Fall In The Savage

The Savage River State Forest in Western Maryland is home to some of the best trout fishing in the state. The section of the river below the dam is nationally known as an incredible trout fishery. Additionally, the small tributaries that flow into the river and the reservoir offer some great native brook trout fishing. These streams are well protected with zero creel rules and artificial lure regulations in place. The goal of the trip was to revisit these streams where I had caught my first brook trout and to introduce my friend Brian to the Savage River State Forest.

Brian and I left Lancaster excited for what the weekend would bring. We knew that it would likely be cold and rainy, making camping difficult. However, we ambitiously accepted this challenge in hopes of finding some Maryland brook trout. The beauty of the drive really began after we crossed back into Maryland near Cumberland. We had officially entered the mountains as the windy roads led us further and further from civilization. The part of the state is beautiful, but often forgotten. The fishery and landscape of Western Maryland offers an escape from Baltimore and D.C. which is under appreciated. The fall foliage was in full effect as we entered the park, driving along a road which paralleled a small creek. It was foggy and drizzling, but this was not enough to stop us from fishing.

We began on the Middle Fork Crabtree Creek, a small tributary of the reservoir. We got our gear ready and started our mission to hopefully have Brian catch his first ever brook trout. We began in the shallow section of the stream, slowly working our way further upstream. We got nothing. Not even a sign of a trout. It wasn’t until we had walked well up the trail that we saw the first sign of life. The elevation began to change which created deeper pools and waterfalls that provided the trout with cover. I tossed a small streamer in a riffle and saw a brookie chasing it. The fish chased and chased but never committed to the fly. We moved further upstream, finding more beautiful water. The stream continued to get better and better. However, we couldn’t catch anything. It felt like every cast we would get our first bite. The stream couldn’t have looked more trouty. Nothing.

To get to the stream, Brian and I had traversed our way down a steep drop of about 100 feet. Unfortunately, to get back out of the creek bed we had to go back up that same cliff. We were excited for the challenge and stopped near the top to take a picture.

It was now late in the day, and we only had a few more hours of light. Instead of rushing to fish another stream, we decided to scout some areas for the next day. We drove north of the reservoir to check out some other tributaries. As the light got lower, the fog started to descend into the valley. I decided to launch the drone in hopes of getting some cool pictures and to see if I could get a better look at some tributaries. When the drone broke the crest of the hill, I was met with an incredible view of the fog filled valley.

We got back in the car and headed to camp. The rain was temperamental, and we never knew when it would begin or end. In the drizzle we quickly set up camp and began to make dinner for the night. We had packed ingredients to make ground beef tacos with guac and Spanish rice. Right as we finished making dinner, the rain picked back up and we were forced to eat our tacos in the Taco. Eventually the rain stopped, and we were able to set up our fire. For the rest of the evening, we sat by the fire planning for the next day's fishing and enjoying being away from the troubles of day-to-day life.

The next morning, we woke up determined to get out on the water early. Brian had a little extra motivation to get out of the tent due to his sleeping bag being entirely drenched. We cleaned up camp and headed to the tributary we would be fishing that morning. We walked along the Monroe Run trail looking for deep pools that could hold trout. We found a pool and I cast my small dry into the current. Instantly a brookie rose and demolished the fly. The first brook trout of the trip was a decent fish. Brian and I moved upstream and caught a few more fish on the dry fly.

By 10:00, we were both hungry for breakfast. We went down to town, stopping at the Savage River Outfitter on our way, in hopes of finding food. McDonalds it was. While we ate our breakfast, we planned for our afternoon fishing. I decided that we would fish another tributary and then drive north with the goal of fishing a small section of the Upper Savage River. Once we finished with our food, we were back on the road.

Our next tributary flowed into the reservoir and was well known for its brook trout. We decided to walk down closer to the reservoir to begin our fishing. To my surprise, the rocks in the creek were extremely slippery and I fell backwards on my ass right as I stepped into the creek. Brian stood on the bank laughing at me as I sat in the shallow water. I stood up and made a cast into the front of the pool. The fly drifted downstream until it was almost on the bank. A decent trout made a rise on the fly, and I was hooked up. It was well worth the fall. We fished a few more holes before deciding to head to our next spot.

I had fished this section of the Upper Savage before but was inexperienced and got skunked. However, this would be a different story. The first pool we walked up to looked perfect. As I began to get in the water, I noticed a large brook trout sitting under a rhododendron branch about 10 feet in front of me. At this moment, I was paralyzed. If I moved to make a cast, I would spook the fish. I couldn’t stand there forever, so I figured I might as well give it a shot. I brought my rod back to make a cast and the fish immediately spooked to deeper water. I looked to Brian and told him that we would move upstream, giving the fish time to reset. On our way back we would try that pool again.

As we moved upstream, we found some more fish. Somehow, I entered a small pool without spooking two trout that were within 5 feet of me. I dropped my dry fly a few feet upstream of the brookies, but the fly submerged itself. Thinking on my feet, I decided to give it one little twitch. The trout shot over and ate the fly. I was stunned. Not only did I catch a fish that was 5 feet away from me, but somehow, I had gotten it to eat a submerged dry fly. After this catch we moved further upstream. However, we were met with a beaver dam that had completely flooded the trail. We realized that we couldn’t go any further, so we walked back to try and find the trout from the first pool.

To our surprise the trout was in the exact same spot. This time we planned out how we were going to approach the fish. Brian would stay on the bank, telling me the location of the trout as I entered from further downstream below the pool. As I got in the water, Brian let me know that the fish had moved up under a branch in a riffle. I made a cast, but the fly landed too close to the bank. Brian told me to try further up in the riffle with hopes of having the dry fly float right underneath the branch. I listened and threw the dry fly further upstream. Just as Brian had called out, the fly drifted directly underneath the branch that was hanging over the stream. The trout rose and ate the fly. We both went crazy, realizing that our teamwork had gotten this large brookie on the line.

Brian didn’t catch his first brook trout on this trip (we need to work on casting). This was a tough ask having never picked up a fly rod prior. Although, we never would have caught that trout without his call out on the bank. With that fish coming on the last cast of the trip, it felt special. Brian was able to experience the fun that can only occur on a small brook trout stream. I know that we will be back on a stream in the Savage River State Forest again. Except next time, I will be calling out the location of the trout and Brian will be casting into the riffle.