Fishing Season: Year Round in C&R Area (Prime: April - mid-November, mid-Jan.-March)

Yellow Breeches Creek - PA

Fishing Outlook & Conditions

Water Temp:

58

Tom Baltz/Endorsed Guide's Tip of the Week

> A new fishing season is upon us...If you've ever wanted to try fly fishing, press the button with my name on it in this report. Let's discuss getting you on the water and pointed in the right direction so you have a base to further explore this wonderful sport! > On the Breeches, POSTED means just that. Anglers cannot wade through or fish from a boat on posted waters. This applies to several reaches of the Breeches. > BE CERTAIN to get your new 2026 PA fishing license and trout stamp. Make sure you get the correct stamp and not the voluntary Wild Trout and Enhanced Waters stamp. It's fine to get that one too but that is voluntary and will not count for trout fishing in Stocked Trout, Class A, Wild Trout or Wilderness Waters, or other Special Regulations trout waters. ALSO, be sure that you have the license, either hard copy or on your phone, not just a receipt. AND, be sure you can locate it quickly in the event you are checked by a Waterways Conservation Officer. > Anglers should encounter assorted aquatic insect activity this week. Watch for bugs and rising trout! > If no luck on top, try a standard nymph rig with a float and two nymphs, especially in deep, long pools and runs where an extended drift is a good thing. Another very good rig is a single nymph below a very small indicator (suspension device) or a dry/dropper. A very simple little Walt's Worm under a New Zealand indicator or a high floating dry fly is a good option. I like these rigs in shallower spots where a foam indicator hitting the water has trout running for cover. > Carry and try some of the traditional, generic all-purpose nymphs. There are a ton of patterns out there. Gold ribbed hare's ears, Prince nymphs, #10-12 rubber legs, green or cased caddis, etc. are all good starters. > (717) 486-7087 is the phone number for Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Regional Headquarters at Huntsdale, PA. If you care about fishing in this area, PUT THIS NUMBER IN YOUR PHONE DIRECTORY AND CALL THEM WITH A REPORT AS TO WHERE/WHEN, ETC. We do have a new Waterways Conservation Officer, and he seems to be working hard. If it's a weekend or he is unavailable, information you provide can help him establish a pattern, thus using his time more efficiently.

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Map of Yellow Breeches Creek

Water Flow Data

Orvis-Endorsed guides nearby

Tom Baltz

5-Day Outlook as of 4/29/26

This report is a day or so late...it's been another busy week! Besides daily guide trips, there has been New Jersey Sales Tax to calculate and file and quarterly Federal Excise Tax to file and pay. The latter is a federal tax attached to the initial selling price of most fishing tackle and many other sporting items like firearms and ammunition. There's other paperwork too. Seems a lot for a one-man business! But it'll all get done; it always has. Back to the actual fishing report. In spite of low water conditions my quests have hooked up with a lot of trout. We've just not encountered a lot of bugs while we were on the water, but nymphs have been great! Lot of fun this week with a New Zealand Indicator and a small Walt's worm. It is raining as I write this (Wednesday afternoon) and Weather Guy is predicting up to an inch. That should bring the creek up a bit and allow some streamer fishing for Thursday, at least. I think that by Friday, things will peak out and water will be plenty clear enough to fish nymphs and even dry flies. The stream isn't as crowded as it was a week or so ago but there are still plenty of anglers out there, especially on weekends. While there are wild trout throughout the Yellow Breeches, some sections benefit greatly from supplemental stockings. For many years the Yellow Breeches Anglers have done an excellent job of stocking the creek. If you fish the Breeches, you have likely caught some of their fish. Give something back and support them by joining the Club. Memberships are only $20 annually and are good for the calendar year. Send check to YBAC, Box 1, Boiling Springs, PA 17007-0001. Contributions to feed the fish are always welcome too. If you see any acts of poaching or other questionable activity, call the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission at the Southcentral Region office at (717) 486-7087. For nefarious activity of a non-fishing nature call the Pennsylvania State Police at 717-243-4121. Enjoy the fishing and please be courteous to other anglers. And if you get into some fish show us a picture but please don't put the location on Facebook!! You don't wanna be a spot burner! General information is good! It always feels best when you earn it.

Techniques & Tips as of 4/29/26

> I enjoy dry fly fishing as much as the next angler. If rises are spotty to non-existent but you just have to, try basic shapes. I start with my ParaNymph in sz. 14/16. No results, try a caddis in the sz. 16 range. It's not too early for a nice fat ant pattern if neither of the other options bring results. There are bugs about; keep your eyes peeled! > Fishing nymphs suggesting expected hatches below one or another types of suspension devices is a good choice. Target deeper areas...and don't forget to move that indicator to adjust depth! In fact, an occasional twitch can draw strikes, especially in slower water. > Try Euro nymphs with a spot of hot color on them. It could be a tail or built into the body of the nymph. > If you choose to fish nymphs, consider the New Zealand indicator system (also see dry/dropper techniques) Try to fish it mostly upstream, rather than across stream. Hard foam indicators are better for cross-current presentations as they still float with less than precise handling. > Hatches aside, I must add that stuff like Walt's Worms and pheasant tail jigs were my most effective nymphs most of last season and have proven their worth again this spring. > Dry/dropper combos. Trail a small wet fly, caddis pupa, mayfly type nymph, or ant pattern 12 to 20 inches behind your favorite searching dry fly pattern. ParaNymphs, caddis patterns and small Chubbies work well for this tactic... > It's a good idea to carry a few streamers in the fly boxes. A basic selection will include a Muddler Minnow, something white like Ed Shenk's great white minnow pattern, and a dark Woolly Bugger. Fish them with an appropriately sized split shot clinched onto the leader directly above the hook eye. This is the way these flies were intended to be fished by their inventors and is a more versatile way of weighting them than a bead or conehead. Fish them like tightline nymphs. Jig streamers are good too. Landon Mayer's leeches in simple black or white, or olive patterns are good additions to the streamer box.

Local Species Available Year Round in C&R Area (Prime: April - mid-November, mid-Jan.-March)

  • Fish Icon

    Wild browns

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    stocked rainbows

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    plus stocked browns below B.S.

Tom Baltz/Endorsed Guide's Recommended Fly Patterns

"Must-have" fly fishing patterns in descending order of importance:

Name: Colors: Size(s):
Sulphur Parachute N/A #14-16
Red Quill N/A #12-14
Blue Winged Olive N/A #16-18
Elk Wing Caddis tan #14-18
Baltz's ParaNymph natural #12-20
Baltz's Bronzeback nymph natural #12-16
Flashback Scud Wet Hare's Ear N/A #12-14
Tunghead Hot Spot Pheasant Tail Jig N/A #14-18
Shenk's White Minnow white #6,8,10
Walt's Worm hare's ear #12-16

Sulphur Parachute

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Item #0923

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Tom Baltz/Endorsed Guide's Recommended Gear

Description: About Yellow Breeches Creek

Yellow Breeches Creek is one of the famous limestone trout streams of the Cumberland Valley in south-central Pennsylvania. Winding its way through a mixture of woodlots, farmlands and old residential or summer cottage areas for some 50 miles, its brushy, narrow upper reaches near Huntsdale rapidly gain volume from many limestone spring and freestone brook tributaries. Below the village of Boiling Springs the Breeches becomes a medium to large sized stream coursing eastward, eventually joining the Susquehanna River at New Cumberland. A low gradient stream of gentle riffles and long flat pools, good water quality and varied habitat enables the Breeches to host a broad spectrum of hatches over a virtually year-round season. Notable hatches include early black stoneflies, Hendricksons, Grannom and other caddis, sulphurs, Grey fox, assorted blue winged olives and of course, the White Fly, in August. Other mayflies from tricos to Hexagenia create fishing opportunities in addition to excellent midge and terrestrial action. Heavily stocked almost year round throughout its length, there is an extremely popular “catch and release” fishery on the Breeches between Boiling Springs and Allenberry Resort. Fishing is very good up and downstream from this area too, some stretches holding fair to excellent populations of wild brown trout.

Nearest Airport:

Harrisburg International Airport - 45 minutes

Hatches:

According to various flowers and bugs, it is spring! Watch for assorted aquatic hatches to include; > Midges may show at any-time during the day. #22-24. Olive and tiny black are most common... > Crane flies, yellow...#16...Anytime... > Blue Wing Olives, sz 18-20. > assorted caddis, sz. 14-18 Mostly tan... Mid-morning or so. Little black cadis (#20) have been heavy so watch them. > Sulphurs are not out of the question on some reaches, but it is still early for them. > When trout are not rising (which is most of the time) think of the bugs that live in the stream. If you don't try to match them, pattern wise, match their size. See above for rough sizes of the various bugs. There are almost always more small bugs than large ones. There are also things in the Breeches like scuds and cranefly larvae. Again, sz 14 - 18 will usually work if you are persistent and pay attention to your presentations. NOTE: Chasing hatches is like playing the lottery. Weather conditions are highly variable but very important to timing and intensity of aquatic insect activity. Only time on the water will allow the angler to be there when things get rolling. These reports are from observations/experiences up and down a thirty-mile stretch of stream and DO NOT necessarily apply to any given area. You may or may not see the same things as reported.

Best Time to Fish:

Early morning to early afternoon and again around dusk...

Best Stretch:

At this time of the season, pretty much the entire Yellow Breeches fishes well. It is heavily stocked and there are plenty of wild trout scattered about. Note that they are not all in the upper stream reaches! That said, fishing pressure has been very heavy on most stretches. It is after all, only the third week of trout season and the fever runs hot! Ingenuity and exploration will get you on the water. Hopefully, pressure will abate as the season goes on... WARNING!! There are various POSTED stretches of stream along its length. DO NOT TRESSPASS!! Contrary to popular belief, the Yellow Breeches has not been adjudicated as being navigable. Anglers CANNOT WADE THROUGH OR FISH FROM A BOAT in POSTED waters!! Try at your peril... There is stream access at various municipal parks, most bridges (but not all) and assorted roadside pull offs. Use common sense...and if there is any litter around, yours or not, please pick it up! Last guy in the lot gets the blame...Please help us maintain the access we do have left.

Best Access:

Access points are scattered along the stream especially at or near bridges. Several are located in or at local parks. Please use common sense and respect land- owner's yards and property. It must be noted that using any of the various GUIDE BOOKS out there to show parking areas is NOT reliable! We are losing access to the Yellow Breeches at a rapid rate! Don't be that guy! See "Best stretch" section of this report.