish early and late in the day.  We have been casting lures and flies to the Jetties and Bridges.  Water temps continue to warm up , but we still have some decent fish around.  We had a 36" fish on a jig and lots in the 25 to 27" range.

  Fishing has been best on periods of tide change as usual, and we have had some big tides this week with the full moon. 

Flounder fishing has been decent during periods of clean water on the incoming tide and has also begun to get rolling in the ocean.  Caught some nice ones on a near shore wreck this past week.

Still making some trips over to Tangier Sound and we have caught  some nice speckled trout there in past trips and some puppy drum and rockfish.

June Fishing Update, Chesapeake Bay, Ocean City

I have been spending the last couple weeks fishing trips on the Maryland coast and on the Chesapeake Bay.  Fishing has been great, although I cannot say the same about the weather.  We have continued to struggle with unsettled weather patterns and wind, often making conditions tough or keeping us off the water altogether. Luckily we have managed some great trips on the in between the last week or so.

Fishing in Ocean City has been good for Rockfish.  We have been catching fish on jigs, flies and topwater lures.  Early mornings and late evenings have been best.  The inlet and jetties have held the best fish, some to over 40 " taken on live baits.  Mack Long caught the striper pictured below on a popper on an early morning bite this week.

Flounder fishing in Ocean city has also been good and we have caught some nice fish in the back bays on jigs and Berkley Gulp.  We have been catching good numbers of keeper fish on each trip.  Pink has been a good lure and fly color for us this year. The flounder have been eating the pink jigs better than any other color.

When not fishing Ocean City I have been trailering down to Crisfield , MD and fishing the waters of Tangier Sound.  We have been taking advantage of the good speckled trout fishing in the area the last few seasons.  We have caught some nice speckled trout the last few trips, highlighted by the beautiful fish pictured below caught by Scott Burns.



 

The trout have been taking flies and paddle tail jigs in the shallows. We have also been catching decent numbers of puppy drum.  Most of the fish have been 17 to 20" and also seem to have a taste for pink colored jigs. 

 

 

We will be fishing the lower bay and coast all Summer if you are up  for some fishing. 

 

                                                                                                                                                                       

Ocean City Maryland Spring Fishing Update

Been fighting the wind here on the coast the last few days, but still managing to catch some fish. Fly fishing has been good around the jetties and bridges in the back bays on good tides.  We caught a bunch of schoolie rockfish to 26" yesterday fishing deep lines and chartreuse half and half flies on the jetties. Had some hickory shad mixed in and some bluefish to 3 or 4 lbs.

 

On the first of the incoming we caught lots of blues on clousers rigged tipped with wire. The fish were easy targets chasing silversides in 3 or 4 feet of water.  Caught one gray trout on the fly but couldn't find any others.  On periods of heavy moving tide and high winds we fished back channels for flounder and had some nice catches up to 22" or so fishing half ounce jigs and Berkley Gulp grubs.

Gunpowder River Sulfur Mayfly Hatch Begins

Sulfur Mayflies have begun to show themselves on the Gunpowder River this week.  I have been fishing trips on the River the last 3 days and we have had some great fly fishing in the evenings. The sulfurs provide some of the best dry fly fishing of the year. The first mayflies to hatch are usually the biggest, around a size 14.  The fun part about fishing sulfurs is that they are easy to see too.

The best of the hatch has been later than usual with bugs starting to come off at about 4 pm or so. Our best pattern seemed to be a traditional dress sulfur dun in size 16.  We also caught some fish on soft hackles and sulfur emerger patterns.

We should continue to see the hatch strengthen through early June and hopefully the mayflies will hatch a little earlier in the day offering a good spinnerfall before dark. During mid day periods with no bug activity nymphs and swung wet flies took fish.  Partridge and yellow and partridge and orange wets are hard to beat.

Ocean City Maryland, Fishing Update, Flounder, Stripers, and Bluefish

Been fishing in Ocean City , MD the last couple of weeks.  We have had good fly fishing as is typical in the Spring down here.  We have been catching a bunch of bluefish on the fly up to 7 lbs. throughout the back bays.  Yesterday we caught several dozen rockfish on  the fly on the jetties and around the inlet up to 26". 

The 8 weight rods have been getting good use paired with deep sinking lines, our best flies have been olive and tan half and half styles in 3/0 . The water has been beautiful and as long as the wind has let us fish we have been catching.  A bunch of hickory shad are around too, and they have been eager to take the same flies. 

 Flounder fishing has also been heating up in the bays.  After fishing flies on the best tides we are often chasing around the flatties.  we have been catching some good ones on jigs and gulp baits in Assawoman and Sinepuxent bays.  Clean water is always the ticket when fishing flounder.  we should continue to see great flounder fishing all Summer.  New size limits this year are 16" and 4 per day.

Gunpowder River Fly Fishing Update. Caddis hatch heating up the fishing!

Fly fishing on the Gunpowder has been exceptional for the last week or so. The first caddis of the year have got the trout looking up and on the feed.  We have targeted various sections of the catch and release area on our trips during the last week.  Most of our efforts have been focused on the riffled areas of the stream.  The best of the hatch has been mid morning and fish can be seen rising actively downstream and within the riffles.

Most of the adult caddis we have seen hatching are size 16 and olive bodied.  We have had good success with a variety of dry flies the best being a 16 cdc caddis in olive.  Various small pupae patterns have worked well also tied on dropper rigs under a dry.

The first of our sulfur mayflies have also been spotted for the year also, and this hatch should keep the good dry fly fishing with us for awhile.  Will be on the stream again all weekend.  Keep you posted.  Jeff

 



Susquehanna Flats Report April 22

We have continued to fish hard each day on the flats though fishing has been tough the last week . Heavy wind seems to be a staple this Spring and has limited our fishing some days.  On days that are fit determined anglers have managed some decent fish. 

 

 

 

 

The last few mornings have been chilly with nighttime temps in the low 30's.  We landed a couple of fish on the fly yesterday our best one 34".  Still figure on some good fishing to come.  We managed a handful of fish today fishing swimbaits on light spinning tackle. The weather for the week looks decent so hopes are high.

Susquehanna Flats Report 2013

Good news to be had from the Susquehanna Flats.  We have been catching fish for almost 2 weeks  now with some exceptional fishing the last 5 days. Water conditions are the best I have seen in recent years.  Though the temps have taken a bit to warm up, we have great visibility of up to 3+ feet. Water clarity like that is unusual on the flats and makes for great fly and light tackle fishing.

We have been targeting fish with a variety of techniques.  We have caught best on flies and on swimbaits.  Fish are present on a variety of areas around the flats.  Most of our best fishing has been shallow, from 4 to 7 feet of water.  Best flies so far have been olive and white half and halfs with gold flash in a 3/0.  No topwater bite to speak of yet, but it is not far off.  I will be out every day that fit and will keep you posted.  Hope to see you out there.  Jeff

Geared up fo Spring!

Suppossedly it is Spring, but you sure wouldn't know it with the recent weather. Regardless, most of the behind the scenes work is finished with the boat and I am geared up to fish.  Was hoping to start fishing earlier this week, but got put off by that freak snowstorm and it has blown a gale ever since.

Finally splashed the boat yesterday and gave it a try.  Water conditons are good on the Susquehanna Flats, but temps are still real cold.   41.8 degrees was the warmest water I could find yesterday, though the 25 kt wind sure didn't help. The good news is that visibility is good and the long term weather forecast looks favorable.  I will be at it every day now that is fit, and hope to be catching fish in the next few days.  Last year we had the first good fishing on March 22, so we are at least a week behind this year.  I will keep you posted.

Tie Fest 2013, National capital TU Shows

Anxiously awaiting Spring!  Spent the last few weekends working fly fishing shows.  Helped showcase G.loomis gear in Lancaster at the Fly Fishig Show the first weekend this month.  Spent last weekend at the CCA sponsored Tie Fest even in Kent Island on Saturday, and the Natinal Capital Chapter of  Trout Unlimited Angling show on Sunday.

Spoke with many folks and casted lots of rods at the recent shows.  Hope to see some of you out on the river or boat this Spring.

The Susquehanna Flats Catch and Release Striped bass season is but a week or two away.  I have been busy rigging the boat and gear and wil be otu trying it sometime next week.  I will keep you posted on the fishing.  Jeff