Savage & NBP, Garrett co. MD

[sundrunk]

Fished the north branch this past Thursday...Levels were on the low side @ 150cfs, which made getting around easier..Winds picked up by afternoon..Made my way up to the big pool..Busted a bakers dozen or so of Rainbows on drys, biggest being around 20"



Fished the Savage for the last time this year on Friday..The Savage was flowing at a good clip, 250cfs..Stayed in that 7x pool for most of the day..Caught some nice size browns and one 10 inch brookie..Tiny stoneflies and bwo's provided all of the top water action on the day..


Don't know how repairs on the Dam will effect the Savage in the years to come..Glad to get up there before they really start draining the Res. though..

 

[DGC]

On the Savage, will be fascinating to see how the run-of-river flows affect spawning, redistribution, fry survival in Spring and lots of other factors. The various if/then scenarios would have been fun to work on and plan for.

As for spawning, this is where the long standing crop of wild trout instinct/experience pays off: keen selection of spawning sites that can withstand lower water levels if that happens, though how low they get at run-of-river is a potential challenge if things dry up unexpectedly.

 

[sundrunk]

Heard as low as 10cfs.

I wonder how the sediment run-off will affect the hatches, could be a good thing for the burrowers..

When they drained Poe Valley lake I remember hearing, or reading something about ill affects ,with regard to hatches, caused by sediment deposit. Not to mention all of those lake hogs swiming around gobbling everything up..Poe lake is about 1% the size, compared with the Savage Reservoir, if that. The question for me is how much sediment lies below the Savage, and whats it made of..

In the end the Savage will make a full recover. Due to it's steep gradient, most of the sediment will eventually wash down river and in to the Potomac. Plus the Savage gets blown out frequently. At one point this year the Savage reached frighting levels at over 5,000 cfs. For a stream that looks natural at 100cfs 5,000 is really high.