Maryland Fishing Regulations for Fly Anglers

Everyone 16 and older needs a valid Maryland nontidal freshwater fishing license to fish public freshwater. Licenses are issued by Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) — buy online through COMPASS, at any DNR Service Center, or at sporting goods retailers and license agents across the state.

Maryland offers resident and non-resident licenses, plus several short-term options for visitors:

• Annual non-resident license — best value if you'll fish multiple trips.
• 7-day non-resident license — well-suited to a destination trip on the Gunpowder, Savage, or NBP.
• 3-day non-resident license — for a long weekend.
• Senior pricing — discounted resident annual license for anglers 65+.

Maryland requires a separate Trout Stamp in addition to the basic nontidal fishing license to fish for trout in any designated trout water. The stamp is an annual add-on; purchase it at the same time as the license through COMPASS.

The Trout Stamp covers all designated trout waters statewide. Without it you cannot legally fish for trout in Maryland — even on catch-and-release waters like the Gunpowder Falls and Big Hunting Creek where you're not keeping anything.

Maryland's general trout season opens on the last Saturday in March on most stocked waters, with the season running through the calendar year on most general-law water. Special-regulation waters are open year-round under their own rule sets.

• General stocked trout waters — open the last Saturday in March through the end of the calendar year. DNR stocks rainbow, brown, and brook trout each spring (and a smaller fall stocking on select waters).
• Catch-and-release special-regulation areas — open year-round. The Gunpowder Falls C&R section, the entire Big Hunting Creek (Catoctin Park boundary), the Savage River Trophy Trout tailwater, and the North Branch Potomac special management sections all fish through every season.
• Pre-season stocking closure — DNR closes recently stocked waters in the days immediately before the spring opener to allow the fish to disperse. Posted at access points; verify before driving to a freshly stocked stream.

Maryland's best fly water carries special regulations beyond the statewide defaults. Read each posted regulation at the access point:

• Gunpowder Falls — Prettyboy Dam to Bluemount Road (7.2 miles) — catch-and-release only, artificial flies and lures only, single barbless hook required. All trout immediately released. Open year-round. Maryland's premier wild brown trout tailwater.
• Big Hunting Creek — entire stream within Catoctin Mountain Park / Cunningham Falls State Park — fly fishing only, catch-and-release only, single barbless hook. Open year-round within the park. The oldest fly-only C&R stream on the East Coast (since 1974).
• Savage River — entire 4-mile tailwater — Trophy Trout regulations: year-round open season, 2-fish daily creel, 18-inch minimum for brown trout. Dam to Allegany Suspension Bridge (1.25 mi): fly-fishing only. Allegany Suspension Bridge to mouth (2.75 mi): artificial flies/lures only, single hook.
• North Branch Potomac — special management sections below Jennings Randolph Dam — catch-and-release only, artificial flies and lures only, barbless hooks. Border water also subject to West Virginia regulations.
• Patuxent River — Brighton Dam tailwater C&R section — consult Maryland DNR for current C&R section boundaries immediately below Brighton Dam.

Maryland's general statewide trout creel limit is 5 fish per day with a 7-inch minimum on most stocked waters. Special-regulation waters override these defaults extensively.

• General stocked waters — 5 trout/day combined, 7-inch minimum.
• Savage River Trophy Trout tailwater — 2 trout/day, 18-inch minimum for brown trout. Trophy designation.
• Gunpowder Falls C&R, Big Hunting Creek, NBP special sections — zero kept; all fish released regardless of size.
• Wild trout streams — varies by stream; consult the annual DNR Freshwater Fishing Guide for protections on specific wild trout watersheds (Casselman headwaters and others).

The Gunpowder Falls below Prettyboy Reservoir deserves its own note. The 7.2-mile catch-and-release section from Prettyboy Dam to Bluemount Road has produced some of the most selective wild brown trout fishing in the eastern United States — fish that key on size 22-28 midges, size 22 BWOs, size 18 sulphurs, and size 22-24 tricos, and that have seen every fly. The cold hypolimnetic releases from the Prettyboy reservoir keep the river fishable year-round and support a wild population that has been protected by the C&R rule for decades.

Buy licenses, the Trout Stamp, and read the current year's full regulations at dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries. The annual Maryland Freshwater Fishing Guide is published as a PDF and a printed booklet available at any license agent, and it lists every water-by-water special regulation, the Trophy Trout designations, and the C&R section boundaries.