Located within commuting distance of much of Maryland, you will find a beautiful trout stream and a great place to experience fly fishing on Gunpowder Falls. Naturally breeding brown trout populations, combined with continual cold water reservoir releases, yields year round fly fishing opportunities. This unique tailwater, located in Baltimore County, provides  miles of trout fishing including the 7.2 miles of catch and release fishing only area which is the focus of this Trail site.  There are multiple points to access the river, each with parking, all conveniently located off Interstate 83. Once you are wading and casting in these forest shaded waters, you’ll forget how close you are to the center of all that Maryland has to offer.

Site Location

This section of Gunpowder Falls flows through Baltimore County from Prettyboy Reservoir downstream to Loch Raven Reservoir.

Address 

Masemore Road parking area: 39.61094836739932, -76.6827253610619

Bunker Hill Road parking area: 39.60945583472603, -76.67235868652139

Gunpowder Falls State Park Hereford Area: 17910 York Rd, Parkton, MD 21120

Falls Road parking area: 39.618921865996526, -76.69051819113267

Blue Mount Road parking area: 39.59957894085351, -76.62635205931682

How to Get There

From Interstate 83, take the exit for Mount Carmel Road west, take a right turn onto Masemore Road to access the river via the Masemore Road parking area. To access Bunker Hill Road parking area, from Interstate 83, take the exit for Mount Carmel Road east, turn left onto Route 45/York Road then turn left onto Bunker Hill Road which takes you to the parking area. You can access the Gunpowder Falls State Park Hereford Area by staying on York Road and turning into the parking area on the left just before your cross over Gunpowder Falls. To access the and Blue Mount Road parking areas, from Interstate 83, take the exit for Mount Carmel Road east, turn right onto Route 45/York Road and then turn left onto Route 138/Monkton Road.  Continue straight for the Monkton Road parking area.  To access the Falls Road parking area, from Interstate 83, take the exit for Middletown Road west, turn left onto Falls Road and continue onto the Falls Road parking area where the road crosses Gunpowder Falls.

Parking

There are dirt/gravel parking lots located at where Falls Road, Masemore Road, York Road, Bunker Hill and Monkton Road cross Gunpowder Falls.

Where to Fish

From each of the parking lots, you walk up and down stream, wading in the river, within the Catch and Release Fishing Only section of the river. You can fly fish from the bank or by wading in the stream. Focus on casting to the riffles and deeper pools.

What to Catch 

Brown trout, rainbow trout and golden trout

What to Fish & How

Recommend bringing 4-5 weight 6' to 9' fly rods with floating line with 7-1/2 to 9-foot leaders with 4x to 5x tippets.  A good fly collection will include caddis and mayfly (spring) and midge (year round) dry fly patterns as well as terrestrials like ants, flying ants, beetles, crickets and inch worms which work great in the summer.  Include some nymph patterns like hare's ears, bead heads, pheasant tails and caddis larvae. Finally include some streamer patterns and wooly buggers.

Fly Fishing Organizations

Connect with local fly fishing organizations to learn about mentoring opportunities and to connect with others interested in fly fishing.