When it’s 94 degrees and humid in Annapolis on a late June afternoon, head west to Garrett County where Maryland’s lower Savage River can offer a respite with cool 80 degree temperatures- and some of the state’s finest brown trout fishing.

On the Savage River, just below the Savage River Dam, and a few miles downstream from Big Run State Park, you’ll find one of the 48 sites that are part of Maryland’s state-wide Fly Fishing Trail. This site is a great place to stalk wary brown trout. Flowing from the base of the Savage River Dam, the water emerges year round at a constant 47 degrees, assuring healthy insect and thriving trout populations.

On a trip many summers ago, I’d been hiking along the opposite bank when Bud, my fishing dog, froze in place. Following a loud shriek, a wild turkey flew out of a tree just a couple of feet above our heads. It was probably the luckiest thing that could have happened, because no more than two rod lengths in front was a rattlesnake coiled, ready to strike, and just like on the first Navy Jack in the Continental Navy, stating plainly “Don’t Tread On Me”.

I might add that in almost forty years of fishing on western Maryland streams, that was only the second occasion that I’ve chanced on an eastern rattler. Most always timid, and generally at the higher mountain elevations, they steer clear of hiking paths.

The Savage River is home water; it’s a stream I’ve come to greatly admire. Known as Maryland’s “hatch factory”, the Savage is simply the finest tail water fishery in our state. So many of the well known eastern mayflies appear in early spring through late fall. Blue quills, sulphurs and pale evening duns, march browns, blue winged olives, hendricksons, red quills and caddis flies hatch regularly during different times of the day in varying weather conditions. Even in the dead of winter, when we spend much of our time clearing ice from our rod guides, there will invariably be a tiny cream or black midge hatch, and little black stoneflies emerging from side pools.

The thing to remember about the Savage is that it is moody; it rarely fishes the same from day to day.  The waters are dark, with swirling eddies behind boulders strewn throughout the river. Trout Unlimited generally ranks this river as one of our nation’s one hundred finest trout streams, no small tribute when you consider the great rivers of America.

Brown trout are the predominant species in the lower Savage. They are edgy, suspicious of just about anything floating in the food channel, and invariably hang out in the toughest spots to place a fly.  Introduced to the United States and Maryland in the 1880’s from Scotland and Germany, brown trout or salvo trutta fario, are mischaracterized by their name. With luminescent red, blue and black spots, and a bright yellow underbelly during the fall spawning season, they are among the most beautiful of all trout and anything but a dull brown.

Typically 10-12 inches in length, browns below the dam in the trophy trout section regularly see the 16-18 inch range. In clean water, they have been known to live as long as eighteen years. Compared to just about any other stream in the mid Atlantic region, the lower Savage River has a high population density and biomass for brown trout. I like to fish a 7-9 foot 4 or 5 weight fly rod. Fine leaders and tippets and small flies are usually the order of the day.

You need not travel to Montana or Wyoming for educated trout in a spectacular setting. A little more than three hours from Annapolis, the lower Savage is reminiscent of the canyon section on the Gallatin River below Bozeman. Relative solitude, rugged terrain and healthy water make the Savage the equivalent of just about any western fly fishing experience. Add several miles of mountain Laurel and rhododendrons, framed by old growth hemlocks, in late June and much of July the river banks are a blaze of white and red blooms.

Get Ready for Your Next Fly Fishing Trip

In need of additional information on where and how to fly fish? Check out Maryland’s Fly Fishing Trail. The first state-wide trail in the nation highlights 48 sites spanning from the shorelines of the Chesapeake to the mountain streams in Western Maryland.  

Before you head out sure to acquire your license and check out the latest regulations from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. 

And if you’re up for turning your fly fishing trip into a quick getaway, check out Visit Maryland’s deals page.

Information about the author: John Neely is past Chairperson of the Maryland Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission, a long time board member of the Chesapeake Conservancy, and a life member of Trout Unlimited and Coastal Conservation Association.

Information about the author: John Neely is past Chairperson of the Maryland Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission, a long time board member of the Chesapeake Conservancy, and a life member of Trout Unlimited and Coastal Conservation Association.