After parking in the lot near the old mill building, I walked across the bridge to follow the trail paralleling the north side of the creek. The creek runs down a sharper incline half a mile upstream from the bridge, with associated faster water that does a good job of producing a few pools. Later in the year, those pools turn into swimming holes—but you won’t be here looking for trout at that point in the year anyway.
The advantage of moving upstream from Black Rock is that you can take advantage of any trout that migrate downstream from the Route 118 and Riffle Ford stocking points. But it’s a long, long creek, and the DNR does not drop enough fish in here to populate the entire length. Therefore, prepare yourself for random trout action at the typical, likely-looking spots. Look for the bends in the creek where the water accumulates or anything below a small gradient break.
I happened to run across another fisherman, and he assured me that there is some small amount of holdover in the creek from year-to-year and embellished the story with the comment that there was at least a 20-inch brown trout upstream underneath a log that he had not been able to convince to bite. Sounds like an urban myth to me based on my experience! In the two years I fished this creek, the only thing I ran into was stocked trout.
Great Seneca Creek Trout Fishing Bottom Line: The stream is pleasant and moderate. It is easy to wade and cross, and the trail makes movement from spot to spot painless. It is only a location to visit during the stocking season, and left, you want to catch sunfish—there are plenty of them everywhere.
Getting There: From I270, get onto 124 South at Gaithersburg (Exit 11 if coming from the north; Exit 10 if coming from the south – take Clopper Road up to 124 and then turn left). Follow it to 28 and turn left. Stay on 28 until you see Black Rock Road. Turn right and follow it to the creek.
Secrets Revealed? No. This is a very public location that is documented on the Maryland DNR site.
Wide and clear in spots
No significant vertical gain
The bends by fallen logs are productive
It even has a rock or two to break up the sand
Unless stated otherwise, this article was authored by Steve Moore