Yellow Breeches Fishing Report: 04/21/24 The stream is flowing at a normal level and clear clear. Good Light green and red, or Blood midges hatches, are taking place along with Blue-winged olives, Blue Quills, Quill Gordons, Little Black Caddis, Hendricksons/Red Quills and little Brown stoneflies. Send us an email for a recommended fly list.
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Stream Conditions:
Rate: 462 cfs
Level: 2.19 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 53 Clarity: light stain
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data Near Camp Hill
Recommended Flies:
Brown Sculpin, White Belly Sculpin, & Articulated streamers, size 4/6 Blue-winged Olives, 16, nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners
Scuds: size 14
Cinnamon Caddis, size 16/18, larva, pupa and adults
Midges: Blood, Cream sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adults
Green Sedge Caddis, size 16/14, larva, pupa and adults
Hendricksons/Red Quills: 12/14, nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners
Type of Stream
Freestone with Spring Influence
Species
Brown Trout (Wild)
Size
Small to Medium 30 miles long
Location
South Central Pennsylvania
Nearest Towns
Carlisle
Season
Mid April through February – See special regulations
Access:
Easy
Special Regulations
Catch and Release Section
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Options For Selecting Flies:
1. Email us (sales@perfectflystore.com)
with the dates you will be fishing this stream and we will send you a list of our fly suggestions. Please allow up to 24 hours for a response.
2. Call us 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide which flies you need
3. Email us (sales@perfectflystore.com)
with a budget for flies and we will select them to match the budget and get them to you in time for your fly fishing trip.
All orders are shipped free in the
U. S. Orders over $100 are shipped via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Fly Fishing Yellow Breeches: The Run adds a lot of cool water and helps the creek for some distance below the confluence. That is yet another reason the catch and release area is considered good. Naturally, the heaviest fished area is the catch and release section near Boiling Springs.
This creek is know for its late season White Fly hatch. Its waters can become crowded with anglers during the late August hatch. Fly fishing Yellow Breeches Creek is very popular at this time.
Yellow Breeches Creek is a low-gradient trout stream with long riffles and long smooth flowing pools. It has a good pH level and a large diversity and population of aquatic insects. The hold-over and wild trout can become selective on some of the larger hatches and it is often necessary to match the hatch or match the nymphs or larvae of what is about to hatch.
The stream is heavily stocked almost year-round throughout its entire length. The most popular section of the stream is the “catch and release” section between Boiling Springs and the Allenberry Resort. Although the stream is heavily stocked, it has a good population of wild brown trout in some areas.
The most popular area for fly fishing is the “catch and release” section below the Boiling Springs area in the area of the stream near the Allenberry Resort. You will find a few wild, streambred trout along with stocked trout and holdovers.
The easiest and best place for visitors to access the Yellow Breeches is at the Little Run on the upper end of the “catch and release” section. There is a parking lot at the south end of Boiling Springs Lake near the Little Run.
You can also access the stream at the lower “catch and release” section at the Allenberry entrance. There’s also plenty of roadside access at pull over areas and the bridges that cross the Yellow Breeches.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Yellow Breeches:
Fly Fishing Yellow Breeches Creek can be easy at times. Since most of the trout are stocked, they are not really picky feeders but, the pressure in some parts of the creek makes the trout real spooky over time. This isn’t to say that imitating the most plentiful and available insects with flies as close to the appearance of the naturals isn’t more productive than most generic trout flies because it is. The stocked trout soon become accustomed to seeing the national insects that exist in the stream. They have to rely on them for survival and good imitations of them always work better.
Because the Yellow Breeches is a combination freestone stream and spring creek mixture, its trout can be difficult to figure out at times. In hot or cold weather, you also have to pay close attention to which parts of the stream gets a dose of spring water. That can be the secret to success at times.
The newly stocked fish are much easier to catch, of course, but after a short time the fish can get wise to constant pressure in some areas. Many anglers think you are better off fishing some of the less fished areas of the creek. There is about thirty miles of water that is stocked and parts of it are not fished much. The next few miles below the Allenberry location may be a good choice. There is a catch and release area from near the mouth of Boiling Springs to near Allenberry. It runs a distance of a mile and is cooled by the water from Boiling Springs Run. It can be crowded at times. You can get to most of the upper section of the Yellow Breeches along State highway #174. Creek Road follows much of the lower section of the creek.
One of the most popular places to fish is the “Run”. That’s the name given for a small stream that runs about three-hundred yards from a lake at Boiling Springs to the Yellow Breeches. This little stream is heavily stocked with trout and for that reason, it is usually crowded. There are park benches along the run making it a pleasant place for older gentlemen to fish.
The catch and release section is very nice water with a diverse makeup. It has pools of all depths, with riffles in between. The water is very fertile and the stream has a huge population of aquatic insects as you will see in our hatch section. Trout feed on the surface much of the season
Yellow Breeches Hatches and Trout Flies:
Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in Yellow Breeches Creek and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726
The Yellow Breeches Creek has a lot of limestone spring water that enters the stream even though it is basically a freestone stream. The mixture provides an excellent Ph and the aquatic insect population is very large and diverse.
Blue-winged Olives are the first mayflies to hatch. They usually start in March and continue through April. In May and June there is another hatch. There is yet another hatch that occurs in August and September. I’m not certain whether this is a part of a tri-brooded hatch or just different species.
April is one of the best months because it brings on the Blue Quill and the Hendrickson hatch. These hatches last for most of the month.
March Browns usually start hatching around the first of May. About the first or second week of May you will start to see some Sulphurs. This hatch will last through June. Slate Drakes will begin to hatch but they will be off and on until the middle of September.
Light Cahills and Yellow Drakes will start hatching in June. Both hatches last about a month.
Tricos start hatching by the middle of July and last until the middle of September. The White Drakes, or White Flies as they are called locally, start to hatch around the first of August. This hatch can last until the first of September.
There are numerous species of caddisflies. The most prevalent ones are the Cinnamon and Spotted Sedges. There is also some Green Sedges in the fast water sections. Midges are very plentiful and fish can be caught during the entire season on imitations of the larvae, pupae and adults.
Scuds are plentiful and represent a large part of the trout’s diet. Terrestrials can become important during the summer and on into the early fall. Imitations of grass hoppers, ants, and beetles work starting in July and continue to produce through September.
As always, we recommend our own “Perfect Flies”. We have simi-realistic imitations of everything that hatches on the Yellow Breeches. The fish can become selective and most all of them will see plenty of flies, especially in the heavy fished areas like the catch and release section. We think our White Flies are the best imitations for the White Drake hatch you can purchase. We have White Drake nymphs, emergers, duns and male spinners. We hope you will give them a try.
Seasons:
The water temperatures stays fairly constant in places since much of the stream has
spring water feeding it.
Spring:
Spring is the best time to fish the Yellow Breeches because of the many aquatic insect
hatches.
Summer:
The late August hatch of White Flies make this a preferred season.
Fall:
Early Fall can be a good time for fly fishing Yellow Breeches Creek, especially for
streamers.