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Gunpowder River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Gunpowder Falls below Prettyboy Dam: a cold tailwater where Maryland DNR manages 7.2 miles for wild brown trout under catch-and-return, flies-and-lures-only rules.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
30 cfs
Air / High
62 / 62 F
Wind
NE 7 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Gunpowder River fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The river is running 30 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 7 mph, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 62. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:40 AM-11:40 AM and 10:09 PM-12:09 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Brook troutExcellent

Below 50°F is the fall spawning band (40-50°F in Vermont), so stay off spawning gravel. In winter Maine IFW finds pond fish close to shore in 4 to 12 feet of water under the ice.

Tomorrow: Similar at 59 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Maryland requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $32.00 for residents. What a Maryland licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with MD DNR before you keep anything. The season dates for Maryland, read off the agency, are on the Maryland seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Gunpowder Falls near Parkton.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01581920.

529513730 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 26 years of October 23

At 30 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01581920 (Gunpowder Falls near Parkton) is at the 16th percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 26 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 52 cfs; the highest was 184 cfs and the lowest 22 cfs.

p10 28median 52p90 146

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01581920; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp62 F
High / Low62 / 44 F
WindNE 7-9 mph
Pressure1026.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:25 / 18:15
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)55 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Gunpowder River this week

The best day on Gunpowder River this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:40 AM-11:40 AM and 10:09 PM-12:09 AM
Minor period
4:02 AM-5:02 AM
Sun
07:25 to 18:15
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 11 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

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

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Brook trout illustration

Brook trout

Spring and fall in ponds and lakes, when fish come shallow; summer in the coldest headwater streams

The brook trout is a char native to eastern North America, a fish of cold, clean streams and ponds, and the state fish of Michigan. Below 50°F is the fall spawning band (40-50°F in Vermont), so stay off spawning gravel. In winter Maine IFW finds pond fish close to shore in 4 to 12 feet of water under the ice.

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
Brook trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 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, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 65 F, wind to 10 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 69 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

Maryland non-tidal fishing license and trout stamp for anglers 16 and older (Gunpowder Falls State Park). Catch-and-return, flies and artificial lures only from Prettyboy Dam to Blue Mount Road; statewide wild trout rules to Corbett Road; put-and-take below. Check the current Maryland Guide to Fishing and Crabbing for spring closures.

Access

Gunpowder Falls State Park, Hereford Area: the Lefty Kreh Fishing Trail from Prettyboy Reservoir to Big Falls Road; the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail from Blue Mount Road to Phoenix. Respect private property below the park.

About this water

The Gunpowder Falls tailwater below Prettyboy Dam, Baltimore County, Maryland, about 17.5 managed miles to below Phoenix Road. Flows on this page come from USGS 01581920, Gunpowder Falls near Parkton.

Fishing Gunpowder River: the full guide

A tailwater built by an agreement

In 1986 the Maryland chapter of Trout Unlimited and Maryland DNR negotiated a minimum release of cold water from Baltimore City's Prettyboy Reservoir, which can draw from gates at 10, 55 and 100 feet. After biologists planted trout eggs and stocked fingerlings and adults, DNR recorded the first stream-bred brown trout in 1989 and the first wild rainbows in 1991. DNR calls the Gunpowder tailwater a blue-ribbon trout river.

Three kinds of water

DNR manages 7.2 miles from Prettyboy Dam to Blue Mount Road for wild trout under catch-and-return, flies and artificial lures only rules. From Blue Mount Road down 4.2 miles to Corbett Road, statewide wild trout rules apply (2 trout a day, no size or bait restrictions). The last 6.1 miles, from Corbett Road to a mile below Phoenix Road, are stocked with hatchery rainbows in spring and fall as a put-and-take fishery with a 5-trout limit, and close for short periods in spring for stocking.

The trout

DNR's surveys find the upper tailwater 97 percent brown trout, with rainbow and brook trout making up the rest. Most adult browns run 8 to 11 inches and some reach 12 to 15; DNR's tagging study found they move little, grow slowly and take about five years to reach 11 or 12 inches. Wild rainbows reproduce only in the 1.2 miles between the dam and Falls Road, where DNR has stocked marked fingerlings to rebuild them.

Land, trails and private water

The first 0.4 mile below the dam crosses Baltimore City watershed property, and Gunpowder Falls State Park's Hereford Area surrounds the next 6.6 miles; much of the rest runs through private land, so obey posted signs. The Lefty Kreh Fishing Trail, formerly the Gunpowder South Trail, follows the river from Prettyboy Reservoir to Big Falls Road, and the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail parallels most of it from Blue Mount Road to Phoenix.

Common questions

Are the brown trout in the Gunpowder wild?

Yes. DNR documented the first stream-bred browns in 1989, and wild browns are found through the whole tailwater, most of them above the put-and-take section.

Where can I keep trout on the Gunpowder?

Not above Blue Mount Road, which is catch-and-return. Statewide wild trout rules (2 a day) apply from Blue Mount Road to Corbett Road, and 5 a day in the stocked water below Corbett Road.

How big are Gunpowder brown trout?

DNR says most adults are 8 to 11 inches and some reach 12 to 15; growth is slow, about five years to 11 or 12 inches.

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: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

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

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01581920 — Gunpowder Falls near Parkton
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 39.5770, -76.6260 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 6, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 6, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.