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Gunpowder River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Baltimore’s tailwater miracle: 17 miles of cold water below Prettyboy Dam grow wild browns within sight of the beltway sprawl.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
108 cfs
Air / High
87 / 87 F
Wind
NW 10 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01581920, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Gunpowder River is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 108 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings cloud cover, wind NW around 10 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 87. Water sits around 54 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutGood

Blue-winged olives and midges on soft seams; streamers on overcast days move the better fish.

Brown troutGood

Pre-spawn aggression: this is streamer season for the fish of the year.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 81 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Gunpowder Falls near Parkton.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01581920.

113127141108 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp87 F
High / Low87 / 70 F
WindNW 10-18 mph
Pressure1012.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 67%
Sunrise / Sunset06:37 / 19:33
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~54 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Rain, 87/70 F, wind 10 mph, rain 67%

Fair or better. Cloud and a rain chance can stretch the morning bite well past breakfast: keep moving baits tied on.

Species guide

The species that matter on Gunpowder River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Best: Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct

The workhorse of western rivers: riffles, seams and dry-fly eats. Blue-winged olives and midges on soft seams; streamers on overcast days move the better fish.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Best: Sep-Nov

Wary, predatory and nocturnal by preference. The big ones eat streamers. Pre-spawn aggression: this is streamer season for the fish of the year.

When to come: the Gunpowder River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 54 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~54 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Gunpowder River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 87 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 76 F, wind to 10 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 91 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Maryland requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Catch-and-release, artificial lures/flies only from Prettyboy Dam to Blue Mount Road: other sections under put-and-take rules. Maryland license plus trout stamp: check current MDNR regs.

Access

Falls Road, Masemore, Bunker Hill, York Road, Monkton and Big Falls lots in Gunpowder Falls State Park; the rail-trail links them.

About this water

A 17-mile cold tailwater of Prettyboy Dam through Gunpowder Falls State Park, Baltimore County, Maryland: wild brown trout water.

Fishing Gunpowder River: the full guide

The accidental spring creek

When Baltimore City agreed to release cold bottom-water from Prettyboy Dam, the Gunpowder Falls below it became something Maryland had never had: a genuine year-round wild trout river. The seventeen miles down to Loch Raven Reservoir hold self-sustaining brown trout at densities that rival famous Pennsylvania water, all inside Gunpowder Falls State Park, all public, all within a half hour of downtown Baltimore.

Small flies, smart fish

The upper river (Falls Road to Masemore) is the technical heart: clear, cold, canopy-shaded water where wild browns of ten to fourteen inches demand 6X and drag-free drifts. Sulphurs in May-June, tricos and terrestrials through summer, olives in fall and midges all winter: it fishes twelve months. The middle river adds stocked rainbows and easier wading; the lower river toward Loch Raven warms and mixes in fallfish and the odd smallmouth.

Flows from the city

Releases run the show: the Parkton gauge between roughly 40 and 150 cfs is prime: below 30 the river pins and fish spook; above 250 wading turns pushy. The cold releases hold summer temps in the 50s and low 60s in most years: the rare drought-year warm spell is the exception worth watching. Winter fishing survives every cold snap: the dam water flows out around 40 degrees.

A state-park river

Gunpowder Falls State Park wraps the corridor: parking at Falls Road, Masemore, Bunker Hill, York Road, Monkton Station and Big Falls, all linked by the NCR/Torrey C. Brown rail-trail: bike shuttles are a local tradition. Hereford’s shops cover flies and advice. Weekends bring tubes and swimmers to the easy pools in summer: fish early, or walk the water between accesses that floaters skip.

Common questions

Are the browns really wild?

Yes: the catch-and-release reach sustains itself entirely by natural reproduction, one of the mid-Atlantic’s best wild-trout success stories.

What is the best season?

It is a four-season river: May-June sulphurs and October olives are the peaks, but a 45-degree January afternoon midging is pure Gunpowder.

How technical is it?

Upper-river fish are honest but demanding: long leaders, small flies, quiet feet. The middle river forgives more while you learn it.

Is fishing good at Gunpowder River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Loch Raven Reservoir10 miLiberty Reservoir18 miSusquehanna Flats30 miSusquehanna River33 miChesapeake Bay (Annapolis)42 miPatuxent River43 mi
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