March 2026 Update

DNR brought another load of rainbows for the upper Patuxent and the Brighton tailwater today. Approximately 250 were spread at these bridges: Ann. Rock/04, Hipsley Mill, Howard Chapel, as well as in Cabin Br @ Hipsley Mill. WSSC again dropped the Brighton Dam release to ~25 cfs for us. An intrepid crew of Ron Briggs, Rush Branson, Lee Canby, and Tim Schuler pulled four boxes from below the dam to just above the Haviland Mill bridge. Those boxes were loaded with over 500 rainbows. DNR then drove to Haviland Mill bridge and loaded a final float box with perhaps 125 fish. Bob Bokulic pulled that box from the bridge down to just above the confluence with the Hawlings....releasing trout in all the deep pools. WSSC will return the release to about 60-65 cfs Friday morning. It should remain at that rate of flow for the foreseeable future. This should allow the trout to acclimate to their new environs. Anglers are reminded they are welcome to walk across Sam's field to access the river down past the Hawlings, BUT they are NOT to park in the field. There are only two public parking lots in this section: Howard Co parks lot on the north side of the bridge has room for more than a dozen cars. There is a small area that can hold three vehicles, if friends, on the Montgomery Co. end of the bridge. It has a very high dropoff from the pavement into the gravel, so not recommended for low clearance vehicles. For newbies coming to this area from rt 650/NH Ave — you first cross the Hawlings on a one-lane bridge. About 3/4 mile further is the two-lane bridge over the Patuxent River. The latter is your goal. Good fishing to all. — Jay