The Stoneflies Are Coming

This time of year I become restless from the long winter and start dreaming of the fairer weather and fishing to come. The hours at my tying bench spent dreaming of the upcoming hatches drives me insane. I’ve been busy tying sulfurs and cicadas but the first real insect emergence I focus on is the winter stoneflies. Tying anything else is really just my own method of transcendental meditation to escape the cold short days.

My friend – and one of my fishing hero’s – Matt Grobert has made a great video of a little black stonefly I like to tie. Matt’s video is out on the Riversage Journal. I’ll admit that I’m late to the party on this on-line publication. It looks pretty cool and their contributors are top notch. I’ve saved the link into my favorites. 

Matt’s video can be found at Riversage Journal

I have to say that I’m extremely flattered that Matt has shared this pattern. I’ll also note that his fly is a beautiful tie! Mine are more “quick and dirty” but get the job done.  If you don’t follow Matt on his blog, The Caddis Chronicles,  and social media, you should. For those who aren’t familiar with Matt, he’s a phenomenal tier living in NJ and surrounded by streams where I learned to match hatches for trout myself. He’s got some patterns (the Pumpkin head midge has saved many days for me) and even has a fantastic book: Fly Fishing New Jersey Trout Streams. 

Tie up a half dozen of this great stonefly. While you’re at it, whip up some of Matt’s PumpkinHead Midge and my Fast Caddis, and you’ll be ready for spring.Thanks for making the video Matt!

April is here…no fooling!

It’s been a long winter. You’ve hidden in the basement or your den tying flies for months and, after a few tastes of warm weather (and that time the weather-man said it would be 85 but it was only 58) you woke up this morning to get cracking on your taxes! When will the fishing begin?

A favorite spring day making memories on the stream.
A favorite spring day making memories on the stream.

It starts right after you get an e-mail off to Knee Deep Fly Fishing and book your next weekend! We know you spent the winter chasing down deals on gear that Santa didn’t deliver and you’re itching to get those new rubber soled wading boots wet. We want to help make the most of your time on the water but we also know the value of taking a deep breath and there’s nothing better than a “full day” outing complete with a real streamside lunch (no soggy sandwiches here).

What’s new for the 2015 season? We’re going to get you out there with no haggling. You have a pal who wants to tag along but he doesn’t have gear? We’ll get him kitted out for the day at no extra charge. As we’ve always done, there’s no bill at the end of the day for flies and leaders; we just want you to worry about fishing. Check out our Booking and Rates page.

April is filling up fast but we’ve got a couple weekend days left in the second half of the month so shoot us a line fast and get on the calender. Need flies to kit yourself out? Send us an email and we can get cranking at the vise and to the UPS store.

We hope to see you on the water!

Micah and The Knee Deep Crew.

Holy High Water…we’re fishing!

Got some time on your hands and want to get out? We’ve got two openings next week. Tuesday and Wednesday are up for grabs and we’d love to show you around our favorite spring spots. Temps are good even if flows are high and it’s a great time to work on your streamer game.

#14 Brown Stones
Brown Stones

Spring is here and it’s been a wet one. While drying out, we’ve been getting busier and busier here at Knee Deep Headquarters. It’s time to start thinking wet flies for the spring hatches and streamers are a good bet when the water is high up on the Gunpowder. The sulfur hatch is a ways off but we’ll have Hendricksons, caddis, and stoneflies right now.  Every day is different this time of year and we could find ourselves nymphing, swing wets, or tossing big minnow patterns to create our own bite.

We’ll be on the road for the next few days but available.  Give us a call to book at (202) 681-8765 or email us at Info@kneedeepff.com

We’ll see you on the river!

Micah

Gunpowder Falls Fishing Report

Training Knee Deep Fly Fishing’s newest employee, Luke, has taken us away from posting in the last couple weeks. Who would have guessed it! We’re putting in lots of time on the water though and it’s been a great past few weeks. The fishing is finally turning up towards the surface. Caddis have been making their way to the top in waves depending on the conditions. Pack a lunch and plan to fish all day if you’re headed out. There will be lulls in the action but when the switch flips, the bugs hit the surface and the fish begin feeding again.  Last week’s outings saw fish on a mixed bag of surface and sub-surface caddis patterns.   

Adam lands a beautiful brown fishing sub-surface caddis last week. Thanks for fishing with Knee Deep, Adam!

There are still hendricksons emerging as well as a few sulfurs. The sulfur hatch should start to take off a bit more as the days go by. I’m excited about hitting the water this weekend and in the coming week and am hoping to get some late evening time in on those spinner falls. Give Knee Deep a call (202-681-8765) and we’ll help you put the right flies over fish!

Welcome Luke – Knee Deep’s Newest Team Member

We’ve been a bit busy here at Knee Deep Headquarters. We’re proud to announce we have a new team member/son, Luke Patrick Dammeyer, who joined us last Friday.  We can’t wait to get him on the water and busy cranking out flies at the vise. He and mom are healthy and happy as can be. Thanks to everyone for your well wishes and patience while we’ve taken a few days off.

Knee Deep’s newest little helper, Luke

I stopped by Orvis in Bethesda today for the Fly Fishing 101 program and dropped off a fly order. Joe and Trent have a fresh couple dozen Pax specials in the bins and some “super” versions coming by next weekend. If you need sulfurs, get your orders in fast – we’ll be tying them like crazy but the suply won’t last long. What can I say, we have to keep a few dozen for the personal stash! 

 Just before we went to the hospital, the fishing was hot and cold with the weather but with this new warm blast we expect the sulfurs and caddis to take flight in earnest. Keep that box of midges in your pack as a day-saver.Hang in there,  it’s almost sunscreen time!

Let’s hit the water – maybe a nap first!

Micah

A First Trout & A Fishing Report

 

There’s nothing like that first trout on a fly!

I had the pleasure of guiding two wonderful young ladies last week and introducing them to fly fishing for the first time. It was a great day on the water and the perfect picnic weather. I had to post a few pictures and say “Thank You” to the Sitar Art’s Center for connecting us. For those of you who don’t know about “sitar”, it’s a wonderful organization that’s putting art and music in the hands of DC’s kids. I can’t think of a tool that’s more powerful than creativity to help propel them into the future. Check them out and think about getting involved. It’s a remarkable place filled with some great folks.

 

Not a bad day for a steamside lunch!

With Spring dragging its feet and the air temps making wild swings, the Hendricksons have been slow to show themselves and hot/cold depending on the day. Fortunately there are still a few stoneflies buzzing around the Big Gunpowder Falls to keep anglers out of trouble. Grey comparaduns (think #12 & 14) have been working on rising fish feeding on emerges. A pocket full of midges can save an evening. Last night was no exception to that rule. Finally, there have been a few sulfurs popping out of the water here and there.  Get you snow-shoe patterns and your Frog’s Fanny ready!

Not sure about where to start on The Big Gunpowder? Give Knee Deep Fly Fishing a call (or e-mail) and we’ll help outfit you and get you started right.

We’ll see you on the water!

Micah

A Few In The Know

The Night Shift

 A few folks in the know leave work a lttiel early to beat traffic and hit the Gunpowder Falls for that magic hour after the sun fades. It’s a time when I’ve made some great memories with family and friends, both old and new, and caught a lot of fish. The Sulfur hatch is on and it’s time to start bailing out early! E-mail us or call and set up an after-work outing in the next few weeks!

Report: It’s Like A Heatwave

Hooked Up

 Spring seems to be here to stay and so are the hatches.  Sunday’s outing provided plenty of sunshine and warm temps as well as mayflies and caddis. A mixed bag of insects keeps anglers busy changing flies but the action seems to continue throughout most of the day.  As the sun rose higher during the day, the hatches changed, turning on and off but there always seemed to be some surface action.  Forecasts for the week predict similar conditions and the fishing should be great. 80 degree weather feels pretty good!

Now’s the time to get on the calendar for an outing in June and there’s a few dates remaining open in May. If you’re headed out on your own, bring along some #14 elk hair caddis and a handful of #14 sulfur emergers. Snowshoe comparaduns are a favorite and float well in faster runs and tail-outs. Don’t forget lots of water and sunscreen!

Sunshine and Brown Trout

March Comes in Like Lamb…..

Last Friday I got a chance to take out some folks for Backwater Angler  and show them around on the Gunpowder. A few warm days got the fish excited before our outing and the stoneflies were keeping them busy in the slack-water and eddies. Friday was a little cooler and cloudier than it had been but any time I’m not shoveling snow in March, I’m not going to complain.

Theaux set us up with one of his 5pc Winston 4wts to try out (We brought it back in the original 5 pieces) and we had a great time putting it through its paces. With a few clouds overhead, the water temps flirted with 50 degrees, though it didn’t quite get there for us. Stoneflies and Blue Winged Olives provided the bulk of our action. The father and son duo were good company on the water and, as someone who treasures fishing-time with family, I had fun showing them around. They reminded me a lot of my brothers and I with some good laughs about casting and catching. We landed a few and, with the sunshine peeking out right at the end of the day, it felt like Spring was surely here. It reminds me that I need to put some days on the calender to fish with my own family.

(More below…)

Tight Lines in March

 If you’re headed out this week and weekend, check the weather and the gauges. This gauge has flows AND temps. When it heats up, fishing should be great. Pack some stoneflies, a few Hendricksons and a lunch – make a day of it! Don’t have flies or haven’t renewed your license yet this year? Swing by Backwater and talk to Theaux’s crew. There’s some gold out there (see photo below) and it’s hungry!

Tying your own flies? Knee Deep has some patterns for you. Check out our favorites for spring! Get signed up for the Knee Deep Fly Fishing Newsletter and keep up to date!

Keep your stick on the water!

-Micah

March Gold