I had an hour at the end of the day, so I decided to fish downstream from the bridge at the Masemore Road access to the Gunpowder River. Earlier in the day, I fished upstream and was impressed by the water quality, the rocky bottom, and the lack of fishing pressure on this particular day in late October. I know this access point, like the one up by Prettyboy, gets a lot of attention on the weekends since it is close to the Prettyboy Dam section. The farther downstream you go from Prettyboy, the more the pressure drops off. This is surprising since the water in this tailwater fishery remains cold during a normal summer all the way down through Sparks – so you would think the entire river would get attention… not the case.
Lack of pressure doesn’t mean there was no pressure, and I chatted briefly with another fisherman gearing up to fish immediately under the bridge. As is my habit, I walked away from the parking lot and looked at the banks on either side of the river to decide the best way to move downstream. I saw hikers walking on the northern bank, so I decided to follow that trail downstream approximately half a mile and begin fishing.
The water was running exceptionally strong and fast that day because a huge rainstorm earlier in the week had blown out Deer Creek and the Gunpowder down in the Sparks section. They must have been releasing more water from the dam because the volume and the velocity made it difficult to wade. At normal flows, fishing is pretty easy here. The vegetation hangs back and doesn’t challenge casting once you move a foot or two away from the bank. Of course, Gunpowder trout are notoriously wary because of all the attention they get, and I tried to respect that as I entered the river.
This late in the season, I limited my presentation to nymphs and streamers and flipped them aggressively next to the structure that peppered the riverbank. I worked up and down the stream bank with no success. This was going to be another day of being totally skunked. But at least the sun was out, the weather was warm for late October, and I wasn’t mowing the lawn or doing some other obnoxious domestic task.
Gunpowder River Trout Fishing Bottom Line: I know I have only scratched the surface of the Gunpowder, despite all the posts and visits I have made. This is a complex river with its own unique character, and its trout have an intriguingly different personality. They are wary, defensive, skittish… and demand the utmost in skill before they reward the angler with a startling tug and a vicious fight. I’ll be back up here in the spring and give this another shot.
Date Fished: 10/25/2009
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Getting There: Head north on 83 and take exit 27 for Mt Carmel. Head West over I83 and you will see the turn for Masemore Road on the right. It comes up quickly and is a small road. It will wind its way back to the river – there are some one-lane sections.
Google Local Coordinates: 39.61111,-76.682682
Secrets Revealed? No. This is a very public location that is documented in the following places:
Maryland DNR
Guide to Maryland Trout Fishing
Looking back up to the bridge
Downstream from the bridge
Typical structure – note how clear the water is
Logs collect where the river jogs to the left or right.
Unless stated otherwise, this article was authored by Steve Moore.