Fishing Season: Basically, early April thru mid-February. Closed approx. mid- Feb. to Opening Day.

Yellow Breeches Creek - PA

Fishing Outlook & Conditions

Water Temp:

68

Tom Baltz/Endorsed Guide's Tip of the Week

> Get up early...try to be on the water as soon as it's light enough to fish. > COLD WATER... look for it! If your stream thermometer reads over 68 degrees, forget about it! > Watch for bugs and rising trout! During daytime fishing those bugs could be terrestrial insects like ants and beetles. > Pinch those hook barbs down! You won't loose any fish. In fact, I believe you will actually land up to 40% MORE of those trout that take the fly. Improved hook penetration is the reason. Further, you'll be happy you pinched when trying to remove hooks from places they weren't intended penetrate! > If no luck on top, a very good rig is a single nymph below a very small indicator (suspension device) or a dry/dropper. A plain Walt's Worm under a New Zealand indicator or a high floating dry fly is a good option. I like these rigs in 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 #12-18, Prince nymphs in #16, Pheasant Tail nymphs #16-20, #10-12 rubber legs, green or cased caddis, etc. are all good starters. > There has been an unprecedented amount of illegal fishing on the Yellow Breeches this season. Not to point a finger at any particular group, there is plenty of blame to go around. Aside from the regular "keeping over the limit" and catching a limit, then changing locations gambits, a number of cast nets have been discovered. THESE ARE NOT LEGAL FOR ANY USE ON THE YELLOW BREECHES! If you discover one, please! Call PF&BC! (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.

Directions open in app

Map of Yellow Breeches Creek

Water Flow Data

Orvis-Endorsed guides nearby

Tom Baltz

5-Day Outlook as of 7/28/26

For the present it seems like we maybe just over the hump with summer. Weather guy says we'll be seeing overnight temps down to mid-sixties and daytime highs pushing the mid-eighties. Not great but not a heat wave either, a definite move in the right direction! Just don't get too comfortable yet. Good news is that we did receive a small amount of rain from very early Tuesday through the afternoon. Some areas got plastered...we did not. Most of the successful anglers on the Breeches lately have been fishing fairly early in the morning. Look for cold water areas and use a stream thermometer. Wild brown trout in the Breeches will bite up to about 63 degrees, with the surviving stocked trout cooperating at temps up to maybe 68 degrees. There is much argument as to what temperatures anglers should cease fishing. Mostly, I feel like the trout will just stop biting when they've had enough. A big no-no though would be disturbing trout tightly schooled up in cold water refuges. They won't be biting and disturbing them there is definitely not good for them! Fish if you choose...please respect the trout... 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 7/28/26

> Very early mornings offer the chances of some dry fly fishing. Look for midge hatches, very small BWO's, maybe tricos and small caddis flies. Get on some flat water. > 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.16/18. No results, try a caddis in the sz. 16/18 range. It's not too early for a nice fat ant pattern either especially during daytime hours. > 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 style nymphs with a spot of hot color on them. It could be a tail or built into the body of the nymph. Fish them as dry/dropper, single below a New Zealand Strike Indicator, or even tightline style! > If you choose to fish nymphs, consider the New Zealand indicator system (also see dry/dropper techniques) Try to make your casts 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. The area has had major swings of weather this spring and sometimes for a day or so after a good rainstorm, streamers can be the deal. 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 Basically, early April thru mid-February. Closed approx. mid- Feb. to Opening Day.

  • Fish Icon

    Wild browns/stocked browns/'bows..

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
Cream Variant N/A #10
Blue Winged Olive N/A #16-26
Elk Wing Caddis tan #14-18
Baltz's ParaNymph natural #12-22
Baltz's ICSI Parachute Ant black #14/16
Flashback Scud Wet Hare's Ear N/A #12-14
Tunghead Hot Spot Pheasant Tail Jig N/A #14-18
Baltz's Iron X-Caddis tan #16
Walt's Worm jig hare's ear #16-18

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, generally good water quality and varied habitat enable the Breeches to host a broad spectrum of hatches over the course of the Regular and Extended trout seasons. 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. The Yellow Breeches Creek holds trout year-round. It is heavily stocked by the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission and the Yellow Breeches Anglers & Conservation Association, a participant in PF&BC's co-op trout nursery program. The Breeches also holds fair to good numbers of wild brown trout in some reaches.

Nearest Airport:

Harrisburg International Airport - 45 minutes

Hatches:

> Midges. Early morning is best, but they may show at any-time during the day. #22-24. Olive and tiny black are most common... > Blue wing olives. #24-26...very early morning... > Trico spinners. Early mornings, #22-24 > Assorted terrestrials like ants and beetles. > Crane flies, yellow/orange...#16/18...Anytime... > assorted caddis, sz. 14-22 Mostly tan... Mid-morning or so...also maybe around dusk. Very small dark caddis flies, sz. 18/20, have been showing during morning hours. > Mixed cream cahills, #14-16...spinners mixed in...right at dark. > Watch for big creamy-yellow Potamanthus mayflies right at dusk/dark. Not a heavy hatch but the trout are usually aware of them. They like many of the slower pools along the Breeches. A #10 Cream Varient is worth a shot. > A few Hexagenia spinners have also been sighted on various stream reaches. Look for them right at dusk/dark. > 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 - Sz.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:

Very early morning…

Best Stretch:

Look for areas where colder water either flows or at least seeps into the creek. Riffles and directly downstream will also hold trout. Ingenuity and exploration will get you on the water. 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.