Hunting Creek Lake Gold

Type: Nontidal
Region: Western
Location: Cunningham Falls

On a field trip to Cunningham Falls and Hunting Creek Lake with Baltimore Sun outdoor editor Candy Thomson, we happened upon Allan Powell, a retired professor and the author of no less than five books on Maryland's frontier guides around the time of the French and Indian War.

Mr. Powell was set up for fishing near the excellent boat ramp at the lake to catch some rainbow trout for fun and for dinner. Hunting Creek Lake serves the state as an excellent recreational area and a cool water reservoir for Hunting Creek, one of Maryland's blue-ribbon trout streams.

While we surveyed the scenery and took photos of the lake, Powell proceeded to reel in his second trout of the morning, providing him all he wanted for dinner.

The Maryland DNR Fisheries Service stocked the lake with hybrid bluegills, crappie, bass and trout.

Mr. Powell fooled his first and largest trout using a bright streamer fly under a clear casting bubble connected to a limber fly rod armed with an ancient spincast reel. His second trout fell for a Berkley Powerbait on a bright gold hook sitting on the bottom.