The Western Maryland trout streams are a hidden
jewel. There are several nice streams in the area
but when I think of Maryland I think of the Casselman
River. The fly fishing is great and the scenery
beautiful. It is a fairly open stream that is easy
to wade it is a great place to fly fish. There is
a lot of history in the area. George Washington
crossed the river near Grantsville in 1755. In the
1800's poor mining techniques caused acid drainage into
the Casselman River killing all aquatic life.
Through mine reclamation projects the stream is clean
once again. In 1989 Maryland started
managing the stream for recreational trout fishing.
It is a success story and it is now one of the best
trout streams in the Eastern US. Located just east
of Morgantown WV on I-68 it is easily accessible.
The land bordering the Casselman River is mostly
private farmland. Many landowners graciously allow
anglers to fish. There is some public land at the
Casselman Bridge State Park. Fly fishing for trout
is very popular. There are Brown, Rainbow, and
Brook Trout in the stream. Fall and Spring
stockings of up to 4,000 adult trout per mile, delayed
Harvest regulations and good habitat insure good numbers
of trout for anglers. Large fish over 5 lbs are
common on the Casselman River. It fishes best at
flows below 150 CFM and it clears fairly quickly after
rains but it is an agricultural area and farming can
effect water clarity. It is a free flowing stream
so summer warm ups can kill the fish.
Maryland manages it as a delayed harvest area.
Anglers are permitted to keep two trout after June15th.
There are great bug hatches on the Casselman River each spring
making it a great dry fly fishery. There are some
mayfly hatches but they aren't very reliable. When
the water temp hits 50 degrees the Caddis will start on
the Casselman River. In May there will be Midges, March
Browns, and a good Sulpher hatch most years.
During mid May there are Green Drakes and Yellow Stones.
We use
Meshach Browning's Cabins when we fish the Casselman.
They have 1700 ft of frontage on the stream and their
seven rental cabins are very reasonably priced.
Making it the ideal location to headquarter our Western
Maryland trout fishing trips. Meshach Browning's
has a campground and a variety of cabins from deluxe to
bare bones.
I
The nearby town of Oakland offers lodging, food, and
all the necessities for the traveling angler. It is a
charming little town with gift shops, and the area has a
Amish community. With Hiking, Biking, White Water
Rafting, Canoeing, plus the excellent fly fishing the
area is a outdoorsman's playground.
