Gunpowder River and other MD trout streams

zdank wrote:
I'm new to the site but wanted to know if anyone out there fishes the
Gunpowder in Maryland. I'm just getting back into this and any info on
good spots, what to use, or technique in general would be greatly
appreciated.

Without doubt, the Gunpowder is the premier stream in the immediate
Baltimore area for trout, but there are several other good
opportunities for flyfishing in the area. The area is generally a
put-and-take fishery, and the DNR stocks several local streams every
spring. If you avoid the meat fishermen on the opening days for the
respective streams, it can still be fun. The upper parts of Deer Creek
in Harford County are some of the prettiest countryside you'll find
in MD, and it's a great river. The Little Gunpowder on the boundary
between Harford & Balto Counties is also a pretty little stream, but
I've never fished it. West of Balto, you could look at Morgan Mill.
I've never fished it, but I used to hear the locals at Fisherman's
Edge talking about it in sometimes glowing terms. Head a little
farther north, and you can hit the Big Elk Creek in Cecil County or
White Clay Creek in Delaware. Go down into the Blue Ridge Mountains
and you'll find those brookies you're after.

If you're not married to trout, the upper, free flowing parts of the
Patapsco River have received high praise for bass and trout depending
on where you are. I'm not as familiar with it, but my best fishing
buddy swears by it, as does Frank R. here. Frank has also fished the
Little Patuxent. (Hell, Frank has fished damned near every body of
water in the area; why he moved to Nebraska is beyond me. g) Head
south into Virginia, and t you can get smallies on the Rappahannock.

In the spring, say early April to late May, it can be a blast to take a
fly rod up to the lower part of Deer Creek near where it hits the
Susquehanna and fish the shad spawning run. These guys typically run a
pound or two and at the right time & place, you will wear your arm out
catching them. (NB: They are illegal to possess, C&R only.)

Needless to say, you are also mere hours away from some excellent trout
water in south central PA. There's usually a ROFF clave in Coburn, PA
every spring (check other threads) to fish Penns Creek & surrounding
waters. Not my area, I won't offer further advice.

I'll stop with that. Lots of guys here fish all of these places a
lot more often than I do and can fill in the blanks. For the current
conditions on the Gunpowder, the shop in Monkton, Backwater Anglers, is
a decent establishment IMO, though I still lament the disappearance of
Fisherman's Edge.

Joe F.