The Hagerstown Valley sits atop miles of underground limestone caverns which support Maryland’s largest spring creek, Beaver Creek, which rises up with cool water just below South Mountain in Washington County. The Catch and Release stretch begins below the Albert Powell Fish Hatchery and Interstate 70. This section down to Route 40 has a healthy naturally reproducing stream population of brown trout.  

Beaver Creek provides fly fishers with this unique, sometimes challenging opportunity to cast for natural brown trout in a limestone stream. A word to the wise—a stealthy approach, using long leaders and fine tippets (5 X and above), and small flies can be productive.  Below Route 40, the water becomes more of a freestone stream, with stocked rainbow trout. So fly fishers casting in Beaver Creek actually get two very different trout fly fishing experiences wrapped up in one stream.

Site Location

Located southwest of Hagerstown, Maryland in Washington County, Beaver Creek is located south of Interstate 70.

How to Get There

From Interstate 70, take the exit for Route 66/Mapleville Road south and then take the first left onto Beaver Creek Road. At the next intersection, you can turn right to get to Country Store Lane or left onto Black Rock Road to access roadside parking. The Beaver Creek Catch and Release Trout Fishing Area located between Interstate 70 and Beaver Creek Road. You can also continue down Route 66/Mapleville Road and then take a right turn onto Beaver Creek Road and another right turn onto Beaver Creek Church Road to access the Maryland Department of Natural Resources parking lot on Beaver Creek Church Road.

Address

9720 Country Store Lane, Hagerstown, MD 21740

Parking

Park either along the road along at Country Store Lane and Black Rock Road or at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources parking lot on Beaver Creek Church Road.

Where to Fish

For the best fly fishing, you should wade the river, but there are places for fishing from the river bank.

What to Catch

Brown trout and rainbow trout

What to Fish & How

A 4 or a 5 weight fly rod, with a 9 foot 5X or 6X floating line are appropriate fly fishing gear for this creek.  Scuds and cress bugs, and Griffith’s Gnats can be productive most of the time. Terrestrial fly patterns work during the summer and fall, and the adage “ants and rainbows, beetles and browns” applies here. Small parachute Adams, blue wing olives, tan and olive caddis, black and cinnamon ants, black and brown beetles fished on the surface, and stripping small streamers and wooly buggers down in the water column are effective.

Fly Fishing Organizations

Connect with local fly fishing organizations to learn about mentoring opportunities and to connect with others interested in fly fishing.