Palmer State Park - Deer Creek

Type: Nontidal
Region: Northern
Location: Palmer State park, Deer Creek

I had the pleasure of joining DNR Inland Fisheries chief Don Cosden on a trip to assess the new parking area, the access options, and the fishing in the Palmer State Park stretch of Deer Creek about eight miles north of Bel Air near Street, MD. The Maryland State Parks Service recently cleared and graveled a four- car parking spot at the head of a winding trail leading to the creek just above the Forge Hill Road Bridge. The parking area is at the very end of Old Forge Hill Road

We were hoping to find the remnants of the hickory shad run even though the hickory action in the lower Susquehanna State Park portion of the creek had peaked about a week earlier. There is also a small dam with a fish ladder below the park at Wilson Mill�an obstacle for the shad in low water.

The half-mile hike down the hill from the parking area to the stream is quite easy and scenic. The drop into the river from the shore is straightforward at many points and the wading is reasonably uncomplicated. But there were no shad this time.

Below the bridge, we managed to fool a few smallmouth bass, rainbow trout, and a couple of fallfish before heading back to the office.

It's a beautiful stream; quiet, lonely, and bright with great promise for spring and early summer fishing for cool-water fish like smallmouth bass and redbreast sunfish. There's also the springtime likelihood of finding cold water trout that have drifted down from upstream stocking efforts, and maybe, next year, another shot to find some shad.