Stubbornness & Greed

I hadn't been on a trout stream in two weeks due to opening day and the extravaganza that takes place on trout streams across the country. To top it off, I experienced a major skunking the previous weekend  fishing in some new and unfamiliar territory. With spring break approaching and a beautiful day outside, I made a bee line to the water soon afterwork intent on some evening action.

Sculpzilla.

As I approached the water, a brown trout rose in the nearest riffle and hundreds of midges were above the water. Larger crane flies were picking them off inches above the surface with their long appendages dangling towards the water. On top of the crane flies were sparrows weaving in and out of branches and dancing above the riffles better than any piece of manmade technology ever will. I stepped into this food chain and decided on introducing some protein. Despite rising fish and perfect conditions for a deadly dry dropper combo, I decide not to change rigs. Looking down on my 4wt. fly rod I noticed an old dry fly leader with a piece of 2x attached to the end of it and four inches of articulated sculpin on the end of that. Out of stubbornness I decided to leave it be. I tested the knot strength of the connections because the rig was super old. Satisfied, I chucked and ducked the sculpzilla into the riffle. The rising brown trout exploded, almost instantaneously on the fly, and I was into the first fish of the day. 

Slightly High.

A Greedy Brown.

I Love the Taste of Sculpin in the Afternoon.

Footprints.

The Stalker.

For most of the day, my stubbornness resulted in many follows but very few takes. It seemed the majority of fish were not willing to attack something a quarter of their size. They would follow the fly several feet and turn away at the last second. That left me with only a few greedy & gluttonous fish approaching sixteen inches to take. They wanted it bad, and were met with two stinger hooks in the face. 

Mayfly.

Greedy Bow.

The Sculpin Stache. 

The Gun Show.

Setting the scene for our first stop on our Maryland taste of the dream, Adam and I drove to Baltimore to pick up the bro and fish while he finished up his last days ever teaching in Baltimore City. Descending upon the city on a Thursday evening, Adam and I had similar thoughts as we saw the city looming in the distance. Adam remarked, "f*** my life," upon seeing the buildings and the show on the streets. Apparently, we would be sacrificing the peace and serenity of a fishing trip for some sirens and car alarms for two nights. At least we would have couches to sleep on instead of the bed of the truck or the rocky ground.

Gunpowder Scenery.

We Weren't The Only Ones Fishing.

Beavers Abound.

Early the next morning, Adam and I woke up and made the short drive to the Gunpowder River Tailwater and fished the first several miles below Prettyboy Reservoir. For those that have never been to the Gun Show, it is quite the tailwater. Some areas of been electro-shocked and produced trout per mile counts in the 4,000s. Granted, the majority of those fish are small, but the river houses some impressive hogs as well. These fish are wild brown trout and rainbows that have been stocked as fingerlings. The fish are extremely wary and intelligent and will test the skills of the most seasoned angler.

The Quarry.

The first stop of the trip ended up being quite a challenge. The weather was hot and humid with bright sunny skies which made fishing the cold gin clear currents of the 'powder difficult. You could see the trout suspended in the long flats and the eddies of the pocket water slowly rising up in down in the currents. Adam brought his seine, and we sampled the insect population before gearing up. We immediately found a large brown sculpin who almost escaped our grasp but other than that, the seine only produced a few very small mayflies and several grey scuds. We geared up appropriately and hit up the pocket-water as we made our way to the dam.

Typical Gunpowder Brown.

Fooled By a Pheasant Tail.

We each found success, catching numerous small browns and bows but it was the larger fish that schooled us. Adam hooked into a large rainbow (probably a kamloop bow) that immediately ran into a downed tree before Adam and his helios could even react to what just took place. Several near misses with streamers in the pocket-water also left me empty handed with the larger fish. However, the smaller fish more than made up for it. When combined with the scenery that the Gunpowder offers and the critters that inhabit its banks you have one enjoyable day.

Sculpzilla.

Gunpowder Crayfish.

Water Snake With A Fresh Kill in the Digestive System.

Highlights:

Catching the Sculpin

Getting Schooled By Large Bow

Adam and His Duel With the Black Rat Snake

Beavers Galore

Adam Getting Bit By A Giant Millipede

Adam Catching A Brown on an Electric Blue Clouser Minnow

Memorable Quote:

Adam Talking To Himself After Making An "Average Cast"

"What a cast, they should call me Mr. Accurate Cast"