Gunpowder River

Patrick Sapack of Baltimore County writes: About 15 years ago, I was taking a walk on the Gunpowder River off Route 7 (Philadelphia Road) about a mile towards the east. I saw a family catching herring. Can you please inform me as to when these fish run and what type of bait to use. Also, what type of regulations are herring bound by in Maryland? There is very little information in the Maryland fishing guides and the regulations involving dip nets is very confusing. Marty Gary , a Department of Natural Resources biologist, replies: There are two species of herring that spawn in Maryland's tidal tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. They are alewife herring and blue back herring.

Great article Sunday on tubing on the Gunpowder ("Tubing tiff," July 31). As both an avid fly-fisherman on the Gunpowder and someone who utilizes it during the hot summer months to take a tube down, I can appreciate the conflicts that occur between residents, fisherman and the business owners renting tubes and shuttling folks to and from various access points. Just last weekend, I was among the 600 folks per weekend who take a tube down the Gunpowder River. A couple of thoughts: •If the shuttles did not exist, I think everyone can agree the alcohol levels would decrease exponentially considering most folks would not want to walk a cooler full of beer 20 minutes up the bike trail only to float back down.

It's no secret that the Gunpowder River is a blue-ribbon trout stream known by anglers all around the Mid-Atlantic states. What made it great was a partnership among fishermen and state and local government. Part of what keeps it great happens almost every fall, when volunteers and biologists conduct a trout count at a handful of spots, called sampling stations, along the upper river. From their careful monitoring, state fisheries managers do their best to keep conditions at their peak.

A Virginia man was pronounced dead at an area hospital yesterday evening after he was pulled from the Gunpowder River at the Hammerman recreation area beach of Gunpowder Falls State Park, the Department of Natural Resources reported. Carlos A. Lacayo, 48, of Alexandria, had been swimming alone before two men spotted him floating face down. Lacayo was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at Franklin Square Hospital Center. An autopsy was to be performed today, DNR spokesman John Surrick said.

A white-robed Andrew Day, 9, trudged into the Gunpowder River, slipping on the muddy bottom before he grabbed his pastor's welcoming hands last Sunday."

Do you feel the nip in the air? Runners do. For them, the advent of fall means more than changing leaves and back to school. Cooler weather and coming races (the Baltimore Running Festival is October 13) make autumn the ideal time to run in the great outdoors. Baltimore is full of places to run, from stately neighborhoods to waterside paths. But for some runners, nothing beats the off-road experience. "Even if you start off easy, it's fun to explore," says Chris Cucuzella, a member of the Baltimore Road Runners Club, a trail running group.

A body washed up at the mouth of the Gunpowder River yesterday afternoon that matched the description of a Cockeysville man who disappeared on the river Tuesday night.Reginald Grier, 31, of the first block of Hogarth Circle was reported missing to the Coast Guard about 8: 30 p.m. Tuesday, said Lt. j.g. Toni Gay. Grier's wife, who expected him back from a fishing trip about 5 p.m., became concerned when he had not returned by nightfall.Coast Guard and Maryland Natural Resources Police boats and aircraft searched until 1 a.m. yesterday, then resumed the search at dawn, she said.

Baltimore County's Gunpowder River is a nationally recognized destination for anglers, but its trout fishery is in danger of becoming a casualty of the drought gripping Maryland.Temperatures in the river are rising as the water level of the Prettyboy Reservoir recedes -- threatening a devastating fish kill.The reservoir's water is released into the Gunpowder so it can flow to Loch Raven Reservoir, which supplies the city and surrounding counties with drinking water. Water in the Prettyboy is warmer than usual now because it is so low.State officials say they are taking steps to protect the fishery, but if the drought forces a choice between its needs and those of homes and factories, the trout are out of luck.

Some streams in Gunpowder River watershed show excessive bacteria -- 30 times the state's limits, in some cases -- in addition to chemical pollution, according to preliminary tests by Baltimore County environmental researchers.The results are typical of water quality problems faced by streams locally and nationally, said Steven L. Stewart, a county environmental official. "This is not something that's a Baltimore County problem, it's fairly extensive," he said.And while the natural resource specialist said that the results, based on samples taken in rural and suburban areas, indicate no immediate health risk, he said that no one should drink from any county stream.

From the street, Rumsey Island's single-family homes and townhouses look like those in most other communities throughout the state. But venturing into the backyards of this southern Harford County hamlet reveals a powerboater's paradise.About half of the 500 homes on the island have piers for mooring their powerboats in the Joppatowne Canal. From the canal, whose manmade fingers run conveniently between the back yards of many homes, homeowners can reach the Gunpowder River and the Chesapeake Bay.The combination of affordable housing and waterfront access, especially in Harford County where a great deal of waterfront is owned by the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground, has been a powerful stimulant for the area's housing market, real estate agents say.Prices range from $100,000 to $180,000 for a quarter-acre to half-acre parcel, including between 30 feet and 75 feet of waterfront and a pier.