Falling Springs Branch Fishing Report & Options for Selecting Flies: 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 to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. We will also gladly ship directly to your destination so your flies and gear will be there when you arrive. 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.
Type of Stream
Spring Creek
Species
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
(Wild above I-81, stocked below
there)
Size
Small
Location
South Central Pennsylvania
Nearest Towns
Chambersburg
Season
Mid April through February
Access:
Fair to Good
Non-Resident License
State of Pennsylvania
Seasons:
Trout can be caught from Falling Springs Creek year-round.
Spring:
The fishing is usually excellent during the late Spring.
Summer:
Summertime is the best time to fish the stream due to the hatches of aquatic insects.
Fall:
Early fall is a great time to fish the stream.
Winter:
Winter can be good because of the
constant water temperature of the spring water.
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.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Falling Springs Branch or Creek, whichever you prefer to call it, is a great wild trout, small limestone spring creek located near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. It flows from a spring for about four miles and converges with Conococheague Creek. The stream has a population of wild rainbows and browns and is not stocked by the state from the spring to Interstate 81. Some of the rainbows get to be as large eighteen inches. Below I-81 the state stocks trout.
There is a Heritage Trout Section that extends for almost two and one-half miles from the Briar Lane Bridge downstream. There is also a Delayed Harvest Section below I-81 from Walker Road downstream that is approximately one mile long. The Delayed Harvest section has become a very popular fly fishing destination. It is regularly stocked with trout.
This is a typical limestone stream with long pools and short riffles between them. Its water comes out of the spring at a constant temperature year-round. It is excellent dry fly water.
Falling Springs has a very good population of wild trout, not just wild browns, but large wild rainbows. It even has a few wild brook trout. It probably averages about twenty-five feet wide. The stream is usually only in the sixties during the hottest part of the Summer. It has had many problems over the years and unfortunately, some of them still exist. The stream is still an excellent trout stream, so don’t take this the wrong way. The sad fact is that it could be a great trout stream if some of the things that has happened throughout the years could be reversed. The local TU organization has done a good job doing about all they can to help protect the stream. As we said in the introduction, the upper part of the stream has the wild trout and the lower part is stocked.
Fly Fishing Guide for Falling Springs:
Fly fishing Falling Springs can be a challenge most of the time. If a hatch is occurring, it makes it much easier to catch trout. This stream used to be national well known for its huge Sulphur and Trico hatches. These mayflies still exist but not near the quantities they did at one time.
Blue-winged Olives, consisting of several different species hatch from around the first of April until Fall. The heavier hatches usually occur in April and early May and again in late September and October.
Blue Quills normally start hatching around the second or third week of April and last for about a month. Light Cahill hatch is limited numbers starting around the first of May. This hatch last about a month.
Sulphurs probably still provide the best hatch of the season. It normally starts by mid May and last until near the end of June. The Trico hatch can also be good and last much longer but the hatch isn’t the large hatches that once occurred on this stream. It normally starts about the first of June and can last until the first week or two of October, depending on the weather.
Several different species of caddisflies are present in the stream starting with April hatches of Little Black Caddis. Cinnamon and Spotted Sedges (net spinners) represent the great majority of the caddisfly hatches. They start in May and last through September. Other minor caddisflies exist in the stream.
The way you should fish the two different areas of water varies depending on the area you are fishing. The stocked trout can be caught using a lot of different methods, especially not long after they have been stocked.
Catching the wild trout, is an entirely different thing. They are no pushovers. It is very possible to catch them but you are going to have to use all your skills. You must use light, long leaders and tippets. You must match the hatch if a hatch is occurring. The trout can become very selective.
An effective way to fish is to fish to an individual trout. This requires spending some time stalking the trout but it can be worth it. You can catch trout in the faster water of the short runs and riffles, but they are usually the smaller trout. It pays to just water the water and make far fewer cast than you would blind casting a typical trout stream.
Like most spring creeks, cressbug (sowbugs) and scuds are an important source of food for the trout.
Terrestrials are very important during the summer. From June through the first frost, imitations of grasshoppers, beetles and ants produce well. The stream flows through a lot of grass providing an ideal habitat for these insects.
We recommend our own “Perfect Flies” because they are realistic and proven to catch trout on spring creeks. Be sure to try our Scuds and Sowbug imitations on this stream.
Falling Springs 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 Falling Springs 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.
From the end of March through the middle of May, hatches of different species of Blue-winged Olives hatch. These hatch again from about the last week or two of August until mid October.
Little Winter stoneflies hatch during February and March. From about the last week of March through the first three weeks of April, you will find a few Quill Gordon mayflies hatches in the fast water areas of the stream. At almost the same time, hatches of Blue Quills will be coming off. It can last until the first week or two of May.
March Browns will also be found hatching in the fast water areas from the first of May throughout the month.
Eastern Pale Evening Duns, called Sulfurs by many start hatching by the middle of May and continue on through mid June. Sulphurs start about the last week of May and last through most of June. The Sulphur hatch is a good one on Spring Creek.
Green Sedges hatch from the middle of April through the middle of June. The Green Sedge larvae are called Green Rock Worms. Imitations of them will work year-round.
Cinnamon Sedges, net spinning caddis of several species will hatch from about the first of June through August. This is the most common caddisfly on Falling Springs Branch. There are other species of caddisflies but these are the most important ones.
A very few LIght Cahills hatch during the month of June. You will find them mostly where there is faster water. Slate Drakes hatch from about the first of August all the way through the month of October. Mahogany Duns, called Blue Quills by many locals, hatch from about the middle of July through September. There is more than one species of these little mayflies.
Tricos, or the little White Winged Curses, hatch from about the first of July through September. They can be prolific.
Don’t overlook midges. If you fish Spring Creek during the early or late season when the water is cold, imitations of their larvae and pupae will produce for you.
Streamers are very important flies on this creek because the large brown trout eat small baitfish, sculpin and even small crayfish.
Starting about the middle of June through September, imitations of terrestrial insects work. Imitations of grass hoppers, ants and beetles are popular terrestrial insects.
One of the main sources of food for the trout are scuds and sowbugs. The creek has a good population of these crustaceans, especially in the areas spring water makes up most of the flow.
We recommend Perfect Flies. They have been tested and proven effective on this stream. They are by far the most realistic flies you can purchase. If you haven’t tried our Perfect Flies already, please do so. You will be very glad you did.
Fly Fishing Gear, Tackle and Trout Flies for Falling Springs Branch in Pennsylvania
This stream has some big brown and rainbow trout in it. Some of the browns are well over twenty inches and some of the rainbows approaching that size. You don’t want to hook one and loose it because your were using too light of gear or less than good equipment.
Fly Line:
We suggest either a 5 weight, floating fly line for most all of the fly-fishing. Many anglers
prefer a little larger line for large nymphs and streamers. We recommend a 6 weight fly line in that case.
Fly Rod:
The five weight rod should be between eight and nine feet in length. A medium to moderately action would be our choice. This would allow you to fish small flies and help protect fine tippets. The 6 weight rod would be best in a nine foot length and a medium fast action. A slightly stiffer tip would help with the nymphs and streamers.
Fly Reel:
The reel for either of these two rods should have a good drag. You don’t want to hang a large trout and loose it because of a lousy drag. Disc drags would be preferred.
Leaders:
You should use at least a 9 foot leader anywhere and anytime. A twelve foot length and even longer may be the right choice in some situations. You should have them in sizes ranging from 2X for streamers, up to 7X for small dry flies. I wouldn’t go any lighter in this stream.
Tippet:
Carry extra tippet material in sizes ranging from 2X to 7X.
Waders:
You should not wade unless it is necessary to get the fly to places the trout may be feeding or hiding. However, you do suggest you wear them and in some cases, you will find it necessary to get in the water to make a presentation in the preferred lies or individual fish you have spotted.
Wading Boots:
Felt soles would be our first choice. The new rubber soles may also work well.
Flies:
We always recommend “Perfect Fly” Trout Flies. We have specific imitations, that are as realistic as you will find on the commercial market. We have them for of all the major insects in all the applicable stages of life . We hope you give them a try. You won’t be disapointed.