Fly Fishing Report North Branch Potomac River Maryland – Fly Fishing Report- April 19, 2024
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
Freestone/Tailwater
Species
Brown Trout (wild)
Rainbow Trout
Brook Trout (wild)
Cutthroat Trout
Size
Medium
Location
Northwestern Maryland
Nearest Towns Keyser, West Virginia
Bloomington, Maryland
Season
Year-round
Access:
Okay
Non-Resident License
State of Maryland
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
Fly Fishing North Branch Potomac River Maryland
The stream is still flowing well above a normal level and the water highly stained. There are good light green and red, or blood midge hatches taking place. Little Brown stoneflies, LIttle Black Caddis and Blue-winded olives are hatching.
Rate: 1140 cfs
Level: 4.25 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 48
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data At Barnum MD
7 Day Weather Forecast: (click the box below to see more detailed weather)
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: Light Green 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
Little Brown Stoneflies: 12, nymphs and adults
Little Black Caddis, size 18, pupa and adults
Fly Fishing The North Branch of the Potomac River Maryland: Several years ago, no one would have ever thought this river could support trout. Acid mine drainage keep the PH so low that it seemed nothing could survive in its waters. Water flowing from abandoned coal mines polluted the river. Silt from the runoff of mountain side that had been cleared of timber, ruined the river. Damming the river and creating Lake Jennings-Randolph changed things. In some tributaries above the lake and in the main channel, devices that mix lime with the water to raise the PH, has decreased the acidic level of the water. The river above the lake is now stocked with rainbow and brown trout. Much of the river is a put and take fishery but there is also a delayed harvest section in the state forest area above the dam.The section below the dam is the prime spot on the river for serious anglers. The first one-third mile or so, is reserved only for the trout. The next two-thirds mile is catch and release only. Below that there is a picnic area where you can keep trout, and then from Blue Hole to the Piney Swamy Run, a tributary stream, it is catch and release only waters. Even so, the tailwater section receives several thousand stocked trout each year. The river provides natural spawning for the brown and brook trout in some areas. There is even a limited amount of natural spawning of the rainbow trout.Seven miles of the river above the lake is managed as a Delayed Harvest area. The other fourteen miles is stocked and managed on a “Put and take” basis.
Freestone Stream Section Above Jennings/Randolph Lake: The upper part of the North Branch of the Potomac River in Maryland is a freestone stream and like all freestone streams, its water temperatures can rise and fall with the changes in the weather. Its water levels are subject to the fall and snow fall during the year. About nine miles of the river flows along the Potomac State Forest line and is stocked very heavily. This section is located in a fairly remote section of Maryland and is heavily forested.For almost one-hundred years, the river was totally void of life. The rebirth of this river is an amazing feat and proof that with some thought, planning and work, almost any stream can be reconditioned to support trout. Acid runoff from mining was the cause of the problem and is still a problem in many areas of the country. This area of the United States in coal mining country and coal mining was what destroyed all of the life of the river at one time. Now, things are quite different. The state installed four limestone dosers that changed the PH of the water enough to support trout and aquatic insects that they rely on for food. Now twenty-one miles of the river supports trout. Eight miles are below the lake and thirteen miles above the lake.
Tailwater Section below Jennings/Randolph Lake: The tailwater section of the North Branch of the Potomac River is the best section to fly fish and gets the most attention from serious anglers. It is one of the few streams in the Eastern United States that has the cutthroat trout. In fact all four species of trout exist in the river – the rainbow, brook, brown and cutthroat. The locals call catching all four species catching the Grand Slam of Trout Fishing. The dam releases water ranging from fifty-five to sixty degrees year-round.As mentioned before, the best way to fish the tailwater is from a drift boat. The water levels can vary and there are a lot of rock and boulder outcropping that you have to maneuver around. An ideal drift boat is a rubber raft type pontoon boat. The rocks can damage a boat quickly.You can also fish the stream from the banks but you cannot cover near as much water as you can from a drift boat and your chances to place your fly in numerous ideal lies is much less. There is not near the access that you have when drifting the river.The stream is difficult to wade in some places and others it is fairly easy to wade. You can certainly catch trout wading, so don’t let the fact that drifting the river may be the best method to use keep you away from the stream.The river is lightly fished, rarely crowded with anglers and in a very remote area of the country. It is worth the trip to check it out if for no other reason, just to be able to fish for cutthroats in the East and to have the opportunity to catch the Grand Slam.
North Branch Potomac River Hatches and Trout Flies: Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the North Branch Potomac River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726.You would think this river wouldn’t stand much of a chance at having any aquatic insects but that is far from the truth. The populations that exist in the headwaters are different from those found in the tailwater to some extent but both areas have more than you would expect from a stream once know for its high acidic content. All in all, however, the populations of the few species that exist here are still rather low.Midges are the most consistent hatches that occur, especially in the tailwater section. You can catch trout on imitations of the lavae, pupae and adults most any day of the year. Although midge fishing isn’t exactly popular with the locals, they are very effective on this river. We recommend a good selection of midge imitations even if you are fishing during the summer.A very important fly is the streamer. Imitations of sculpin, minnows, baitfish and small crawfish work great at times, especially when the water is high and slightly stained. Make certain you have a good selection of streamers. There are some Blue-winged Olives, both in the headwaters and tailwater sections. These hatch during the winter in the tailwater section starting in February. The hatch isn’t very heavy but it can last until June depending on the time and location. You will also find some hatching in late September and October.There are a few American March Browns in the river. They normally start hatching around the middle of May. It is not very reliable but you may find them as late as July. There are also a few Sulphurs beginning to hatch. We hope the population continues to grow. They start in May and last for about six weeks.A very overlooked fly that is plentiful on this river is the Cranefly. We have “Perfect Fly” imitations of the larvae and adults. They have proven to catch trout at this location. Don’t forget about terrestrials. There are plenty of ants and beetles. You will also find some grasshoppers in some areas. Imitations of them work at times. There are also plenty of inch worms, or moth larvae, that fall of the tree limbs into the water. Be sure to have some imitations of them with you if you are fishing during the summer. Terrestrial can be important anytime from about the middle of June until the first of October. We hope you check out our selection of “Perfect Fly” Midges and Streamer flies for this river. We believe once you give any of our flies a try, you will stick with them anywhere you fly fish for trout.