Western Maryland in June was tough fishing with low water. When I had a few days free this past week I called some friends and decided to give it another try.
The Savage River was fishing hot despite returning to 55 Cfs from 800 on Sunday July 1st. Sulphurs, Yellow and Lime Sallies, Olives, Caddis and even March Browns were still hatching. Fish were looking up in a big way, which was a change from last month. X-Caddis and Olives in a size 14 brought many fish up from the deep holes. In the tailouts and flat water fish were selectively rising to size 20-24 Olives. Size 16 Sulphurs caught fish, but only early or late in the day. Many fish were visibly holding inches under the surface, waiting for something to hit the water. In the evening the spinnerfall was pretty heavy, but short-lived. Fishing South on the river was more productive for spinnerfalls. I saw a mere dozen fish rising in the last twenty minutes one night in the PHD pool. A better stretch yielded dozens of risers the next night two miles farther south.
Prospecting with big dries all day was easier and more productive than trying to pick off the selective risers in the flats. One large trout rose to my X-Caddis but wouldn’t take. A quick tippet change and Pheasant tail nymph accounted for one 16 inch brown and one 13 inch brookie. Two browns lost in battle in the 17-18 inch range made me regret using 7x, but I guess you can’t catch what you can’t get to bite. I haven’t seen fish this large so active since the Brood X cicadas.
The North Branch of the Potomac was good fishing. Anyone who has put off fishing this river due to tough wading should make the trip now. Water levels are really low, concentrating fish into the better runs and allowing river crossing in many areas. The bottom is still pretty rough walking, but without the strong flows, it is much easier.
I mentioned to a couple of friends at the Barnum access that someone out of the three of us would hook into a fish pushing 22-25 inches. Three hours later a screaming reel and yells of “Big Fish” caused me to drop my Scott E2 10′ 4 weight. As tough as the river is to wade, running downstream 100 yards to help net a large rainbow was fairly easy. The 21-23 inch bow allowed me to close the distance a few times, but bulldogged downstream into a heavy rapid. Snap! I hate seeing the big ones get away on this river. Sorry Nick, I should have netted that fish.
Six hours later we had hooked thirty fish total between 12-23 inches, with fat 16-18 inch bows on the larger size of what we landed. Few fish were active on top except below the dam in the Cable Flat. Some sulphurs were hatching in the uppermost stretch of river. San Juan worms, copper johns, brassies and other attractor nymphs with red or brown were hot.
Four days of fishing in Western Maryland took me on a whirlwind of hatch matching on the Savage River for large browns, dissecting the massive North Branch for huge rainbows and slowing things down on local brook trout tributaries. I even saw my first Western Maryland black bear on a hillside off of I-68.
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