As for the fishing, it was good. Dreisbach promised we'd catch plenty of trout on dry flies and he wasn't lying. We did catch a couple dozen between us on small elkhair caddis flies, but they were all small fish, the biggest perhaps 10 inches. The longer we fished, the surer I was that some big fish lurked in the deep holes, and I finally persuaded Moore to let me try a sinking bead-head caddis suspended below the dry fly.
That produced a few more small fish, and finally on the last deep hole before the takeout, I took the dry fly off altogether, squeezed on some split shot and went down to the bottom, where on about the eighth drift I found myself fast to a gorgeous, 19-inch rainbow trout that fought long and hard in the swift current before coming to the net. That felt good!
As pleasant as the scenery is and as productive as the fishing was, the North Branch is not out of the woods yet, Dreisbach and Pavol say. They met late last week with Corps of Engineers officials, hoping to convince the government agency to let just a little bit more water down so anglers can float the river safely and more easily.
"Right now they're generally running at about 250 cubic feet per second," said Dreisbach. "If they could bump that up to 300 cfs several days a week, it would make all the difference."
The five outfitters working the river have formed a coalition, the Western Maryland Professional Guides Association, to help press their case. Says Pavol: "The Corps provides 1,000 cfs releases in April and May to support whitewater rafting outfitters; we're just proposing that they treat the trout fishing resource with the same respect they give to whitewater."
Pavol, who generally guides below the stretch where Moore goes, says 35 miles of fishable water lie below the dam, all of which would profit from slightly increased flow on designated days.
He also says the outfall from Mead-Westvaco must be continually monitored and could be further improved, and he also will press the Corps to moderate big, early spring water releases to drain down the lake, which he says are so strong they kill many trout.
Obviously, even success stories have lingering downsides, but the rebirth of the North Branch is an uplifting tale, overall. Larry Coburn and Charlie Gelso call this river the "Madison of the East," referring to the revered Montana trout river, in their "Guide to Maryland Trout Fishing." From a scenic standpoint, they are not far wrong.
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Following is a list of trout-fishing guides working the North Branch of the Potomac:
Eastern Trophies, 571-213-2570.
North Branch Anglers (Ken Pavol), 301-387-5314.
Spring Creek Outfitters, 301-334-4023.
Sang Run Outfitters, 301-387-6726.
Savage River Lodge, 301-689-3200.
