Gunpowder River Report: 8/21/26

Heading out to the Gunpowder River? Check out the most recent report of the stream from Mike Slepesky

If you want to put some of the skills I mention in this blog to the test, reach out to mike@tightliningmd.com to schedule a trip. My fall schedule is FULL (thank you!). I do have space for an Advanced Euro Nymphing Clinic. Consider joining to experience what the Gunpowder truly has when you unlock the skills to fish it consistently!

Current Stream Temps- - 58-63 degrees. Temps have been holding steady for a few week or two, which are high, but very fishable safely.

Current Stream Levels- 106-116; levels have dropped some, believe it or now. However, they have held at 100 (ish) for about a month and the fish are still very happy!

**These flows can't last forever and 30 CFS is looming, get out while the gettin' is good!

Current Bugs- BWO, Midges, Caddis. Terrestrials. Hatch season is behind us, but there are still bugs around, especially at dusk! Best to go out for the final two hours of daylight, if you want surface action. However, fish are feeding all day, so any time is a good time to be on the water!

Use the advice below to help you net a few more fish the next time you step out on the water!

Tip #1 - Hot Pockets!

Pictured above is one of the better fish taken this year on a Guide Trip, which came in around 16" and taken from one of the "Hot Pockets". Not bad for his first time Euro Nymphing.

Summer is when the water gets warmer and the oxygen is the most dissolved of the year. Duh, tell me something I don't know, Mike! Well, what is your game plan for response? Are you still fishing similar spots or holes all year long? In the summer, what I do, is I start to work up the river, closer to the dam. I also focus on water that most people don't fish. That could be further from access points/parking. However, it can also mean water anglers assume can't hold a fish. I can't tell you how many people say on guide trips "I walk right past that water", and we proceed to catch a fish, or two, from very thin water.

The reason I am fishing these riffles and runs, which are only ankle to shin deep are:

1.) Higher oxygen rates

2.) More food being dislodged for fish

3.) Less time for a fish to inspect my fly

4.) Possibly a little colder

5.) Usually structure, like a rock, near by

6.) Fish see less flies presented effectively

In situations like this, the key is getting my fly down. I base those decisions on weight, style of the fly, and where I land my cast. A good example of this was on a recent guide trip, with Andy, we were routinely picking off fish in this type of water with Green Flash Perdigons. These flies are hydrophobic, taking on no water, get down quick, are durable, and flat out just catch fish in tight pockets. I use them routinely in pocket water and the results speak for themselves.

Tip #2 - No need to get cute

Pictured above is a fish take on a mop using the Bait and Switch technique. Shoutout to Andy for the nice catch!

We all have our "go-to" flies. I have mine, mostly found in my new Gunpowder Guide box. You will find me fishing these most regularly throughout the year. However, a good mantra in the fly industry is "pretty flies catch fisherman, not fish". That is somewhat true. I do believe tying a quality fly matters, as well as getting the fly to resemble something they eat. However, presentation will always trump pattern, I will die on that hill.

With that said, I sometimes like to do one of two things:

1.) Bait and Switch:

-Fish an attractor nymph on the tag of a two nymph rig, when the water is higher, and put something more "gaudy" or has some flash on the point. This gives the fish a chance to eat a natural, or something a bit more enticing. A good example of this would be a sz 16. Pheasant Tail on the tag and a sz 14 Blow Torch on the point fly

2.) Regular than clean up crew

-Fish a hole with your natural or trusted patterns first, then run back through the same water with some "junk" like a mop or a squirmy and see if they are more interested in that. Another possibility is some fish will eat the naturals and on the second pass, with the junk flies, the other fish may take a pass at the new presentation.

As a matter of fact, we put this very idea to the test on my last guide trip. We started the day fishing flies like the Walt's Worm and Jack Daniels. We caught fish to start the day, but we truly didn't start really pounding them until we added the mop and used the Bait and Switch technique. We used a mop and pheasant tail combo and man did the fish start hitting the net quickly when we switched, a true lightbulb moment.

Tip #3 - TIGHT to structure

Rocks, banks, downed trees, you name is the Gunpowder has it! I personally like to fish many of these with a dry dropper technique. The reason for this is I can usually get a slightly slower drift, present in the middle and upper water columns, as well as get my dry right on the structure, and eventually trail my nymph just behind.

I mentioned earlier hatch season is winding down, which is true. However, fish are still eating off the surface, in certain windows, and it is always one of the more elating and pure ways to catch a fish, right? Even this "dirty euro nympher" loves a good dry fly eat!

Earlier this week, we were using a Sulphur Comparadun and a Pheasant tail dry dropper combo. The dry was a sz 14, and the nymph a sz 18. I find most of my fish caught eat the nymph. However, on this try trip we had a balance between the two. In particular, our success came from getting literally as tight as possible to structure, without getting hung up.

Examples:

Downed tree- We positioned behind the tree in the water, cast upstream, into the run and were hunting fish in about ankle deep water. I truly suspected we would pick up a fish quick in that water and we came up short. I was watching my clients drift and they were great! However, they had just a little more room to keep the drift going until the fly was almost literally into the tree. I suggested to him, let your drift go 1-2 more feet and let the dry get right to the base of the tree, then pull it out. He made his next cast, the Sulphur got right to the tree and them BOOM, dry fly eat and our best fish of the day!

Near the bank- There was some overgrown grass, along the bank, with a good riffle pumping in. The water was at best 8-10 inches deep, another scenario where most anglers assume it can't hold a fish. We were fishing a dry dropper, with a sz 14 Parachute Adams and a sz 18 walt's worm, and sure enough, in back to back pockets, with hooked fish casting the dry right along the bank and in the faster water. I love high sticking a Euro set up through these areas and getting everything but the flies off the water. We get cleaner dead drifts and I feel can maintain distance, but still have contact in these tight quarters. Both fish hooked took the nymph, but it was an awesome experience to see the opportunities in shallow riffles, when technique and pattern come together.

Tip #4 - If I could pick ONE fly

I was speaking with someone recently about a One Fly Tournament PPTU does. It made me think, if I was fishing in this tournament, what would I use? If I had to pick today I would either choose a Walt's Worm or a Mop, size would be dependent on flows. With that said, thinking like this has led me to creating a box of flies literally tailored to this exact conversation. I now carry the Josh Miller Walt's Worm Box, pictured above.

Josh is a good friend of mine and one hell of an angler, coach, writer, and just flat out great human being. Check out his book, Euro Nymphing: Tips, Tactics, Techniques, his YouTube channel/guide service "TroutYeah". I would HIGHLY encourage you to book a trip or clinic with him. Josh has fished all over the world and the fly he always comes back to, the Walt's Worm. So much so, he fished an ENTIRE YEAR, and guided, with literally only this fly. All he did was change the body, bead, and ribbing. As a matter, of fact, Joe Clark, the other member of TroutYeah will be working with me for the Advanced Euro Nymphing Clinic!

My best advice, if you aren't fishing Walt's Worms, you really should be! The Walt's Worm was made popular by an angler, from Pennsylanvia, name Walt Young, in 1984. This pattern is SO good because it imitates a bug found in ALL types of stream, the cress/sow bug. You can fish these nymphs in tailwaters, spring creeks, and freestoners!

The best part is they are a "guide fly". Something you can tie quickly and if you lose, you won't lose sleep over it because you tied it in a minute, with little material. I tie these in a variety of body/bead colors, sometimes adding flash to the ribbing or collar.

These flies are almost always under my dry dropper, fished as a single nymph when fish are picky. In general, they are a staple in my box. I recently posted an image of them, on Instagram, and I quickly was messaged by someone fishing the Gunpowder. They mentioned, they were using sz 14/16 Walt's Worms and it seemed like the fish were keyed into them, which I believe. You should ESPECIALLY, consider them on spring creeks, or even on the Gunpowder, when fishing near vegetation, like a weed bed. Seriously, the next time you see a weed bed in the water, I want you to pull a small section out and hold it in your hold. I guarantee you will find hundreds of cressbugs in there. It is amazing!

Get your boots wet and chase down some fish!

I hope this report, with tips included, helps you the next time you head out to the Gunpowder River. Be sure to head over to my Youtube Channel and see the latest adventure, head over to the store for euro nymphs, new boxes, leaders for your next outing, and consider booking a trip for the clinic, or next year, through website.

Hats are coming back soon! Below is a sample "410" fishing hat for my Central MD peeps. Keep an eye out for this, and a few other options to hit the store within the next week!