Fishing between the Rain storms on the Casselman River

Well we have received the rain that I was asking for and sometimes you need to be careful what you ask for. The Savage river watershed has gotten a lot of water in the past week and so has the Casselman river. The watersheds in the western part of Garrett County were spared most of the rain this week. I fished the Casselman on Saturday with Ed and Sam and the water level was perfect around 160 cfs. There were caddis bringing fish to the surface, but we did most of our damage with assorted nymphs. It was a great day on the water with great company.

 Last one of the Day

Hauling em In

Brookies on The Upper Savage River watershed and a couple of Rainbows

We had high water on most of the big rivers in the area this weekend, so as I usually do I hit the upper Savage River to do some brook trout fishing. The water was flowing at a great level and the fishing was awesome! I didn't catch any big brookies, but there were tons of fish in the 6-10 inch range. It was very windy on Sunday, but some big mayflies were coming off the water getting the fish very excited. I couldn't tell if they were Hendricksons or Quill Gordons, but they were size 14. I caught most of my fish under the surface. I caught a couple of rainbows in the brook trout water and took them home for dinner. I encourage everyone to do the same.

Evening Sun on the water

What to do with those Rainbows

Low Flows and Blue Quills on the Lower Savage River... Casselman River

I have had some very good fishing on the lower Savage River over the past week. In the morning there are still some little black stones coming off and the fish are rising to them. Keep in mind that these flies migrate to the bank to emerge, so you should be fishing tight to the bank. The Blue Quills start hatching in late morning and continue to late afternoon which makes it a great hatch for fisher people who do not like to get out of bed early. I have done well with dry flies, but nymphs out produce them by about 3 to 1. The flows on the Savage have been below normal for April and the Didymo is pretty thick on the rocks especially closer to the dam. Hopefully with the rain we are getting the river will get a much needed flush. It would be nice to have a couple of days of 300+ CFS to clean up the rocks a little.
The Casselman is still fishing well and the caddis are hatching, so now is the time to skip your favorite elk hair across the riffles and watch rainbows launch themselves at your fly.

Red Bud and Dogwoods on the Savage it's Spring time!

Bill with a nice rainbow from the Casselman

Patty showing us how it's done

BWOs popping off on the Lower Savage River

I fished the lower Savage yesterday and the BWO hatch was great. It didn't start till about 1 pm, but it lasted a good 3 hrs and the fish were really keying in on them. I caught all of my fish on size 22 nymphs, but there were plenty of fish taking bugs off the surface. The flow dropped to 90 CFS which is my favorite flow to fish. This hatch should last most of the spring and will start to mix with Blue Quills in the next week or two. I did not see any little black stones on the water, but they should still be in play for a little while longer.

Beautiful Spring weekend on the Casselman River

I spent Saturday morning on the Casselman with Teresa and Jarrett. Teresa caught her first fish and Jarrett was slaying them by the end of the morning. There were plenty of little black stones flying around and the grannoms should be hatching in the next week or so. I would encourage everyone who fishes special regulation waters in Maryland to keep this number in their phone  1-800-635-6124  it is the poacher hotline for the DNR police. The same people who poach fish are usually the ones who leave empty beer cans on the side of the river. We fished a section of the river where we saw beer cans and it was devoid of fish. I know this place always holds fish, so I am pretty sure people are already taking them home for dinner. If you see fisherman keeping fish or fishing with bait please where prohibited report it to the DNR police. Western Maryland has a pretty bad poaching problem, but if we all take pride in protecting our resource we can keep these people in check.

Teresa with her first fish

 One of many for Jarrett

A serving of bug soup on the lower Savage River

We fished the lower Savage river on Friday and the hatches are starting to pop off. There were little black stones, tiny grannoms, and BWOs all coming off at the same time. I will give everyone a hint for the lower Savage whatever size bug you think you are going to need for your fishing trip go 2 sizes smaller and that will probably be the size of the bugs you encounter. We had a good day both Craig and Eric landed some nice fish.

Eric working a Pocket

It Rained on us a little

Spring Brookies on the Savage River Watershed

I had a chance to fish in a couple of spots on the upper Savage River Watershed over the last two days and the fishing was great. The water temps are in the low to mid 40s and flows are in great shape. There are little black stones emerging, but the fish aren't taking bugs off the surface with any consistency. Nymphing in pockets with slow to moderate current will produce the best results. I did catch a couple of rainbows while in the brook trout water and I took both of them home for dinner. I encourage any one who fishes these waters to do the same. DNR still stocks the lower river just above the reservoir and we do not need Rainbows establishing any sort of self sustaining population. The southern Appalachians have had a serious problem with rainbows out competing brookies and we do not need that here. 

Nice 10 inch Brookie

 Beautiful Waterfall

Please take Rainbows home for Dinner!

Typical Savage River Watershed Brook Trout

Walking Around the Upper Savage

I took a walk on the river yesterday just to look around no fishing. The water was up and cold just a little over 40 degrees. There were a good amount of little black stones flying around, but no rises. I dug around the river and found a variety of caddis and stone fly nymphs. The upper Savage watershed is not your typical infertile freestone stream. The amount of bug life in the stream is pretty amazing and that is why brook trout up to 12 inches are not uncommon.

Lots of these under the rocks

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Casselman River It's Spring Time

I had my first trip of the year yesterday on the Casselman river. The water flow was perfect 225 CFS with water temps in the low 40s. I saw a couple of  little black stones flying around, but none of the fish were interested in taking anything off the surface. We fished slower water along seems and our flies were bouncing on the bottom. Bob had his best day of fly fishing yet losing count of how many fish he caught. One note to people who plan to fish the Casselman. The bridge is closed, so you will have to take a detour through Grantsville to get to spots down river.

January on the Savage River

The rivers in western Maryland have been running high for the last month. This week flows on the Savage came down to safe wading levels and I had the opportunity to fish for a couple of hours yesterday. I found most of the fish in deep slack water sections of the river and they were stuck to the bottom. I didn't observe any fish in higher sections of the water column. With the water temperature in the high 30's the key is deep and slow. I had to make numerous drifts through likely holding areas to produce strikes. It seems like the fish will not move far to take a fly, so you have to put it right on their nose.

Winter Fly Fishing Shows

Winter is time to sit back tie some flies and dream about fishing trips for the upcoming year. One way to pass the time during the winter months is to visit one of the many trade shows in our area. Here is a schedule for upcoming events.

January 23-26 Baltimore Boat Show @ the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore Md

February 23rd Cabin Fever Expo @ Sheraton Four Points in Warrendale Pa (Pittsburgh Area)

March 1-2 Fly Fishing Show @ Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster Pa

March 9th  National Capital Angling Show @ Hanley Center for Athletic Excellence Georgetown Preparatory School  North Bethesda Md