Savage River, Garret County MD 2/18

[ryansheehan]

I met foxtrapper out on the lower savage Saturday morning around 7. The river was pretty rough running around 260 cfs but still very clear. There were stoneflies everywhere but with water temps below 40 and the high flows fish were not rising. We fished the first half of the day on the lower end of the river, managed to bring in some fish and lose a few more. Fish were taken on san juans, baetis nymphs and small (22) midges.High flows made wading pretty tough and tiring so we decided to hit the upper savage for some brookies around 2:30. The flows on the upper were perfect 100 cfs with the water temperature around 44. Stoneflies were everywhere but this time the fish were crushing them on top. Fox caught 4 or 5 before I could switch rigs to put a dry on. It was a great day on the water but a little too warm for my liking 🙂 Fox put together another awesome video hopefully he will post it.

 

[Dave_W]

Sounds like a great time - happy to see you were able to get out for this wonderful weather we had this weekend.

Also, good to hear you hit the fish on top with the little stoneflies. I don't think it is very common to find a lot of fish on top on early stones, but when it happens, it's a real treat.

Thanks for the report - looking forward to the vid.

 

[foxtrapper1972]

What an awesome river. I would like to see the lower when it is at lower flows. With all the rocks there are many places for trout to hide. Thanks for showing me around Ryan. Great trip south!

There were caddis, Stoneflies and midges hatching.

Here are videos from Savage.

Lower river
https://vimeo.com/204759435

Upper
https://vimeo.com/204762292

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Very nice videos. I'm glad you skipped the music

 

[afishinado]

Looks like you guys had a really great time.

Great looking water and some nice fish.

Thanks for both the report and the videos.

 

[3oh4]

When you said you saw stones on the lower, were they thick? (I trust you guys know your bugs) The early black stones are one of my fav. hatches but I've never seen them hatch on the Lower Savage. Outside of those brown needle stones in fall that are like 24s and Yellow Sallies I've never seen a thick hatch of Early Black Stones on the Lower. I know they are abundant on the Upper. I have seen the Black Caddis come off but never the black stones. *They look very similar in the air.

Tough river to wade at that CFS.

 

[3wt7X]

Been fishing the Lower Savage for over 5 years now, and I have always ran into little black stoneflies this time of year. Depending on stream temps and levels, they can be a great dry fly hatch for prospecting the slow water on the edges. They hatch on the banks and occasionally make it in the water, making it easier to prospect fish as opposed to finding consistent risers. Most often, small prince nymphs and black pheasant tails are more effective fished in the same areas, but with the temps this year, the dries should be good.

Great report Ryan... Looking forward to getting out there soon!!!

 

[ryansheehan]

Zak,
They were stones, but bug identification is not my strongest skill 🙂 if you watch fox's video I believe he took some shots of them. They were all over the rocks but there were not that many in the air. I agree with you that the brown stones in the fall is normally stronger but often I feel like I miss the early black stones because the flows are so erratic this time of year. They might be coming off but if the river is over 350 no chance I will be there.

 

[edhank]

Awesome river and videos. Thanks for sharing.

The first time i fished it, was this time of year, and my buddy warned me to not step off big rocks. I didn't heed the warning, stepped off a rock, and almost had to be fished out of the Potomac.

 

[foxtrapper1972]

The video shows both Caddis and Stoneflies.
Look carefully at the insects swarming on the rocks. They are actually some kind of caddis. There were also Stoneflies present in two sizes....small one about an 18 and also one about a 14. Definitely saw more Stoneflies on the water on the upper river.