Savage

Seven ridge lines west the Savage River Reservoir is tucked into the mountains just west of South Savage Mountain and just East of Deep Creek MD and  the upper reaches of the Youghiougheny River.   It's a strong MD holdout of pristine water and native brook trout.   Below the reservoir there's trophy trout water but above the feeding into the reservoir are 92 miles of gloriously unimpeded trout streams allowing trout to enjoy both the safety of the reservoir and the cooler tributaries in the summer.   I called Savage River Outfitters before I came and co-owner Paul answered from the base of the Wind River Range in WY.   He said that if I liked the SNP Blue lines I'd be right at home on the tribs leading into the reservoir.   He wasn't wrong.

It's a 3+hr drive from NOVA and I arrived at the damn at 0930, the trophy tailwater will have to wait for another day but it struck me as a freestone tailwater that would require care and planning as the water would be rushing through a very rocky riverbed. As you look at the trib-hollows in the map above the each one deserves attention less Dry Run which while not dry is just too skinny to be very fishy.   I slid in to the first trib, the Cranberry which joins the reservoir at 7:00 with a 2wt dry-dropper setup and high expectations. After meaty brookies slapped my dry I took off the pheasant tail dropper and caught 6 handsome brookies in 20 minutes.   The rest of the day was spent survey fishing each trib, I won't give away all the knowledge I gained here , but I'd be happy to show you.