Basin Run, Cecil Co, MD 12/26/18

[sarce]

Wouldn't have posted this report in the old days, but now that the stream reports section is members-only, I feel a little better about it.

I travel home from DC to the West Chester PA area every so often, and have been looking for a decent stream to stop at along the way. Though I didn't find anything crazy here, I think I may have found what I was looking for - a short section of a pretty stream with a handful of wild trout that I can stop and fish for an hour to break up the drive.

I found some access near the lower end of the stream away from the houses. It appears to be a popular spot for the locals judging by graffiti on the rocks and old railroad bridges.

I had never fished a Cecil County stream before, and wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find some nice rocky pools and pocket water. Small wild browns were present in the spots you'd expect them to be, but I get the impression there aren't that many in there. The only fish I brought to hand was an 8" wild brown trout, though I missed a few others. Nothing of size. I talked to a local who said the smallish fish are pretty typical there and I can't say I saw anywhere that looked promising for larger fish.

Fly of choice was an olive woolly bugger. The stream made for an enjoyable hour on the water during a month where I've hardly found time to fish at all. That one small brown was my first wild trout from Cecil County, and this stream became the 53rd MD stream in which I have caught at least one wild trout. Hope I'm not outing someone's spot, but I know there are a few MD/DE/far southeast PA guys here who might be interested in trying it.

 

[hunter1]

I use to FF the run years ago. Basin run probably runs for a few miles. Looks like i'll have to break out my small stream rod. Did you wade it or fish the banks. There's a good section below Port Deposit. Thank's for reminding me.

 

[sarce]

I just fished from the bank most of the time but wading does help get away from trees on the bank.

 

[hunter1]

Thank's sarce. Great report.

 

[DGC]

In years gone by MD Dnr put a fair amount of effort trying to kickstart wild browns there. I think they had given up but it sounds like they sampled the wrong area. Or perhaps the high levels in nearby wartersheds this year prompted migration. 53 MD streams and a wild trout in each is quite an adventurous approach deserving of congratulations.

 

[sarce]

Thanks, DGC - I wasn't sure of the history of the fishery. Whatever the source, I and others believe the Susquehanna and Octoraro Creek hold wild browns seasonally and they've seeded populations in small tributaries all across that area. MDNR's own recent survey data of streams in that area is what clued me in initially - they know they are there.

As for my adventures in finding new streams, it started last spring when I got bored of Catoctin Mountain streams, and then continued all year when my favorite MD smallmouth spots were always flowing 20 times higher than safe wading level. There are some absolute gems out there that if you search the stream name on the internet, you'll come up with absolutely zero information. Not a whole lot of places left that are like that these days. Strange thing is, most of them are known by MDNR and if you dig hard enough you might find old surveys, but everyone in MD seems to just focus on the same 5 streams for some reason.

 

[Mike]

Sarce, I don't know anything about those five popular streams that you mentioned, but maybe those who fish there do so because of proximity and access.

I often wonder the same thing as it pertains to Valley Ck and how frequently it is mentioned here. Heck, within an hour or a little more of Valley Ck are numerous streams that will probably produce more and on average bigger wild Browns than Valley, and in some cases I would bet that the fish are easier to catch.

Even within the same watershed one can find great fishing away from the popular spots. The Little Lehigh watershed comes to mind, where there are numerous wild trout stretches and tribs, yet the pressure is clearly in the lower C&R area, located in the park, and from what I have seen, mostly from the former fly shop up. This always makes me scratch my head.

 

[redietz]

Mike wrote:
Sarce, I don't know anything about those five popular streams that you mentioned, but maybe those who fish there do so because of proximity and access.

Or more likely, they're the five that people will write about because you can't possibly be worried about spot burning them. (I assume he means Gunpowder Falls, Big Hunting Creek, Savage River, North Branch Potomac, and Beaver Creek.)

There are plenty of other streams in same area as each of those, with equal access; they just don't get talked about.

 

[sarce]

redietz has it spot on - those are the exact five I had in mind.

And those 5 are all fantastic streams worthy of the attention. The other streams that are good will produce fish the exact same size or larger on average, they're just smaller streams and don't produce as many fish. However they are still quite healthy and provide just as much enjoyment as the famous waters.

I'd put Basin Run squarely in the bottom half of MD wild brown streams but it was still enjoyable to fish for an hour.

 

[kentwetz]

I live in the Catoctins in MD and always skip Big Hunting Creek which has lots of people on it at all times for many of the smaller streams In The area. Most years I will go all year on the smaller Catoctins streams without seeing another person fishing. It always amazes me that others won’t take an hour in the winter to do a little internet digging and fine some smaller gems.

 

[sarce]

kentwetz,

Same here! I generally avoid BHC. It's good but not the best stream up there. I will say that I've noticed a sharp increase in pressure on one of the southernmost brookie streams on that mountain, and I rarely have Fishing Creek or Little Fishing to myself. But there are other great streams that still seem to be rarely fished.