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On our last trip to the North Branch last year, Dick and I hauled our backsides out of the rack at O-dark thirty to meet at Dick's Sporting Goods in Manassas and endure the 3 hour trek to the distant western reaches of Maryland.
Instead of going to Wallman or Lostland, two of my favorite spots, we fished the Barnum Catch and Release section. The driver was the water temperature. Above the Jennings Dam, the water was running close to 80 degrees at the end of the season. Since Dick is a trout fanatic, we had to go where trout would survive as opposed to hunting for Smallies. The cold, cold water spilling out of Jennings into the Barnum stretch was just the ticket.
I am driven to discover new water. At the end of the day described in the Barnum report, we headed over to Bloomington to solve the mystery of "Seldom Seen Road". If you do a Google Local search on Bloomington, it reveals a road which tracks all the way to the middle of the Barnum C&R section. Could that be a high speed avenue of approach into the heart of that prime water? On an earlier trip, I discovered a picnic table on the west bank with a rough 4x4 road leading up to it. When I got home, I did some research and concluded that this was the end point for "Seldom Seen Road".
With that in mind, we navigated our way to the road, pulled off the hardball and, after a short 25 yard bounce on a dirt road, stared at the gate that cut off access. Well, we were there, so we geared up and got ready to walk to the river. As we started a kid roared up in an ATV and dodged around the left hand gate pole. We flagged him down to ask if the road led all the way to the river. Amazingly, he replied that since he was from Westernport (see map), he was not "local" and did not really know. Guess this redefines "local". Dick and I shouldered our rods and began to slog down the wide gravel road.
As we walked, we looked for a clear trail leading to the river. Finding none, we cut to the river after passing a fenced in area and bushwhacked through some heavy undergrowth to emerge at the river bank. I took the first step into the river and immediately sunk into knee deep muck. Bad call on where to step off the bank. Once into the river, the typical rocky characteristic of the North Branch revealed itself; wading staff required!
The river in this section, on this late fall day, was fairly shallow; running wide and fast. If not careful, the quick current would pull your feet from under you and give you a good dunk in the 58 degree water. We started fishing upstream, searching for the deep cuts that had to be in this section that would hold fish.
I found that the eastern bank seemed to enjoy the most depth. The gradient of the river moves quickly from deep to shallow as you traverse from east to west. The western bank hugs a steep hill while the eastern bank features the broad rock farms associated with a shallow bank. We could see that the river was running well under the high water mark at this point in the season.
Sadly, we did not get a single hit. I worked nymphs and terrestrials since I had not yet mastered the use of a streamer in fast water. Dick stuck to dry flies. After about an hour we faced the facts that it was getting late, we had a long drive home and we still had to get back to the truck.
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Remember to refer to my rating explanations - these are based on what I look for - so RED for Physical Fitness translates to easy physically - you do not need to be in shape to fish this section. I prefer terrain that is tough to get into and out of.
We looked around and discovered that the western bank had changed character from a gentle slope to a steep, steep mountainside. Decision. Walk back or walk up? We decided to climb out there and move up the mountain to intersect Seldom Seen Road and then use it or the railbed to make it back to the truck. This was a heck of a climb. I traversed in a zig-zag fashion with some instances of having to grab a tree to get over the really steep spots. It took a good 20 minutes to work up the hill. With trembling legs, I was grateful to see the railroad loom into view and collapsed in a heap to wait for Dick. Geez. I need to do more stairstepping when I work out. This sucked!
Once we both recovered, it was an easy walk back to the truck as the railbed led to the road to the truck.
So. Seldom Seen Road exists but is not really useful. It's easier to get to the middle of the C&R section by parking down at the northern end of the Barnum road.
Bottom Line: Uncertain. I would bet that many folks do not fish here given the lure of Barnum right upstream. But the structure here is not compelling. The river if basically just a sheet of water with nothing to distinguish one spot from another. I think a better bet would be to start fishing from where the Savage hits the North Branch and work upstream from there. I'll have to check that out on another trip.
Getting There:
For detailed directions, please purchase either the North Branch Map Book for $4.95 or the full 190 page Fishing guide to the North Branch for $9.95. After checkout, you can download the books instantly.
The fishing guide is also available in hardcopy - click here
Both books include detailed directions overlaid on topo maps with pictures for the confusing places to get you to the river. The key difference is that the full book walks you up the river from Westernport to Wilson using over 140 pictures with a detailed discussion of what to expect beyond the parking lot.
Sorry to have to do this, but selling these eBooks is how I support the cost of maintaining this site. Please support the site.
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