Copyright 2009 James Marsh
Fly Fishing Gear for the Savage River Maryland
The best part of the Savage River is the tailwater. The headwaters also contain trout but
most serious anglers focus on the tailwater section and its wild trout. The gear you need for
the headwaters would be typical of that used for any small freestone stream. The lightest of
the gear what we are recommending for the Savage River will work fine in the headwaters but
we are not going to separate our recommendations for the two sections of the river.
Fly Line:
Most of the fish you will catch will be either native brook trout or wild brown trout. You can use
fly lines much lighter for brook trout than a 4 weight floating line but that is what we are
recommending. We recommend a 5 weight, floating fly line for dry flies and lighter nymphs for
the taiwater and a 6 weight fly floating fly line for heavier nymphs and streamers.
Leaders:
Your leaders should range in sizes from a 2X for streamers up to a 7X for midges and small
dry flies. You should carry them in lengths ranging from seven and one-half feet, up to 12
feet in length. Nine foot would probably be the most used length.
Tippets:
You should have extra tippet material ranging from 2X to 7X.
Fly Rods:
If you fish for the brook trout, you may want a 4 weight fly rod or even lighter. It should be a
medium action rod from eight to eight and one-half feet in length. The rod for the 5 weight
line should be a medium slow to medium fast action rod, depending on your preference from
eight and one-half up to nine feet long. The 6 weight rod should have a good backbone and
a little stiffer tip for nymph fishing. We would suggest a eight and one-half to nine foot
medium fast to fast action rod for it.
Fly Reels:
The fly reel you use for the 4 weight brook trout line (or even lighter) should be light but that
is about the only requirement. The reels for the 5 and 6 weight lines should have a good
drag, preferably a disc drag. You don't want to loose a nice brown trout because of a poor or
rough operating drag.
Waders:
You can get by with out waders if you fish from the banks but it wouldn't be the most desirable
situation. We recommend carrying waders. The water is cold even in the summer.
Wading Boots:
The bottom is very slick in the Savage River. We recommend felt soles for your wading boots.
You may want to consider the new rubber sole boots that help prevent the spread of Didymo
but we have not tested them at the Savage River yet.
Trout Flies:
As always we recommend our own Perfect Fly trout flies. We suggest you look at our Savage
River hatch chart and select the flies for the particular time of year you plan on fishing. We
suggest a good selection of streamers for the brown trout, midges and Blue-winged Olive
nymphs and duns as the minimum or most important flies to have.
The best part of the Savage River is the tailwater. The headwaters also contain trout but
most serious anglers focus on the tailwater section and its wild trout. The gear you need for
the headwaters would be typical of that used for any small freestone stream. The lightest of
the gear what we are recommending for the Savage River will work fine in the headwaters but
we are not going to separate our recommendations for the two sections of the river.
Fly Line:
Most of the fish you will catch will be either native brook trout or wild brown trout. You can use
fly lines much lighter for brook trout than a 4 weight floating line but that is what we are
recommending. We recommend a 5 weight, floating fly line for dry flies and lighter nymphs for
the taiwater and a 6 weight fly floating fly line for heavier nymphs and streamers.
Leaders:
Your leaders should range in sizes from a 2X for streamers up to a 7X for midges and small
dry flies. You should carry them in lengths ranging from seven and one-half feet, up to 12
feet in length. Nine foot would probably be the most used length.
Tippets:
You should have extra tippet material ranging from 2X to 7X.
Fly Rods:
If you fish for the brook trout, you may want a 4 weight fly rod or even lighter. It should be a
medium action rod from eight to eight and one-half feet in length. The rod for the 5 weight
line should be a medium slow to medium fast action rod, depending on your preference from
eight and one-half up to nine feet long. The 6 weight rod should have a good backbone and
a little stiffer tip for nymph fishing. We would suggest a eight and one-half to nine foot
medium fast to fast action rod for it.
Fly Reels:
The fly reel you use for the 4 weight brook trout line (or even lighter) should be light but that
is about the only requirement. The reels for the 5 and 6 weight lines should have a good
drag, preferably a disc drag. You don't want to loose a nice brown trout because of a poor or
rough operating drag.
Waders:
You can get by with out waders if you fish from the banks but it wouldn't be the most desirable
situation. We recommend carrying waders. The water is cold even in the summer.
Wading Boots:
The bottom is very slick in the Savage River. We recommend felt soles for your wading boots.
You may want to consider the new rubber sole boots that help prevent the spread of Didymo
but we have not tested them at the Savage River yet.
Trout Flies:
As always we recommend our own Perfect Fly trout flies. We suggest you look at our Savage
River hatch chart and select the flies for the particular time of year you plan on fishing. We
suggest a good selection of streamers for the brown trout, midges and Blue-winged Olive
nymphs and duns as the minimum or most important flies to have.
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Felt sole wading shoes are now illegal