May 2019 Gunpowder River Report
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May 2019 Gunpowder River Report
AVERAGE STREAM FLOW: 244 CFS
WATER TEMPS: Low 60s dropping to mid 50s
GO-TO SETUP: 9 ft 4wt, SA MPX WF Floating, 9ft 5x Leader or Fast Sink Polyleader
GUIDES FLY CHOICE: North Country Spiders, Sulphur Comparaduns
AVERAGE STREAM FLOW: 244 CFS
WATER TEMPS: Low 60s dropping to mid 50s
GO-TO SETUP: 9 ft 4wt, SA MPX WF Floating, 9ft 5x Leader or Fast Sink Polyleader
GUIDES FLY CHOICE: North Country Spiders, Sulphur Comparaduns
While high flows continue to provide excellent streamer fishing opportunities, it has become hard to ignore the red-hot wet fly bite. Swinging nearly any North Country Spider pattern using a 7 ft fast sink poly leader and a few feet of 4x has been incredibly effective in the deeper runs. Sulphurs hatches were excellent from mid to late in the month and the Comparadun was the ticket to sipping chunky brown trout. Some much larger than usual brown trout were caught on dry flies late in the evening on the upper stretches of the river. Novice clients were also quite successful in securing some of their first brown trout on dry flies. The Ephemerella invaria and dorothea hatches have been fantastic since last year's hatches. High flows have washed out much of the river's didymo issue and the mayfly hatches have been as thick as they were before didymo first began to choke out the river around 2008.