Western Maryland Trout Fishing; June 11-13, 2013

(Few visuals for this posting. My waterlogged camera did not recover from its dunking last month.  I’ve added a few photos off the internet.)

I spent two days in the Appalachian Mountains of western Maryland fishing the Savage River and the North Branch of the Potomac River. These lie along the border with West Virginia about a three hours’ drive from DC. The nearest cities are Cumberland and Frostburg MD along I-68. The East Coast is known for its heavily populated places, but this is not one of them. The trip at times had that end-of-the-earth feeling.

Mountainous terrain, Garrett County, Maryland

Weather and river levels did not cooperate on this trip. Soggy weather taxed my rain and camping gear. Severe weather including a tornado warning made for one rather sleepless night of camping. The river water levels were below their seasonal averages, which I suspect made the fish less active. Nevertheless, it was a fruitful trip discovering new trout streams and exploring a remote area. Both rivers are true tailwaters, born by the cold releases from impoundments with water temperatures in the 50s.

Savage River in Western Maryland

 

The Savage River is the main attraction. Though relatively small and short in length as tailwaters go, it is managed with special regulations and receives justified attention as a trout stream. Its physical characteristics are unusual for a tailwater. This river is steep gradient, boulder-strewn, nearly continuous pocket water its entire five-mile length from the impoundment’s outlet to its confluence with the North Branch Potomac.

 

Its narrow, heavily vegetated channel (mountain laurel makes tag alders seem kind of wispy) forces you to be very conscious of your backcast. The presence of didymo makes wading on slippery rocks tricky. But, the river’s reward is the fun of exploring and fishing an endless channel of pocket water. Even in low water level conditions, the amount of fish-holding habitat is impressive for a relatively small stream.

After the drive and setting up camp, I got to fish the first evening. Seeing a few rising fish in glide water pools and runs bolstered optimism to fish a dry fly, even though there were few bugs in the air. A blue wing olive fooled a pair of small brown trout; then nothing else. I switched to a brown comparadun in an attempt to imitate the larger mayfly that occasionally fluttered by.

Moving upstream, I came upon a huge, deep pool. Like most good trout lies, the best-looking soft water was on the far side and defended by a fast tongue of current midstream. This was challenging casting, guarding the backcast while beating the current seams. My best cast had less than two seconds of drag-free drift before the fast current jerked it away. On about the fourth of these, the fly was taken by a very nice trout. Netted after a spirited fight in the fast current, it was all of 14 inches. Fast-fading light and a ten mile drive back to camp ended the evening.

The next morning was clear and dry. Midweek fishing is great for reduced angler traffic, so I had my choice of locations along the river. Picking my way slowly upstream with wading staff, I learned to decipher how to read the river’s pocket water. From the road, the river looks fast, a continuous rush of shallow water. Closer inspection reveals pockets of slow water with surprising depth in between the cascades. Even in low water, this river provides plenty of cover for good fish.

I tried several dry flies to no avail. I reversed direction and began to swing soft hackles downstream in a general searching mode. Inspecting midstream rocks for insect activity, a bright green caddis that was pupating and nearing emergence triggered my curiosity. I switched to a similar-colored soft hackle I had tied for last month’s trip to the Delaware. The result was another nice brown trout, 14-15” long. But, other than another couple of dinks, that was it on down to my starting point.

I took the rest of the day to fish the North Branch of the Potomac. Finding it was the first step, no easy task. It took quite an effort in the mountainous, switchback terrain and with very poor signage. As the crow flies, it’s a distance of less than 4 miles; driving if for the first time took forty-five minutes.

North Branch Potomac River, Barnum WV

The North Branch of the Potomac, a tailwater below Jennings Randolph Lake, is very different from the Savage. It is bigger, a much more open channel with longer runs and less boulder-strewn. Once you find the as-advertised access point at the Barnum Whitewater Area, there is plenty of access from more than a mile of public land.

Where to start fishing was a total guessing game. It was mid-afternoon; bright and hot; no bugs in the air nor rises; no other anglers to go to school on. I tried swinging a wooly bugger for a while without success. The glint off the sides of a few fish working along the bottom of a deep run caught my eye, so I switched to nymphing below an indicator to get the fly down deep. I managed two rainbow trout this way, 12-13” with the fight of hatchery fish.

 

Calling it a success just to find the damn place and wet a line, I headed back to the Savage River for the evening. I chose a different access point this time. It was a poor choice with little good holding water, mostly shallow cascades. The evening yielded nothing.

Poor weather hampered the rest of the trip, including a restless, soggy night in the tent. It rained hard off and on through noon the next day, accompanied at times by thunder that forced me out of the river. I managed one decent sized rainbow trout. At least, it put up a good, tail-walking fight, unlike its hatchery brethren on the North Branch of the Potomac.

Leaving the rivers to drive home, I chose a route to follow the Potomac on its way northeast toward Cumberland back to the interstate. The small river towns of Luke and Westernport MD are classic Appalachia; tight, cramped, forlorn. A huge paper mill dominates the landscape (see www.newpagecorp.com). Logging trucks hauling to the mill and the Kingsford charcoal plant are constant. Tourism is completely absent; no wayfinding, fly shops or B&Bs here. The river’s presence is marginalized; no access points are heralded. I did see a number of river fishing boats trailering by, rafts not driftboats to navigate these boulder rivers. There must be a few access points to use them on the North Branch; the Savage is too small for them.

A small fly shop sits on the Savage River, Savage River Angler. It must be one of the smallest Orvis-endorsed shops around, but it has a pretty informative website: www.savageriverangler.com

This won’t go down on my list of best trout fishing trips. If I had my druthers, I’ll go back to the Delaware and Beaverkill Rivers first. They aren’t that much further away from DC. But, I haven’t chalked the Savage/North Branch Potomac off entirely. I suspect they might fish better earlier in the season, and with more water.

White River Trout Fishing; April 27-28, 2013

I flew to Arkansas for a long weekend to fish the White River at Bull Shoals with our daughter, Jenn. She lives in Fayetteville in the northwest corner of the state, home to University of Arkansas, Walmart, Tyson’s Chicken. It’s a two hour drive east through beautiful Ozarks country to get to the White River at Bull Shoals Dam, about mid-state and close to the border with Missouri.



Bull Shoals Dam; the lake above, the river below

This was our third fishing trip to the White River. Our first trip was in a February, and we froze our butts off. The other trip was in March, better weather but still pre-spring in the Ozarks. This time, spring was in full bloom. It is gorgeous country; rolling hills, high ridge vistas, cattle/horse grazing.

White River trout fishing happens in the tailwater below Bull Shoals Dam, a huge, towering structure (250 feet high, 2,200 feet across, the 5^th largest dam in the world at the time is was built in 1951). It is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers with everything in mind except fisheries management. Though the trout fishing is big commerce there, it doesn’t hold a candle to the mission of flood control and power generation. The water releases go up and down like a yoyo, and this instability adds a real complexity to the fishing. Fluctuating flows move fish around to find cover and to feed.

This is a textbook tailwater fishery. The ice cold, gin clear water provides trout habitat for nearly thirty miles downstream to the junction with the Norfolk River,  where another tailwater release boosts things again. Prolific aquatic insect populations including midges and sowbugs mean fast growth rates for the fish. It is supported by a robust stocking program of rainbows and browns.



Trout docks on the White River will rent you a johnboat w/ outboard

But, the fishing regulations for such a tailwater are anything but textbook. While there is a catch-and-release stretch of the river just below the dam, harvesting fish is the norm. There is a lot of bait fishing, and there are many so-called trout docks along the river where you can rent an outboard-powered johnboat to go anchor midstream and catch your limit.

Nevertheless, the flyfishing niche is firmly established on the river. The catch-and-release section is very popular. We fish each time with Ron Yarborough, a long-time fly guide on the river. Depending on the water releases, you are either wade fishing or drift fishing from Ron’s johnboat. Though there can be good dry fly and streamer fishing, all three of our trips have been fishing nymphs with indicator rigs.

Jenn and I always have a good time fishing with Ron Yarborough

Our day with Ron on this trip was wet, cool weather. Normally, that makes for good fishing; however, the water releases were constantly fluctuating throughout the day. We had to move around a lot to locate the fish.

Despite the difficult water conditions, we had good action throughout the day catching about two dozen rainbows; chunky, well-fed fish in the 12-13” range. The big brown trout that the White River is known for eluded us this time.

On Sunday, we did some sightseeing along the river and at Bull Shoals Dam. An excellent visitors center there tells the story of Bull Shoals. It was a big-time tourist destination for river float trips and smallmouth bass fishing through the 20^th century before the dam was built in the late 1940s. 



Saturday was a wet day on the river

Sunday afternoon, we tried our hand at wade fishing on our own right at the dam. It is a daunting sensation wading knee-deep just a hundred yards below a massive dam that holds back 3 million acre-feet of water. The water is a bone-chilling 48 degrees as it leaves the power penstocks. A broad shoal extending well out into the river channel allows for decent wading here.

I didn’t have the locally-tied sowbug nymph that was the go-to fly the previous day. But I did have a beadhead black midge that I had tied, patterned from previous trips to the river. Using small stick-on strike indicators and 6x tippet for stealth in the shallow, clear water, we landed several nice rainbows on our own and missed a few other strikes.



Typical White River rainbow

If you’d like more information about the White River, here are a few websites:

Ron Yarborough, fly fishing guide:  www.whiteriverflyguide.com

Fulton’s Lodge, our lodging: www.mtnhome.net/fultons/

Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock District:  www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil/index

Catskills Trout Fishing; May 17-23, 2013

I spent a week exploring some of the storied trout waters in the Catskill Mountains along the border between Pennsylvania and New York northeast of Scranton. This is where Theodore Gordon gave birth to so much of modern American fly fishing in the early 20th century. 

Roscoe NY is the center of all this, where the Willowemoc joins the Beaverkill. Half a century later, two reservoirs were built for New York City’s water supply, creating tailwater trout streams on the East and West Branches of the Delaware River. Hancock NY is where these rivers join to form the Main Branch Delaware River. The two towns are about 25 miles apart.

Typical pool on the West Branch of the Upper Delaware River

Calling these waters trout streams is a misnomer. These are big rivers. The Beaverkill is 75-100 feet across in places; the branches of the Delaware approach 200 feet across in places. The river characteristics are unlike those of the streams in Michigan and Montana I am familiar with. Lots of gradient. All cobble and boulders. Long shallow riffles followed by equally long deep pools. A typical riffle/pool sequence can stretch for half a mile or more. 

The Beaverkill is great wade water with excellent public access for more than fifteen miles before it joins the East Branch Delaware.  The two branches of the Upper Delaware have good wade water too, but public access is more limited and the long distance between the pools favors drift and pontoon boats. 

This region is surprisingly remote. Though only 120 miles from New York City, population is sparse; towns are small; terrain is rugged; jobs are few. Bluestone quarries and forest products are the only noticeable economic activity other than the seasonal employment (fishing, paddling) from the rivers. There are multiple fly shops in both Hancock and Roscoe (which bills itself as “Trout Town USA”), so anglers are well catered to.



Mark prepares for assault on the West Branch of the Upper Delaware

A big reason for the trip was to meet my old outdoor buddy, Mark Kulchock, and catch up on life. Mark and I fished/hunted/camped in Michigan back in the late 1970s. He now lives in nearby Poughkeepsie NY. The idea of our trip suited his rekindled interest in fly fishing. We got to spend a long weekend together, then Mark had to return to work.

One benefit of my six hour drive north to the Delaware was rediscovering springtime. Lilacs were in full bloom, many trees were still budding out, and the birdlife was fantastic. Otherwise, the weather did us no favors. Cold, even downright chilly weather shut down the bug hatches for much of the weekend. Then, it abruptly turned around and soared to the upper 80s in just 24 hours. While we did see some hatches and rising fish, conditions were a constant roller coaster ride. Low water level in the two tailwater streams was another complication for the fishing. 

There are a lot of trout in these rivers. When bugs were hatching, it was astonishing to see so many rising fish. When they weren’t, though, lockjaw set in. We had virtually no luck with nymphs. Over the course of my week of fishing, I had much better success on the Beaverkill. I think the Delaware’s fishing really suffered from the low water levels; it remains a very intriguing river for me.

The fishing pressure was not as bad as I had expected (it being prime season and so close to major East Coast metropolitan areas). Saturday was crowded, the other days less so. Still, fishing pressure is constant, the kind that makes for selective trout. Add in the long, smooth water in the big pools where the fish get a good look at a fly, and it’s clear why these rivers are known to be difficult fishing.  

Early Evening at Barrel Pool, Beaverkill River

First success came Friday evening at an access point called the Barrel Pool on the Beaverkill. Consistent risers provided good targets. Then, it became a matter of finding the right fly and making a good enough cast to cover the distance and solve the current breaks. I caught two nice brown trout at dusk, using a Hendrickson emerger and a Dark Quill dun.

Other than a couple small trout and a few misses, we were shut out for the weekend. We witnessed an amazing amount of trout one morning on the West Branch apparently feeding on some diminutive spent caddis that was impossible to match. Worm dunkers at another access point on the West Branch caught several nice trout one afternoon. I hooked and briefly fought a huge trout that hit a nymph; it somersaulted out of the water before I felt the strike.



Good brown trout on a Dark Quill dry, Beaverkill River

My two best successes of the trip came from doing what I was told. While anglers are notorious for spinning yarns, I have also found it true just how much good information anglers share when you take the time to strike up a conversation.

One such episode began Monday evening. The spot I wanted to go was pretty busy, so I chose a new access spot. It was an absolutely gorgeous stretch of water...had it all to myself...but no bugs hatching and no feeding fish. The disappointing evening included a long drawn out conversation streamside with an angler who has fished these rivers for three decades.

Tuesday morning was more of the same...no bugs, no rising fish, anglers where I wanted to be. Tried a couple new places without success...tripped over a rock midstream and fell in, got my camera soaked.

With things going against me, I decided to at least get something in return for the conversation with the guy who talked my ear off the evening before. Go where he told me to go, I decided. He had given me a very specific set of instructions for fishing mid-afternoon at Horse Brook Run on the Beaverkill.

This Beaverkill pool yielded no fish...but great advice for next day

It turned into what is one of the best three hours of dry fly fishing I've ever had.

Horse Brook Run is a stretch of fast, boulder water above Cairn's Pool. It's very tough wading with strong current and uneven bottom. But, I'm pretty good at that using my wading staff from experience out West. It's all knee to crotch deep water, wide and about two hundred yards long. The guy told me to be there about 3PM, where to cross, and to throw a March Brown dry fly into all the pockets.

I wound up catching 4 large brown trout, all as large as or larger than that one I caught Friday evening. Three more big browns rose to the fly but turned away, one was huge. And, two nice brookies too. It was a spectacular piece of fishing. Right place, right time, right fly...what Jim Zyla calls 'when all the stars align.'

The other success came down on the Delaware mainstream at Kellams Bridge where I camped my last night. After setting up my tent, I went down to the river to see if I could figure something out for the evening.  There was one lone angler in a boat anchored out in the middle of a gigantic bend pool just below the campground. About 8PM, he gave up and rowed back to the boat launch.

Kellams Bridge, one-lane connection between PA & NY

We struck up a conversation as he passed. He said I should be fishing from the designated fishing access point over the bridge on the other side of the river..."it’s a world class pool", he said.

I decided I better follow his advice...what the heck, it sure paid off the last time I took an angler's tip.

It was deep dusk by the time I drove across the one-lane suspension bridge and walked down to the pool. Sure enough, I heard fish feeding actively. Night-time fishing is not my cup of tea, but this was my last chance of the trip to fish so I waded out and started to cast to the sounds of rising fish.

Little more than ten minutes of this, and I got a fantastic strike. A big thrash as the fish broke the surface, and the reel drag sang.  After a very nice fight, I landed a big chunky rainbow of about 16-17". That's the best rainbow on a dry fly I've taken in quite a while. It was a great way to end the trip.

If you’d like to read a little more about this trout fishing, here are a few good websites:

West Branch Angler, Hancock: www.westbranchresort.com

Beaverkill Angler, Roscoe: www.beaverkillangler.com

 

River Descriptions: www.flyfishingconnection.com/statenewyork