Casselman River
When I planned my trip to Western Maryland, I chose to stay at Streams & Dreams because it was right on the Yock. I figured I would fish the Yock the entire time. I heard the Savage was high and cold, with not much going on yet, and I didn't much care to fish the Casselman, which has a delayed harvest section. I didn't think I wanted to drive three hours to catch stocked trout. And then I met Don at Streams & Dreams. He convinced me to try the Casselman since it was so cold and windy out that first day there, and the Yock wasn't in the best of shape. And besides that, the Casselman is home to some big fish...some really big fish. The delayed harvest section is about 4.5 miles and runs north up through Amish farmlands to the PA state line. It's stocked with thousands of trout, including some huge rainbows and browns, with many fish in the 20+ inch range. I finally caved in and gave the Casselman a shot. I fished about 100 yards or so of the river that afternoon, and I have never seen so many fish in such a short distance. It was amazing. I caught many fish, mostly rainbows, and all were really nice fish. I had a 20-fish day, and landed a large rainbow that was pushing 20 inches. I didn't hit any major hatches, so I mainly fished streamers all afternoon. There were some small black stoneflies hatching, but that was about it.

Savage River
My second day included a visit to the Savage River for a Blue Quill hatch. Don recommended this, and I certainly was going along with the expert at this point. He and his friend John planned to head out there in the morning and hook up with Jay Sheppard. Jay is an expert on Maryland trout streams and also guides on several of the rivers, including the rivers in Western Maryland. So when the experts like Don and Jay say that there will be a Blue Quill hatch on the Savage and we should try to hit it, I am definitely going along for that ride. It was another excellent recommendation. The Savage is an absolutely beautiful river, and is mainly pocket water which includes some really nice pools. It's a wild trout fishery and holds some of the most beautiful browns I have ever seen. There was good Blue Quill hatch from about 11 AM to 2 PM or so. They were small (#18) dark mahogany duns. Emerger and dun patterns seemed to be effective, but I caught all of my fish that day on a Blue Quill Compara Cripple (#18). The browns and the brookies really liked that fly. There were also some larger Quill Gordons hatching, but the Blue Quills dominated.

Youghiogheny River
In the afternoon, I headed back to fish the Yock for a caddis hatch that Don predicted would be good. These caddis had small dark olive bodies with large wings. I used a #16 olive caddis that I had tied for the trip, and this was pretty effective. I picked up a few small rainbows that afternoon on the Yock. Next time I'll get some photos of this river. The Yock is an awesome river that makes you feel like you're fishing out west. It's big and wide, with thickly wooded banks.

Back to the Savage River
For my last day, I decided to hit a different section of the Savage on my way home. Don recommended a nice section with multiple pools where I could fish some flat water for the Blue Quill hatch. The Blue Quills started things off in the morning, but by about noon or so, the big Quill Gordons (#14s) really kicked in. The trout really zeroed in on this hatch. I caught several fish on both a Blue Quill dun pattern and a larger Hendrickson comparadun. There were also some small black stoneflies on the Savage, and I noticed one other mayfly, but only saw a few of them. I caught one in my hand, and it looked like a large BWO (#16). I fished for about six hours and didn't see another angler. One section in particular had a heavy hatch of Quill Gordons that the fish were feeding aggressively on. I was in dry fly heaven! I saw and hooked a lot of nice fish, and I landed two browns, two brookies, and a rainbow. I plan to get back to the Savage River again for sure.

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