Susquehanna Flats Update

Still waiting for the stripers here in lovely Havre de Grace, MD, Susquehanna Flats shoreside.

I have been fishing the last two weeks on the flats, hoping the unseasonably warm weather would bring an early start to our flats season, but this has not been the case. Water temps and conditions are the best I have seen in years. Yesterday we had surface water temps consistent from 53 to 55 degrees, well warm enough to be catching fish. water clarity is also great, so I expect fast fishing when the fish do show up.

We have been catching some fish. Brad Gladfelter and I fished several times this week. One evening we caught 6 small rockfish, and Tuesday morning we caught 4. All of the fish were 16 to 20 inches and believe most of them to be resident fish. Alot of bait fish have shown up in recent days. White Perch have arrived in good numbers, as have some river herring and shad. I watched a few wading anglers catch several hickory shad in the Susquehanna yesterday evening at the mouth of Deer Creek. So things are just days away, and I will keep you posted as we get catching fish. Heading out now to try again.

March 1 Fly Fishing on Gunpowder River

Avid fisherman Scott Burns and I took advantage of the good weather the first day of March and fished the Upper Gunpowder River. With temps forecast in the 60's we had hopes of a late morning hatch of blackflies and maybe a few stones.

We fished the catch and release area of the stream above Falls rd. nearest Prettyboy Reservoir. Rains the night before had caused spillover at the dam and raised stream flows to 250cfs+.

Early fishing was tough but we managed to hook a few trout while fishing blackfly larvae patterns in size 20 and 22 below an indicator. Light gray patterns with a dark rib seemed to work good, though we dropped a few fish on the small hooks. We saw a few stray little black stones zipping across the surface, but no takers. After a while we switched to streamers and had some takes, landing the brown pictured below on an olive and black zonker.

Around noon we noticed the first of the blackflies begin to hatch and almost immediately fish began to rise. Though we saw many risers for the next hour or so, the fish were inconsistent and tough to fool. The high flows did not help our cause with the dry fly. We ended with our morning adventure with a good brown hooked on 7x and a size 22 cdc blackfly pattern, never got him to hand but fooled him none the less.

The warm days forecast this week should bring even better fishing to this stretch of river. A good way to cure the cabin fever.

Lancaster Fly Fishing Show

I spent this weekend at the Fly Fishing show in Lancaster, PA. This was the first year the show was held in this location and it seemed a great success. Guides and Outfitters from around the country highlighted their services and fly shops and tackle manufacturers showed off the newest gear. Guest speakers and celebrity fly fisherman kept the crowd well entertained.

I spent the show alongside long time Shimano/ G.loomis representative and avid sportsman Dick Kondak. We were promoting the newest fly rods in the G.Loomis lineup. The NRX series was the star of the show, boasting new nano graphite technology making a lighter, stronger, and more responsive fly rod. The folks who took the time to cast the NRX rods all gave rave reviews.

We also showcased the Pro 4x series of rods, the newest in the G.Loomis lineup. The Pro 4x rods use some of the same nano graphite technology as the NRX with a retail price attractive to both beginner and avid fly anglers alike.

The entire line of G.Loomis Fly rods are available at the Backwater Angler fly shop in Monkton, MD http://www.backwaterangler.com.

Susquehanna River Walleye Fishing

The last few winters I have made an effort to target walleyes fishing the Susquehanna below Conowingo dam. Seems that there have been a greater number of walleye in the river in recent years. They are aggressive feeders and can be caught right through the winter months.

I caught and released this nice fish on a recent trip, fishing from shore below Conowingo. I find the fishing best in periods of moderate water flows. Fish can be caught using a variety of techniques. I have had the best success fishing small jigs slowly. 1/8 an 1/16 ounce heads with grub tails or other soft bodies work well. I have had the best luck on chartreuse. I have heard reports of anglers having success on crankbaits and other hardbaits also.

Winter Fly Fishing Gunpowder River Maryland

We have been blessed with unusually mild temperatures in the central Maryland region this winter. Coupled with higher than average stream flows, conditions on the Upper Gunpowder River have been perfect for winter fly fishing.

Fly fisherman on the upper river above Falls rd. can expect to see a good bit of midge activity, especially on the 50 to 60 degree days like we have had in the last week or so. Black Stoneflies have begun to appear on sunny days throughout the catch and release area of the stream. Both offer anglers a shot at some dry fly fishing through February and March.

Popular patterns are many small, dark midge patterns in sizes 18 -22. Grizzly midges, griffiths gnats, and blackfly imitations will work well. Try substituting your summer trico patterns for blackflies, fish will often be fooled.

Quill winged , hair winged, or zlon winged stonefly patterns will take will take rising fish wherever you can find the bugs hatching. Bodies are dark brown or black. You might have to walk awhile to find some bugs hatching , but should find some risers if yo come across them. you can't miss the size 14 stones as the skate wildly across the water trying to gain flight.

March can also bring good fishing with all types of small nymphs. Many of the fish pictured here were taken fishing small dark nymphs under an indicator. Target areas where riffles fall deep.

Finally a Fishing Update

Forgive my delays on an update. Had to go through process of changing blog servers etc. Also lost last years archived posts but kept some older ones up for you to check out.

As some of you keeping watch may know, this Spring has been a tough go on the Chesapeake. I am usually reporting on our fishing ventures on the Susquehanna Flats this time of year, but this season was a bust. Large amounts of runoff on the river brought extreme river flows, as high as 316,000 cfs, and ruined the season. The water on the flats as of today is still muddy and fishing was just impossible. Thanks to all of you who booked and have been flexible with re-scheduling.

Good news is that the Striper fishing has picked up for us a little further down the bay. We have been leaving from Kent Island and fishing surrounding waters. In the past few days we have been catching lots of schoolie size fish on both flies and lures. Lots of fish in the 18 to 22 inch range and a shot at some larger fish each day. We landed a decent 32 inch fish on a recent trip and had a handful of 24 inchers. The fishing should only continue to improve the next week or so.

December Fly Fishing in Maryland

For those checking in often, sorry that I have not posted updates for the last month.  Even us fishing guides get consumed with life on occasion, and I have been in the process of renovating a 150 year old farm house into my home.  It has consumed nearly all of my free time outside of fishing.  Feel free to shoot mean a call or e-mail anytime you want to talk fishing.

Of course, we have been fishing many trips over the course of the fall on the Chesapeake Bay and Gunpowder River.  I have beeen making efforts all this month to get in some striper fishing in the ocean, hoping for some more of the great success we had last year.  The weather, however has not been helping our cause. I am sitting in Ocean City , MD now in 30 kt winds and torrential rain which is managing to wipe out several more fishing days here on the Maryland coast.

The  rain has been good for the fishing and water flows on the Gunpowder River.  With Prettyboy Reservoir full, we can figure on good constant water flows on the Gunpowder. This always makes for more consistent fishing.  Favorite winter techniques are nymphing with dropper rigs and small nymphs, as well as keeping an eye out for any of our winter hatches.  Midges, blackfies, and winter stoneflies can all be found hatching on the river in the next few months.