Same fly, fourth trip

[William Anderson]

I drove up to the Gunpowder in Maryland this morning to fish some low water in very bright sunshine. It put a bit of a kabosh on the catching, but it was nice to be out. I fished a couple flies that I've tied recently. The black ant( soft-hackle pattern. No takers. A tiny cdc wing, grouse tail herl body midge emerger, nothing, although there were lots of midges around. A little peacock herl body midge with a partridge hackle. Nada. Plenty of caddis around too, dapping and skating laterally. Nothing taking on top. After a fishless couple of hours, I decided to go with my "go to" fly to avoid getting skunked and then I would get back to the new pattern parade. The water was so clear I was midstream on my knees, with my waste pack pulled up under my armpits trying to stay low. Second cast with the hare's ear and partridge flymph slightly down and across within a 2'-3' swing and a gorgeous take - 10" brown. He crossed over about 5' to intercept it. I tried to get a pic, but my phone was in the zipped pocket and I didn't want to lift the guy out of the water, so in my fumbling for the camera on my phone, he slipped off the barbless hook. Nice colors, though. Still kneeling midstream I put the fly a little further down in front of a flat rock covered in rock snot. Wham. I landed his twin and let him go without having to touch him. And that was it. Fishless for the next couple hours. It's the same fly (the actual fly) that I've caught trout on in my last four trips out. It kills as an emerging/drowned caddis. Hiked out the wrong trail to the wrong parking area and then walked up the road a couple miles up to find my truck.

http://www.flymphforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1781

w

[willowhead]

Again, "excellent all the way around." finally spelled it right .....

[redietz]

It kills as an emerging/drowned caddis.

You're absolutely right about that. I've had good luck with partridge and hare's ear when there are a lot of caddis about, especially in riffles.

FWIW, five of the trout I caught in the GP last Saturday were on a Partridge & Orange, but I was fishing water where I expected sulfurs, not caddis.

[tie2fish]

Glad to see you fooled a couple, william. That hill's a b****h, ain't it?

[CreationBear]

I landed his twin and let him go without having to touch him.

Excellent report...

I don't know how it is on the Gunpowder, but in this part of the world I've always been amazed to find big browns in thin water this time of year. You'd think they'd be sulled-up in the deepest water they could find, but instead they seem drawn to well-areated riffles that barely cover their dorsal fins. Easier to step on than to catch, however...

[William Anderson]

From what I hear, the fishing is better before the point when I got there and after I left, in a different section, of course. They were probably there, and with Otters recent tales in mind, I was much more patient and a determined. The big guys are there, I just didn't see them. I was happy with a brace. Especially the way it happened.

That hill was a serious heartache to put things in rated "g" terms. I'd do it again though. Thanks for the recommendation.

w