Gunpowder Falls is a tailwater in Maryland, listed as Catch and release by Maryland Department of Natural Resources (Maryland Fishing Guide, eRegulations edition).
1 USGS gauge on the water reports flow; Maryland Department of Natural Resources lists 3 species, including brown trout, rainbow trout and brook trout. 1 shop nearby are listed here.
Big Gunpowder Falls from the Torrey C. Brown rail trail, Maryland. Photo: Henrysz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gunpowder Falls is a tailwater in Maryland.
Pick one of its USGS gauges and hear from us when the flow moves into or out of its usual range for the date, or crosses a flow you set. We check the public USGS reading every 2 hours and email only when it crosses, at most once every 6 hours. Flow alone is not a fishing forecast or a safety call.
Signed in: one step. Otherwise we email a confirmation link first. Every alert has one-click links to stop it.
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles
Map of Gunpowder Falls: gauges, shops and guides
Map of Gunpowder Falls with 1 USGS gauge, and shops and guides with an exact address within 40 miles.
Restrooms within 2 miles of Gunpowder Falls in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.
Map of 3 restrooms near Gunpowder Falls
Skip the map; every place is in the list belowMap of 3 restrooms near Gunpowder Falls, numbered as in the list, with the water’s point marked.
At a campground · Maryland Park Service
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Run by Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Park Service (as mapped)
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Run by Maryland Park Service (as mapped)
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Morgan RunThe Savage River from the Allegany Bridge, Savage River State Forest. Photo: Aneta Kaluzna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Morgan Run.
Maryland · about 18 mi
Delayed HarvestRepresentative photo · not South Branch Patapsco RiverLetort Spring Run from a bridge on the Letort Spring Run Nature Trail, Carlisle. Photo: Morsea24, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not South Branch Patapsco River.
Maryland · about 25 mi
Delayed HarvestRepresentative photo · not Middle Patuxent RiverFishing on Yellow Breeches Creek at Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. Photo: Staecker, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Middle Patuxent River.
Maryland · about 29 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Big Hunting CreekThe Little Juniata River at the 1898 Birmingham Bridge, near Birmingham, Pennsylvania (black-and-white survey photograph). Photo: Jet Lowe, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Big Hunting Creek.
Maryland · about 38 mi
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Owens CreekTyrone, Pennsylvania, from the air: Bald Eagle Creek meets the Little Juniata River in the town (the creek is not visible at this distance). Photo: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Owens Creek.
Maryland · about 38 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Little Hunting CreekSunrise on Penns Creek, Union County, Pennsylvania. Photo: WiiWillieWiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Little Hunting Creek.
Maryland · about 40 mi
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout.
On the Catch-and-Return Trout Fishing Areas—Limited to the Use of Artificial Lures list (Maryland Department of Natural Resources (Maryland Fishing Guide, eRegulations edition), read 2026-10-20). All waters with this designation
Quoted word for word from the agency page on the date shown. Many quotes name the reach they cover and apply only to that part of the water. Rules change; the linked page is the authority.
“A nationally renowned blue-ribbon trout stream, the Big Gunpowder Falls is managed by Maryland DNR from Prettyboy Dam to Blue Mount Road as a special trout management area for catch and release with artificial lures only.”
Maryland Department of Natural Resources · read 2026-10-14
Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
No guide within 40 miles yet.
Mt Airy, MD · 30 mi
Fishing shop · Guided trips
The species the agency lists here; presence varies by reach and season.
Listed by the state agency
Species guide
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), illustration by Duane Raver for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Species guide
Brown trout (Salmo trutta), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service illustration. Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Species guide
Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), illustration by Duane Raver for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
None of our destination hubs is within 40 miles in a straight line. The trip planner builds a trip around the water itself: the guides and shops listed within 40 miles of it, its gauges and its nearest towns and airports.
No hub within 40 miles
Matched on the fish the agencies list for both waters first, then the same water type, an official designation or flagship listing on both, and a similar mapped size where USGS hydrography covers both.
At most two waters per country. A shared fish is a listing, not a promise: presence varies by reach and season.
Like the Gunpowder Falls? Same fish, overseas.
Flagship waterThe Meander River in Deloraine, Tasmania. Photo: Gary Houston, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
TailwaterThe Grand River just north of Paris, Ontario, looking upstream. Photo: JustSomePics, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Flagship waterThe Tekapo–Pukaki hydro canal, Mackenzie Country, Canterbury. Photo: Avenue, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
TailwaterThe lower Clutha River / Mata-Au and Inch Clutha from Kaitangata. Photo: Andrewrutherford, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
TailwaterRepresentative photo · not Río CalcurrupeThe Río Toltén at Pocoyán. Photo: Maxbalter, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Río Calcurrupe.
TailwaterRepresentative photo · not Brumbys CreekThe South Esk River, Tasmania. Photo: Michael Coghlan from Adelaide, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Brumbys Creek.
Southern seasons open while ours close.
Flagship waterPenstock Lagoon, Central Highlands, Tasmania. Photo: Mike Cline, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Freestone riverRepresentative photo · not Río PetrohuéThe Río Puelo at Las Gualas, Cochamó. Photo: Nicolás from seno de reloncaví, Chile, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Río Petrohué.
Lake or reservoirRepresentative photo · not Lago LlanquihueThe Río Simpson passing Coyhaique, Aysén. Photo: Manxuc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Lago Llanquihue.
Lake or reservoir
Flagship waterRepresentative photo · not Mataura RiverThe Oreti River near Lumsden, Southland. Photo: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons Not Mataura River.
Flagship waterGreat Lake, Tasmania. Photo: Peripitus, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A practical checklist for fly fishing small mountain trout streams: a short 3–4 weight rod, light line, a few buoyant dries and simple wet-wading gear, with estimated prices and where to buy.
7′6″–8′6″ rod, 3–4 weight, floating line · Brook, cutthroat, rainbow and brown trout
Open the checklistSeams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on reading water
Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on nymphing
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Gunpowder Falls.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the USGS gauge GUNPOWDER FALLS NEAR PARKTON, MD. Water type is our own classification.
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Morgan RunThe Savage River from the Allegany Bridge, Savage River State Forest. Photo: Aneta Kaluzna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Morgan Run.
Delayed HarvestRepresentative photo · not South Branch Patapsco RiverLetort Spring Run from a bridge on the Letort Spring Run Nature Trail, Carlisle. Photo: Morsea24, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not South Branch Patapsco River.
Maryland · about 25 mi
Delayed HarvestRepresentative photo · not Middle Patuxent RiverFishing on Yellow Breeches Creek at Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. Photo: Staecker, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Middle Patuxent River.
Maryland · about 29 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Big Hunting CreekThe Little Juniata River at the 1898 Birmingham Bridge, near Birmingham, Pennsylvania (black-and-white survey photograph). Photo: Jet Lowe, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Big Hunting Creek.
Maryland · about 38 mi
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Owens CreekTyrone, Pennsylvania, from the air: Bald Eagle Creek meets the Little Juniata River in the town (the creek is not visible at this distance). Photo: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Owens Creek.
Maryland · about 38 mi
Catch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Little Hunting CreekSunrise on Penns Creek, Union County, Pennsylvania. Photo: WiiWillieWiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Little Hunting Creek.
Maryland · about 40 mi
