Savage River Drainage, MD - Info?

[steveo27]

Havent posted in a while, whats up ya'll?

Anyways.

Im headed to Deep Creek, MD this coming weekend with my girlfriend's family. She gave me the go head to escape and do some fishing.

I would like to explore the Savage River since its semi close. I know Ryan posts a lot of awesome pictures of his trips from there and this makes me wanna see what its all about.

Ive done some research on it but still had a few questions about the watershed.

What is a good, safe wade-able level for the lower section? 50-100 seems to be the consensus. Upper section?

The lower Savage has wild browns and gemmies, does the upper section have wild browns too, or just gemmies and stocked rainbows?

Any sections worth mentioning to avoid? Seems like there is alotta water in the State Forest so access shouldnt be super hard.

Ive also read that all the feeder streams in the Upper Savage hold a good number of gemmies as well. Does the mainstem of the upper hold them as well?

It seems like your typical flies are productive here as well - BHPT, hairs ear, EHC, hopper/droppers, ect. Any other fly suggestions?

I plan on splitting my time between both sections and would like to have a bit of a plan before I dive in. Any info or suggestions are welcome.


Thanks

 

[ryansheehan]

The flows will be fine this weekend on the lower, they are predicting betweem 60 and 80. I wade it pretty comfortably up to 200 but need to be careful above that. The upper savage is pretty rough they have had a number of days with temps peaking at 74. I would leave it alove if I were you or at least check the temps. Savage river road runs along the entire lower river, pick a parking spot and go. There are no bad stretches, just keep MOVING from pocket to pocket there is always great spots just ahead. Hopper dropper is great this time of year, there are also a ton of inch worms falling in the water this time of year..........

There are quite a few great reservoir tribs but I don't know the temps or levels. They are almost exclusively brookies. Shoot me a PM if you want anymore details, I'm probably going to be up there with Tucker723 on Saturday or Sunday.

 

[albud1962]

I just fished the upper savage. If you are into catching chubs this time of year, this is your spot. I like fishing the upper savage with flows above 100 cfs. When the main upper savage is blown out try fishing streamers in the tribs. Check the orvis reports page for upper savage, PJ usually keeps it updated. Also carry various sizes of stimulators. Size 14 for the brookies, larger sizes for the browns. A good fly for the lower Savage. Get there early. Parking space is at a premium unless you are fishing during the week. Wading staff and cleats are a must. The rocks are really soapy and slippery. Take your time wading and be deliberate in your movements.
Water is very clear so longer leaders and smaller tippet may be required. Stop in at Savage River Outfitters. Mike and Charlie are pretty good guys. They can provide supplies and additional information.

 

[ryansheehan]

Just checked the weather and they are expecting over 2 inches of rain between friday morning and Saturday morning, could be quite the game changer. I think the lower will remain fishable as will the north branch. The upper and the tribs clear out quick but that's alot of rain. There are plenty of gauges in the area so you don't have to go searching.

As albud said cleats are a must and i carry a staff at anything over 80. When pocket water fishing dries I use a short leader so that the only thing in the water is the fly. There are so many complex currents if you leave a foot or two of leader/tippet in the water you have insta-drag. In the long slow pools I will go to a longer leader, but most of the time I have 3 or 4 feet of fly line out. Long cast typically equals drag.

 

[steveo27]

Thanks for the tips guys. I checked the weather yesterday, it looked good. Funny how fast it changes. Hopefully it changes again in the next few days.

Ryan, I'll shoot you a PM later on tonight.

 

[ryansheehan]

Looks like alot of rain, decent chance that at least one of the tailwaters, nb or savage could be fishable though.

 

[ryansheehan]

Sent you a pm back.

 

[ryansheehan]

Well I was really, really wrong, hope you had a nice time anyway.