I spent a few days fishing the Savage River in Western Maryland last week. MDDNR was shocking the river, so flows were down to 30 CFs. I opted to fish the North Branch of the Potomac until later in the week, when flows on the Savage would rise to 55 CFs. Alex was out assisting the shocking survey for three days, and said they electroshocked a good number of trout. I fished the Savage a few weeks this year and the majority of wild browns I caught averaged between eleven to fourteen inches. In two days of fishing I fished dries in the pocket water and caught nothing under nine inches. In addition to good sized trout, I’ve noticed rising trout on each day I’ve been out on the Savage this year. It’s pretty common to see fish get into a frenzy right at dark, but I’ve witnessed fish rising steady during periods of bright sun. This week the midday or afternoon risers were taking flies off the surface so small, that only patterns in the 22-26 range on 6X worked. I used a size 24 amber mayfly pattern and a size 22 black beetle to catch my larger browns. I saw a few larger mayflies, caddis, and lime sallies at dark. In the latest video post I include some shots of the Savage, some rising browns, and an up close look at a Red-Spotted-Newt.

I recently returned from a few days of fishing in Western Maryland. The 125 Cfs flows on the North Branch of The Potomac tempted me to spend some days fishing on the WV/MD border. In these lower flows the wading is much easier, and the fish tend to congregate in the deeper areas. I fished around the Barnum access, and also hiked in many miles down river. On Monday I met up with Nate, a Backwater Angler regular, and we fished nymphs in the deeper slots. My Thingamabobber shot under in a deeper chute, and I was tight to a big rainbow. The trout looked like one of the big Freshwater Institute Rainbows stocked in previous years on the North Branch. At over twenty inches, and at least three pounds, this rainbow was a torpedo. The bow took off down river and forced me to chase it at least a hundred feet downriver, before finally breaking the tippet. An hour later I was tight to another big fish, but never saw it before it wrapped me up on a root system. I caught a few small bows, before we both stumbled onto a pool loaded with stocked browns. They had decent coloration, but the combination of beat up pectoral fins and eagerness to eat a fly was not typical of a wild trout. The ten to eleven inch browns were aggressive on hoppers, beetles and caddis patterns. The fishing was getting a bit ridiculous during the time we fished in the one pool, since the browns were so numerous.

On Tuesday I fished a section of the North Branch many miles down stream of Barnum. I covered some shaded banks using a hopper, and caught a few rainbows. One of the bows was really vividly marked, and had all the traits of a wild fish. I also caught a six inch native brook trout, one of two I have ever caught in the North Branch. Hopefully in the coming years there will be more of these wild fish in the river. By the afternoon I switched to a big six inch long streamer and headed back down river. My hopes of finding an elusive big brown never worked out, but I caught some nice sized rainbows. I did get a couple of swipes from some decent sized browns, but none of the huge fish I’ve seen in the past. In the latest video post I filmed some river shots and fish. I also included a few minutes of casting and hook ups. The weather was hot, the fish were biting, and I saw two people fishing in two days on the North Branch.

The Gunpowder River spiked at the Falls Road Bridge to 40 CFs after the heavy rains caused some spillover at the dam. The increase is also due to blow outs in the smaller tributaries above the Falls Road bridge. Aside from the initial rise in levels after the storms, the upper miles of the Gunpowder remained clear. The tributaries that blow out farther downriver are still dropping, so anglers can find slightly higher flows in the sections below major tributaries. The shop was notified that there will be an increase in flow from Prettyboy Dam in time for the weekend. The volume will increase from the mid 30 Cfs range, and level out between 75-100 CFs. Yesterday I took advantage of the higher, slightly off color flows below a blown out tributary. The nymph fishing was phenomenal in the riffles and deeper pools. Visibility was greatly reduced, but still clear enough to see the bottom in two feet of water. These types of conditions can be “feast or famine,” where anglers catch nothing, or catch a lot of trout. The combination of higher flows, a four to five degree spike in water temp, and the murky water tipped the odds in my favor. I started at 1 pm with an inchworm and a size 22 trico spinner drowned under an indicator. Six fish into the day, and four on the trico pattern, I switched out the inchworm for a rock worm caddis pattern. I switched flies occasionally throughout the day, working some areas twice with different patterns. By the end of the day an inch worm, SJW, caddis pupa, rubber legged nymphs, and midges all caught trout. My two biggest measured twelve inches, but it was a steady action day with a lot of trout between seven and eleven inches. I also caught four rainbows between ten to twelve inches in this section, the first rainbows I have ever caught in this area.

Now that the majority of the storms have passed and a release is planned, conditions are looking ideal for the weekend. If a storm does roll through and raise tributary levels, the fishing will be good, but mainly upstream of Blue Mount Road through Falls Rd. Little Falls is currently still very muddy and sections down by Monkton were chocolate milk this morning. On rainy days this week blue wing olives were out whenever the sun was trapped behind cloud cover. The mid morning Trico hatch is great for a few hours of rising trout, while the midday and afternoons are terrestrial time. The increase in flow should also get the fish active for a few days on nymphs dislodged by the higher water. The lower flows from the past week were great for sight fishing. In the latest video post I included some scenery, some browns in plain sight, and a few fish from my day yesterday.

I just returned from a few days on the Savage River before the holiday weekend. Fishing midweek always limits the number of anglers on the water, and the campsite on the river was nearly empty. I crossed paths with Max and Alex who were heading back to Baltimore, and met up with fellow Savage enthusiast, Neil. The air temps dropped into the sixties when we arrived on Wednesday morning. The river was crystal clear and flowing at 55 CFs, which was the lowest I’ve fished it in over a year. In the pools the trout were easy to spot, and many trout were holding inches under the surface. I started with a tandem nymph rig and covered a number of deeper chutes, rapids and slow pools. A green caddis pupa, SJW and small rubber legged nymph accounted for a half dozen trout to the net before the evening hatch. I switched from my Scott S4 ten footer to my G2 nine foot four weight for fishing dries. The first evening I saw a few light cahills, caddis and the occasional sulphur. The midges and lime sallies were the most abundant bugs on the water toward dark. The “wildcard” hatch was a terrestrial flying beetle in a size 20 that resembled a tan winged lightning bug. Small caddis or midge patterns closely resembling these little beetles helped me pick off the risers in one pool. In the last ten minutes of light the increase of lime sallies flitting across the water drew splashy rises. I switched to a snow shoe sally pattern and caught a few big brookies 11-12 inches long. From noon to dark I landed fourteen fish, catching brookies, rainbows and some nice browns 12-15 inches. On the second morning Neil and I covered ground on a lower stretch. He caught a few on dries, while I caught mine with nymphs. In a few pools we spotted large brook trout, as well as rainbows. I caught another mix of browns, bows and brook trout before the afternoon hatch. In one pool around 5 pm the fish got really active on midges, and 8-10 trout started hovering inches under the surface. For an hour the trout were very active, rising with abandon despite the bright sun on the water. I caught five before they stopped rising, and a few more during the evening stonefly hatch. On Friday morning I tried a section of the North Branch of the Potomac and caught a few rainbows on green caddis pupas before heading back to Baltimore. The latest video post features footage of rising trout, insects and the trout I caught over two days on the Savage River, Maryland.

The Gunpowder River is flowing at 37 CFs and is 55 degrees at the Falls Road bridge. Wet wading is an option in the shin to knee deep water, as air temps reach the upper 80s and 90s. Conditions in the upper miles of the Gunpowder are similar to spring creek fishing. Low, clear water and wary browns require stealth, long leaders and delicate casts. The anglers who enjoy sight fishing will find the trout are easy to spot in these lower flows. While walking the river I spotted dozens of trout, and quite a few browns in the 10-15 inch range. In many cases the browns were holding close to the bank in very shallow water. I also noticed some trout holding a few inches under the surface, inspecting small insects floating past. Small midges, BWOs and trico patterns are catching trout on the surface. Zebra midges, WD-40s, and other similar patterns sized 20-24 under small indicators work great in riffles. The shop recently received a large shipment of hoppers, beetles, and various ant patterns that will produce over the next few months. In the latest video post I filmed a number of browns in shallow water, and a great blue heron looking for a meal in a riffle.