Trout

Let It Snow!

Micahdammeyer Fall, Mayflies, Trout, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Many anglers only think of dry-fly fishing during the Spring hatches though there are caddis and mayflies hatching even into late fall. The shot above was takes Tuesday, Nov 2nd. No that’s not snow, those are mayflies happily soaking up sunshine around 1:00 in the afternoon! There were tricos and blue-winged-olives mixed in one big swarm over this fast riffle.

While the flows are a little high for easy dry-fly fishing, they will surely drop. In the meantime those same high flows are making for some great streamer fishing. Flows around 200cfs still allow for easy wading and for the trout to move around finding lies and undercut banks where low water wouldn’t normally permit them to swim. Be sure to pack a few lead-eyed buggers in tan, white and brown and don’t forget to include your dry-fly box and a selection of nymphs for dredging the deeper runs. A Non-slip-loop knot will increase the action of your streamers and is worth practicing at home before you hit the water.

All of this sound like code to you? Give Knee Deep Fly Fishing a call and book a day on the water for November! We’ll help you sort out that box full of flies and get you on fish while learning a few new tricks.

 

Orvis Days, Care For Kids and a big Thank You!

Micahdammeyer Big Gunpowder Falls, fishing, Fly Tying, Mayflies, Spring, Trout, Uncategorized, Winter , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment

On October 8th, I was lucky enough to be invited to speak at the Orvis Store in Bethesda, MD during their “Orvis Days” event. I was flattered to have a great crowd of folks turn out to hear me talk about the Big Gunpowder Falls and show off some of my photography with a presentation following the seasons on the river.

Also presenting during the event was Trent Jones, who schooled us on fishing in DC on the Tidal Potomac River, all while we were entertained for most of the day by jazz guitarist Bart Stringham. Joe from the shop brouth in Sandwiches from PotBelly and other snacks and refreshments. Except for being on the water, what else could a fly-fisher want?

I couldn’t have asked for a better reception and I’m grateful for all the kind feedback I’ve received. Thank you to everyone who turned out and to Orvis for having me at the shop!

If you missed you missed the Orvis Days promotions last weekend there’s a chance to save at the store coming up the week of October 21st through Oct. 30th with a Care For Kids Card from the folks at the Children’s National Medical Center. The cards are $50 and get you 20% discounts on regularly priced merchandise. It’s perfect if you’ve had your eye on new boots and waders or a new rod for under the tree not to mention the long list of first class merchants who’re participating! I’ll even be working at the store Sunday the 23rd if you want to come and say hello.

Cooler Air and Warmer Water

Micahdammeyer Big Gunpowder Falls, fishing, Fly Tying, Trout, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment

With the water dropping all over the East Coast the fishing is heating up. A few trips in the last week have been a great chance to check out Mother Nature’s handy work. Seeing the piles of trees 10 feet high are a reminder of just how powerful water is. There’s lots of new structure in streams like the Gunpowder and the river bottom has new contours to explore. I found a few gravel bars in the last few days that were still settling and shifting. Nothing keeps you on your toes like quicksand!

 The fishing has been great and trout are hungry and aggressive with warm water temps getting them feeding. Big streamers are the ticket to lots of strikes. Fishing with 4x tippet makes casting heavy flies a breeze and the high, off-color, water helps hide the thicker line.

I shrunk a few photos down and put them in a slideshow below. 

[Show picture list]

Nothing says fall like getting out those waders that you’ve been going without all summer. Give us a call today and talk about scheduling an outing for fall!

 

Wet or dry…

Micahdammeyer Big Gunpowder Falls, Fly Tying, Mayflies, Spring, Trout, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment
Wet or Dry?
Wet or dry...have it your way

Nothing is new about fishing wet flies but I thought I’d share my go-to wet/dry sulphur pattern. Fishing the Gunpowder Falls anglers are treated to some great hatches of sulphurs and caddis. I think there are more caddis in the river but feel free to debate it with me. In any case, I fish this fly both dry and wet. I even fish a combo of it with just the wings dried off by a powdered fly drying agent. There’s nothing fancy about it except maybe the snowshoe-hares foot wing. The more fish you catch the worse it looks and the better it seems to work. I don’t leave the house without a full compartment of this fly if I’m taking other people along. As the season goes by I tie it smaller and smaller and even with a dun colored wing. I credit an old friend for turning me onto the snowshoe hare years ago and I put it in everything.

Wet flies are one of those things you just can’t get in your local fly shop (unless you have a great local shop…if so get in there and buy some flies and other stuff from them and keep them open) and when I hear people say “It’s not worth tying my own flies” I think of this one. They’re  becoming a lost art. There are dozens of patterns that you just can’t pick up everywhere. Many tiers are picky about little details and swear by minor adjustments of old patterns. I’m definitely one of those folks; for me it’s the little tweaks that give flies the “life” that some store bought flies are lacking. Spending a few hours at the vise refining and learning can pay off on the stream. There’s nothing more rewarding than learning to tie your own flies and hitting the water and CATHCHING FISH with something you made!

Get out there while it’s still spring! And get on some of those sulphurs. Maybe call your favorite local fishing guide (hint, hint!) and ask about some fly tying lessons. It’s a sure-fire cure for cabin feaver when winter comes around again.

More Fracking in the News

Micahdammeyer fishing, Fracking, links, News, Trout , , , , , 0 Comment

The Roanoake Times reports on some proposed changes to regulations related to fracking in the GW and Jefferson National Forests. It sounds like there may be some holes in there that open up some prime logging country but it sounds like it’s not broad. The plan apparently allows for vertical drilling but not hydrolic fracturing. This would help protect some valuable groud-water and trout streams.

I spent a few years living in near the Jefferson forest and It’s a GREAT place. While you can see the scars of some past logging, there are stands of very old trees and a lot of history. I chased brook trout in the forest a few days a week for a long time and hope the people in power keep their eye on what matters. For me it was a wonderful escape from the “every-day” and there are still places where you can get lost following small streams and run into bears and porcupines and old mountain foks hunting Ginseng…

It’s a story to keep an eye on. The article listed above lists some folks you can send a quick e-mail to and give them your thoughts. I think it’s worth a few minutes.

In The News…and my 2 cents

Micahdammeyer fishing, News, Trout, Uncategorized , , , , , 0 Comment

After Maryland’s big push to get anglers to buy new boots and ditch their felt soles (link here!)  in the name of preventing the spread of “Rock Snot” It seems they’ve not done their homework when it comes to their fish suppliers. From the Maryland DNR’s own site, they report on the issue briefly and discuss plans to expand their own hatchery operations. Article here.

All of this brings up the idea that they could save a few headaches and money, something all government agencies are worried about lately, by creating more catch and release water in the state. As a teenager in NJ I got to see, first hand, as a large section of a local stream was converted to catch and release. Attention from caring anglers and other wildlife lovers increased and efforts to sure-up streambanks and trash clean-ups were instituted. The river today still has it’s problems but less trash and more fish still has me dreaming of the town I left almost 10 years ago. Simply, it was a beautiful stream filled with wild fish!

 I’m sure I’ll make some enemies by saying that I support conservation efforts that lean towards catch and release streams as our region becomes more heavily populated and pressure on our resources increases.  This isn’t news to people who know me. I spent my weekend at my part-time gig teaching the “Fly Fishing 101” class at my local Orvis store and the idea of “catching fish to eat” inevitably came up. It’s a common thought with anglers new to fly fishing and I find myself defending catch and release regularly. To my excellent student I said “if we all kept them, there wouldn’t be any fish left” and the discussion seemed to end at a pleasant stalemate.I hear a lot of anglers say “I went fishing a few times but I didn’t catch anything…” when asked about their previous experiences. Some of that may have to do with the trout out-smarting the fishermen but I have to think that in some circumstances a healthier population of fish could have helped. With all the streams in the immediate metro area and beyond, I can’t help but imagine rivers where the focus is on total-stream-health and not putting fish on someones plate. I understand that it takes generations to change a population’s mode of thinking but at some point we all need to change. Introducing problems like Dydimo and Whirling Disease happens by many different means. It’s not JUST felt soles of fishermen. As we can see, even the agencies that are supposed to be looking out for us can screw up and transport these sort of aquatic illnesses.

Have you ever eaten one of those Purina fed stocked trout? They taste horrible!

The Weather’s Here…

Micahdammeyer Big Gunpowder Falls, fishing, Spring, Trout, Uncategorized , , , , , 0 Comment

I didn’t think Spring would ever hit Maryland’s streams. While the great heat-island of DC has been green and flowering for weeks, it seems that the banks of the local streams have been slow to catch on. Last week’s trips to The Big Gunpowder gave me a chance to see the skunk cabbage really filling in and May apples in bloom. 

I got to take out an old friend that I’d met in VA a few years back when I lived down in the mountains there. We used to fish for smallmouths on the New River and chase brookies on tiny creeks in moonshine and ginseng country. We used to get into all sorts of trouble with locals and one particular warden that had it in for us because we used fly rods and had fancy waders. He’d moved to DC and had dug out an old Sage RPL 5wt and has been chomping at the bit. We’d met up after he’d been released from a conference in Baltimore. After getting him into some fresh wading boots he was in the water before I had all of my crap together. 

After a few false casts into the trees he was into fish. It felt pretty great to see someone hook into fish after saying “I don’t know if I remember how to cast!” ten minutes earlier. We caught quite a hatch of sulphurs, hendricksons and then caddis before calling it a night in favor of some greasy grub on the road home.  It was a great day of fishing.