Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Tailwater and Freestone
Species
Brown Trout (wild)
Brook Trout (native)
Rainbow Trout (not stocked but
swim up from the Potomac)
Size
Small
Location
Southwestern Maryland
Nearest Towns
Bloomington, Maryland
Season
Year round
Special Regulations:
Yes, check current regulations
Access:
Tailwater Easy – Freestone
Tough
Non-Resident License
State of Maryland
Seasons:
The fishing season is open year-round and due to the constant temperature of the water, fly fishing the Savage River tailwater is good the entire year.
Spring:
This tailwater has numerous hatches of aquatic insects and Springtime is a great time to fish.
Summer:
The water stays cool throughout the tailwater even on the hottest days of summer and provides good fishing.
Fall:
The brown and brook trout spawn in the fall and the fishing is excellent.
Winter:
You can catch trout on midges throughout the winter months.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Savage River, Maryland – Fishing Report – December 15, 2024
Good conditions exist. The river is still flowing below a normal level in the freestone section and a near a normal level in the tailwater section. There are good hatches taking place.
Rate: 34.8 cfs
Level: .30 ft Water Temperature: 40
Clarity: clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Below Savage River Dam
7 Day Weather Forecast: (click the box below to see more detailed weather)
Stream Conditions:
Rate: 57.7 cfs
Height: 2.17 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 48 (near springs)
Clarity: clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data At Axeman PA
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Cream and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, are very popular here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
Winter Stoneflies; size 16/18, nymphs and adults
Perfect Flies are designed and tied to to imitate and behave like the natural foods the trout rely on to survive as much as possible. The more your fly looks like and moves through and on the surface of the water like the real things, the higher your odds of success.
Description of The Savage River: The Savage River is situated entirely within the Savage River State Forest. Its upper freestone section is almost three-forth of the length of the entire river and is quite remote. It has lots of small spring feed tributaries and is a relatively small to medium size stream with wild brook trout. The freestone stream flows into the Savage River Reservoir created by dam. The reservoir is stocked with brown and brook trout. The part that is of the most interest to fly anglers is the tailwater section of the river. Water from the bottom of the reservoir flows from the dam at a constant fifty-degree temperature. It has lots of deep, swift flowing runs, deep pools and some sections of riffles. It has plenty of wild brook and brown trout. The reproduction is great and there is no need for any stocking. It was discontinued in 1990. The Potomac tailwater is one of the best wild trout streams in the middle Atlantic region. The river is bordered with rhododendron and mountain azaleas. The mountains have large stands of Hemlock and hardwood trees and it is a beautiful place to fish. The tailwater is managed as a “Trophy Trout” area. It is divided into two sections. The first section starting below the dam is designated as “Fly Fishing Only”. It extends for a mile and a quarter from the dam to the Allegana Bridge. The “Trophy Trout Management Area” extends from the Allegana Bridge to the confluence with the Potomac River, a distance of just under three miles.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Savage River
The river consist of pocket water that falls at a fairly steep decent. Its bottom consist of coble and boulders that are very slick. The river has a high PH level and which is responsible for its large hatches of aquatic insects. The Savage River tailwater gives the appearance of being purely a nymph stream with little dry fly fishing. It is almost right the opposite of that. It has excellent hatches and great dry fly fishing. You can catch wild brown and native brook trout throughout the year on dry flies. Even during the cold winter, on warm days, it is possible to catch trout on dry flies during Blue-winged Olive and midge hatches. That is not to say that nymph fishing is not a good way to fish this stream because it certainly is. Imitations of mayfly and stonefly nymphs work year-round. You can also do well with caddisfly larva imitations such as the “Green Rock Worm”, or imitations of the Green Sedge Larvae. Most anglers use a strike indicator when nymph fishing. There is certainly nothing wrong with that. Most of the runs and pools are quite deep. In fact you have to use caution when wading because it is easy to step off into a hole with too deep of water to wade. The bottom is also very slick due to the algae growth. The high PH of the water keeps the rocks, cobble and boulders slick. The stream averages about fifty feet wide at the widest sections in its tailwater. It is narrow and deeper than most tailwaters throughout its four mile length. There are a few riffles but they are not plentiful. Most of the water is on the deep side. High sticking is a good nymph method to use on this river. Make your cast short and in an upstream direction. Streamer fishing is also a good technique to use on the Salvage River. The larger browns are always subject to being caught on imitations of baitfish, minnows, and sculpins. The best times to fish them are early in the morning or late in the day when the light is low, or anytime when the skies are heavily overcast.
Hatches:
Don’t ever overlook the midges in the Savage River whenever you are fishing. Of course they are probably more important in the winter when nothing else is hatching but you can catch trout on larva imitations and pupa imitations almost anytime of the year. The Blue-winged Olives are the first mayflies to hatch in the Savage River. They start as early as the middle of March and hatch off and on through May. There is a second wave of them in the late summer to early fall starting about the end of August and lasting until the middle of October. The American March Browns and Light Cahill mayflies, both clingers, hatch from about the first of May until the first week in June. Sulphurs hatch almost the same period of time but maybe last longer into the end of June. Look for them in the pockets or calmer areas of water. Eastern Pale Evening Duns, also clingers, hatch in July and August. In May and early June you should find the Green Sedges hatching. Don’t overlook fishing the Green Rock Work, or Green Sedge Larva, at anytime of the year. The river has a large quantity of them. The Cinnamon Caddis hatch for most of the summer months staring in the middle of May through the month of July. Little Brown Stoneflies hatch starting in March and last through April. Some anglers call these little winter brown stoneflies. Yellow Sallies, or Little Yellow Stoneflies, start hatching the first of June and last through the month of July. They become very important insects to imitate. Terrestrials become important starting in mid June. There are plenty of beetles, ants and some grasshoppers around the stream. They hang around until the first frost usually in October. The inch worm flies work great here as the moths are very plentiful. Look for them to be hanging from the trees from June through August. Scuds are also very important. The river has a good population of them and they are one of the most important foods for the brook and brown trout. Crawfish (Crayfish) are also very plentiful in the river. The trout will eat the smaller ones.