Fly fishing kings gap hollow run

[LanguageArtsGrade]

I have recently been on the quest to find some brook trout. I am from Mechanicsburg so I started looking for water closer to me (within 45min - 1hr max). Yesterday I went over to another trib of the Yellow Breeches which has some brook trout but ended up catching creek chubs and small fallfish instead (still had a ton of fun)! After doing a little research, I found that Kings gap hollow run has a more stable population of brookies although it also has some challenges such as being significantly smaller and being difficult to fish.

I was wondering if anyone had any information on the water or fish there .

Thank you in advance,
Adi

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear LanguageArtsGrade,

Pray for some decent rain and head into Tuscarora State Forest and poke around.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[Swattie87]

Expect a tiny stream to start with, even tinier in these current flows. By tiny I mean like you can easily step across it. Bow and arrow and trick shot type casting will be needed, not really normal FFing techniques. Fish will be ultra spooky in this low water.

It’s too small for my taste, but I’m sure it has Brookies. I don’t know about that one in particular but a lot of the tiny Michaux/South Mountain streams have a lot of rhodo on them. Some can’t even really be fished because of it.

Go explore and see what you turn up. Waiting for a good rain would probably help.

 

[LanguageArtsGrade]

Dear LanguageArtsGrade,

Pray for some decent rain and head into Tuscarora State Forest and poke around.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

I appreciate the advice! Will definitely check that area out

 

[LanguageArtsGrade]

Expect a tiny stream to start with, even tinier in these current flows. By tiny I mean like you can easily step across it. Bow and arrow and trick shot type casting will be needed, not really normal FFing techniques. Fish will be ultra spooky in this low water.

It’s too small for my taste, but I’m sure it has Brookies. I don’t know about that one in particular but a lot of the tiny Michaux/South Mountain streams have a lot of rhodo on them. Some can’t even really be fished because of it.

Go explore and see what you turn up. Waiting for a good rain would probably help.

Ah I see, the guys at the fly shop said the same things yesterday about the stream being tiny enough for one to step across. I ended up going to another stream that's a tributary of YB in Boiling Springs. That stream was also super tiny, I wasn't able to hit the stream from the bank due to little to no walking room so I had to wade and cast upstream. I only caught some creek chubs and fallfish over there (Images attached). I did see a few trout swim past me closer to the headwaters (I for sure spooked those). And I saw what was definitely a brookie rise in front of me at one point but that was about it. A lot of bow and arrow casting was needed over there as well.

I guess it is time to wait for some much needed rain and try again but I might try Kings gap really soon just for the fun of it! I have been very much fascinated by small stream fishing as of late so this will be really nice.

Thank you for your response and advice,
Adi

 

[Mikey2006]

Kings gap is not a very good stream to begin with, even under normal winter or spring flows. If you ever fish it, the upper part (directly above the private property stretch) is miles better than the lower section. You would be better off fishing some of the other streams in the michaux/pine grove area. Do some exploring, there’s some decent fishing to be found

 

[LanguageArtsGrade]

Kings gap is not a very good stream to begin with, even under normal winter or spring flows. If you ever fish it, the upper part (directly above the private property stretch) is miles better than the lower section. You would be better off fishing some of the other streams in the michaux/pine grove area. Do some exploring, there’s some decent fishing to be found

I went to Kings gap today. I started from the very top (parking area) and hiked around for a bit. You guys were right the water was extremely low at only a couple inches high. Some parts of the stream were even completely dried out for a fair distance! I ended up just enjoying the hike and when I got back to my car, I went to a section of the Yellow Breeches near Mt Holly Springs where I waded and explored a bit. Caught a few juvenile trout over there. (Images Attached)

I found a few areas on maps that are in the Michaux area and seem promising so I will check those out sometime in the next few weeks but in the meantime I shall do more research and pray for rain!

I appreciate the advice!

 

[Mikey2006]

I went to Kings gap today. I started from the very top (parking area) and hiked around for a bit. You guys were right the water was extremely low at only a couple inches high. Some parts of the stream were even completely dried out for a fair distance! I ended up just enjoying the hike and when I got back to my car, I went to a section of the Yellow Breeches near Mt Holly Springs where I waded and explored a bit. Caught a few juvenile trout over there. (Images Attached)

I found a few areas on maps that are in the Michaux area and seem promising so I will check those out sometime in the next few weeks but in the meantime I shall do more research and pray for rain!

I appreciate the advice!


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Winter is the best time to explore the streams in that area. Under the current flows you will have a lot of trouble finding fishable water unless you are on the breeches or mountain, and those still aren’t great in the upper parts under these conditions. With the smaller streams especially, you shouldn’t draw conclusions from whatever results you get on your summer outings.

 

[wgmiller]

Here's a fairly recent discussion on Kings Gap Hollow Run. The juice ain't worth the squeeze...

 

[LanguageArtsGrade]

Winter is the best time to explore the streams in that area. Under the current flows you will have a lot of trouble finding fishable water unless you are on the breeches or mountain, and those still aren’t great in the upper parts under these conditions. With the smaller streams especially, you shouldn’t draw conclusions from whatever results you get on your summer outings.

Yeah I decided I will check out these smaller streams later in the year when they are hopefully flowing better. Thank you for the replies

 

[LanguageArtsGrade]

Here's a fairly recent discussion on Kings Gap Hollow Run. The juice ain't worth the squeeze...

Yeah looks like it

 

[Mashbill]

question --- a couple years ago while on Big Spring, a guy told me about fishing the 'upper yellow breeches'. at rt233 & I81 exit, instead of turning north / right to get to rt 11, Newville and Big Spring .... turn south / left on rt 233 --- and follow rt233 to a intersection ( a archery store on the right hand side ) .... then turn left down a country rd ... maybe Pine Rd?? i remember a fish hatchery there ... going on my memory here ...

i parked in a lot by a bridge by the yellow breeches --- i walked over the bridge ... and there was a large dairy / beef cattle farm on the left ... farmer must have been a train enthusiast - if i recall there were train items all around ... looking upstream --- the little narrow creek ran through the pasture ( i didnt hop the fence and go in there since it looked off limits to me )

so my question --- is that section of narrow creek that ran through that dairy farm the very upper section of the yellow breeches? maybe the headwaters of the YB?

curious. thanks!

 

[LanguageArtsGrade]

question --- a couple years ago while on Big Spring, a guy told me about fishing the 'upper yellow breeches'. at rt233 & I81 exit, instead of turning north / right to get to rt 11, Newville and Big Spring .... turn south / left on rt 233 --- and follow rt233 to a intersection ( a archery store on the right hand side ) .... then turn left down a country rd ... maybe Pine Rd?? i remember a fish hatchery there ... going on my memory here ...

i parked in a lot by a bridge by the yellow breeches --- i walked over the bridge ... and there was a large dairy / beef cattle farm on the left ... farmer must have been a train enthusiast - if i recall there were train items all around ... looking upstream --- the little narrow creek ran through the pasture ( i didnt hop the fence and go in there since it looked off limits to me )

so my question --- is that section of narrow creek that ran through that dairy farm the very upper section of the yellow breeches? maybe the headwaters of the YB?

curious. thanks!

I dont believe that area is the headwaters of the YB but I believe it is considered part of the upper breaches. The headwaters of the YB is in the Michaux Forest on the mountain.

 

[Mashbill]

I dont believe that area is the headwaters of the YB but I believe it is considered part of the upper breaches. The headwaters of the YB is in the Michaux Forest on the mountain.

thanks -- that makes sense. that area i parked at ... by that bridge ... i was surprised how deep the stream ran thru there. it was narrow-ish --- but deep enough to make wading it a little tricky ... i went further downstream from there by walking the railroad tracks down to another iron bridge --- it was really tricky going down there. i caught some colorful browns there tho -- it was fun fishing that area. i imagine swinging a couple of soft hackles through there would do pretty well --- looked very "caddis-ly".