Skip to content I saw that the DNR stocked Severn Run with over 1,200 fish during the first closure period. So I decided, “What the heck, I’ll give it another shot.” What a waste of time!
I can’t believe the DNR drops that many fish here during the stocking season. Even after the significant rainfall we had had over the last few weeks making the water levels on the 27th probably as high as it ever gets, the stream’s depth could be measured in inches. I talked to a number of other folks, and they said that once the fish are dropped in here, they move quickly to the bends. That’s the only place where a small pool of a foot or two will form and protect them until they are jerked unceremoniously out of the water.
The technique is pretty simple. Put a small glob of powerbait on a hook and, using your rod, stick the hook as far back into the brush at your chosen bend as you can. If you catch something, you run the risk of the fish tangling the line around a branch, but you’ll probably be able to haul it free. As I looked up and down this miserable stream, I could not figure out how the fish could move away from the two primary stocking points at the bridge crossings. While the pictures below are from New Cut Road, I also visited the other bridge crossing upstream and it was equally miserable. At that crossing, there was even less water in the stream perhaps – 3 to 4 inches.
In addition to the challenge of the exceptionally skinny water, if you attempt to wear waders here you will succeed in filling them full of pinholes from the thick, dense pricker pushes that protect the small stream. Even the beaten trail is overgrown with reaching vines that you have to move carefully around.
If you use fly gear, you’re in for a significant challenge. There is no room to do any kind of cast to deploy a streamer to reach into the deep holes at the bend. Since the trout are freshly stocked, they will not understand what a dry fly is even if you were able to float it successfully above them. Therefore, if you fish here, you need to bring a spinning rod and a wad of powerbait. I suspect that these fish do not last long in the shallow, miserable water so you may as well pull them out and have a good meal.
Bottom Line: Last time, I said “Never again”. This time, I mean it.
Getting There: Take the Benfield exit from I97 and head west. Turn left on Najoles Road and then right on Dicus Mill Road. Turn right on Gambrills road and then, after a 1/2 mile or so, veer right on New Cut Road (Gambrills dead ends there). Stop at the bridge and weep at what you see. It’s simply pathetic.
Secrets Revealed? No. This is a very public location that is documented in the following places: Maryland DNR
This is like fishing in a drainage ditch
Looks sad, very sad
Wow… a run! Inches deep
Plenty of folks hovering over the bends where the fish huddle
Unless stated otherwise, this article was authored by Steve Moore
