Get out there! This is the best 3 day stretch we’ve had since December, and it looks like it will continue into the weekend. I will be on the Gunpowder all day tomorrow (Wednesday, 2/19) and Thursday. Water temps right now are warmer than they have been since January, and despite the cooling effect of snowmelt will likely continue to rise as we see a few days with air temps in the 50’s. Flows are about perfect in the 130 cfs range.
I am betting that warmer water will energize the fish, and if we are lucky we might see some winter stonefly activity. Barring that, I will try a zebra midge first, as usual this time of year.
Good luck! I hope to see you out there. If not this week, then the weekend looks like it could be pretty stellar as well.
UPDATE: It’s officially rock snot (didymo) season.
Additionally, the trout weren’t fighting each other to eat my flies, either. Despite water temps reaching 40 degrees for the first time in weeks, I was skunked for the first time in a long while. And that despite a full day of fishing. On the plus side, I did see a couple stoneflies. Also,there is still a great deal of snow on the ground:
So if you do go out, be careful. All that said, I still expect today to be a solid fishing day, and the weekend looks like its going to be great.
James Kibler 