Here’s a sweet, short video of a stop at the Savage River in Western Maryland in the midst of a January road trip. A midday stonefly hatch brought a couple fish to the surface, causing the anglers to quickly forgot just how cold it was.
6 thoughts on “Video: A Quick Stop on the Savage River”
I would wager those were early black stone flies rather than caddis. They would often hatch out and crawl all over the snow even in CT. Great that a few fish were looking up!
Oh, those are absolutely stoneflies. Nice call. The filmmaker wrote about caddisflies in the description of the video, and I unthinkingly took him at his word.
Jerry – I think you are correct. The behavior of the bugs at 0:33 is a signature of stoneflies. That said, it is still a very well made video. Makes you want to get out there and shake off the frost at least until your guides ice up and your coffee goes cold. Then it’s back to the bench. Nice share Phil.
yep, winter early blacks, on Eastern Waters these are often the Allocapnia, Amphinemura, Leuctra, or Neoperla stones. Small, black size 18 to 20/22 and often hatching and egg laying on the coldest of days. Ours locally are Amphinemura nigritta and Amphinemura appalachia, and are often called snowflies or ‘willowflies’.
Ha! Glad to see my mis identification has sparked such a spirited debate! Sharp eyes folks, and much appreciated. While in retrospect I believe you are all right, the fish weren’t quite as discerning, and eagerly took a dark caddis imitation, but as i’m sure you know, size and color probably were the deciding factor. The original description has been revised. Hope everyone is staying warm. We certainly can’t wait for the spring thaw.
I would wager those were early black stone flies rather than caddis. They would often hatch out and crawl all over the snow even in CT. Great that a few fish were looking up!
Oh, those are absolutely stoneflies. Nice call. The filmmaker wrote about caddisflies in the description of the video, and I unthinkingly took him at his word.
Jerry – I think you are correct. The behavior of the bugs at 0:33 is a signature of stoneflies. That said, it is still a very well made video. Makes you want to get out there and shake off the frost at least until your guides ice up and your coffee goes cold. Then it’s back to the bench. Nice share Phil.
yep, winter early blacks, on Eastern Waters these are often the Allocapnia, Amphinemura, Leuctra, or Neoperla stones. Small, black size 18 to 20/22 and often hatching and egg laying on the coldest of days. Ours locally are Amphinemura nigritta and Amphinemura appalachia, and are often called snowflies or ‘willowflies’.
Nice video, great blog post as always
Ha! Glad to see my mis identification has sparked such a spirited debate! Sharp eyes folks, and much appreciated. While in retrospect I believe you are all right, the fish weren’t quite as discerning, and eagerly took a dark caddis imitation, but as i’m sure you know, size and color probably were the deciding factor. The original description has been revised. Hope everyone is staying warm. We certainly can’t wait for the spring thaw.
-Chase
Oh, and thanks for all the kind words and encouragement! And thanks for the post Phil! we always appreciate the support.
-Chase