About the Trail

Fly Fishing Trail Logo As the first in the Nation, Maryland’s Fly Fishing Trail provides everyone with opportunities to experience fly fishing across the state. With two Trail sites located in each of Maryland’s 23 counties and Baltimore City, there are no shortage of options when it comes to fly fishing.

Each Trail site has been selected to provide a unique fly fishing experience. You’ll find as diverse a range of species—from native brook trout in small Western Maryland streams to largemouth bass in Eastern Shore ponds to striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay—as you will environments and water types. And we’ll make it easy for you to get the most out of your experience.

From how to get there, where to park and launch a boat, where to fly fish, what fly fishing gear and which fishing flies are recommended, even specifics on which species can find seasonally at each Trail Site—it’s all here.  

The Fly Fishing Trail can also help connect you with organizations near you which offer mentoring and opportunities to get out fly fishing with others. Learn more about Maryland’s Fly Fishing Organizations . And depending on where you want to fly fish, the Trail can direct you to local fly fishing guides as well as fly shops and fishing tackle stores in the area for expert help with your fly fishing experience.  

Maryland’s Fly Fishing Trail has been specifically designed to make it easy for more people to get out and learn what makes fly fishing so special and to experience the diversity of opportunities that Maryland has to offer all fly fishers, from first timers to experienced fishers.  All are welcome on Maryland’s Fly Fishing Trail!

Photo Credit: Luis Santiago
Photo Credit: Luis Santiago

WHY FLY FISHING

Joe DeMeo
Photo Credit: Joe DeMeo

Part artistry, part discovery, fly fishing taps into all of your senses. You'll experience the natural world around you, and the internal rush as energy transfers from your arm to your fly rod while casting as you feel the subtle pull of a fish first taking your fly and then the strong tug at the end of your line as you wonder what fish you've caught, how big it is and if there are more out there to be caught.

You find your subconscious continuously working away at the next challenge—should I try a different fly, where should I cast next, fast retrieve or slow it down, go deep or stay on the surface? You are more attentive to the wind, the weather, the sun angle, shadows and temperature.  You become immersed in your surroundings, concentrating on how you can imitate a minnow, a crayfish, a mayfly, or a grasshopper to entice a hungry fish to seek your fly as its next meal.  

You will join with a community of people from all walks of life. Hooked since their first experience, some may have expanded into the wonderful world of tying flies—recreating with fur, feathers, foam and thread every imaginable item on a fish’s menu or just expanding their own gear and fishing flies to reflect the wide variety of fish species they fly fish for.  Come and join us for this outdoor experience and share in the passion that makes fly fishing so unique.