Yellow Breeches, Cumberland County, 03-29-20

J

jdh2550

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Dec 10, 2012
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45
Arrived at the Run about 2 PM. Lots of cars in the lot. The Run was full of people so I went to the main branch. Water was high, off color. Fished a Lively Legz nymph (size 14) and a BWO nymph (size 16) with no luck. Switched to a streamer and caught a nice one.
Water is fast and high, but according to the water gauge, should be dropping.
Allenberry parking lots appear to be gated off when I passed.
Stay healthy...
 
So I only fished "the run" once and thought it was much larger before getting there.... How many guys can that little trickle even support? Also that's strictly stocked also right?
 
Does anybody know what happened to the frame house by one of the Allenberry entrances? It looks like it had a serious fire .
 
Les, there was a fire two weeks ago. Both the female resident and volunteer firefighter lost their lives in that fire.

Allenberry is in fact shut down. Many are parking at the Run lot and walking downstream. The fly section is being hammered just about every day.
 
The "run" is a very short section of stream. In my experience about 6 people can fish it at any given time and not infringe on others. Just my opinion, you may disagree. None the less its narrow and short. Maybe 180 yards long based on an online map.
 
I fished the Run there since the late 70s. I never go there now. It is completely spoiled with all the people now. I had days there in winter by myself with tiny blue wings and risers all up and down the stream. Thanks for the memories Run! The hatches were good in there all year. I don't know how they are now.
 
Yeah, the Run used to be a gem about 20 years ago. Abnormally large wild browns would work for a few hours each day, and it was always a challenge to control them in that sparse water.
 
I fished the Run extensively in the early '90s through about 2004. Was always fun for a quick fix. Terrestrials in the Summer were absolutely deadly. I'd start from the mouth of the YB and slowly work my way upstream to the wooden bridge by the parking lot. Fish positioned themselves along the edges of both sides and would eagerly take a Deer Hair Crowe Beetle that landed with a plop. I also tied a Japanese Beetle up that they devoured. Further up the Run where the concrete wall starts, I'd park myself in the shade and just pick them off with Foam Ants, Foam Wasps and the like. After you slowly waded in there, the fish would return in short order and forget you were even there. Good Times.
 
Yep wild trouter. I did that too. It was a fun place.I was there one summer evening and there was so many sulfers you couldn't breathe. That was probably 40 yrs ago. My uncle had a cabin over by Pine Grove Furnace so we would stay there and hit all those streams in that area. I drove by the Run about a month ago and the parking lot was full and it looked like a carnival with all the people. And just like every place there is always a bunch of all decked out fly guys standing around their cars endlessly messing with their gear. Ridiculous.
 
Another Run fan for the last four decades...

The Run has had some up and down years in the last decade. There are different opinions about why this is - I'm in the camp that feels that outflow from Children's Lake could be better managed - and it isn't clear why some years it seems to hold a lot of fish and others it doesn't.

As one who pays close attention to the Run, I think it has been generally quite good the last couple years and that the TU improvements have helped with this.

If you don't like crowds, or are possessed of a good 'ole days negativism, I recommend going elsewhere.

The Run was crowded a generation ago and it's crowded now, especially this time of year. It's still worth a visit and I can attest that terrestrial fishing remains effective in summer.
 
Incidentally, on the topic of the crowded parking lot (which has always been crowded):

Part of the CVTU improvements a few years ago were to improve the storm water run-off and resurface that lot with permeable pavement . I haven't checked in awhile, but the last time I did it was still apparent that the surface remained permeable.

If you sit and watch that parking lot, you'll notice that it isn't just fishermen parked there - lot's of locals, dog walkers, duck feeders, etc.
 
It is true it was always a busy place even yrs ago. It is kind of a novelty place really. A lot of fish. Some big in a small outflow from a spring. I was lucky to sometimes have it to myself and that was a treat. No big deal. Speaking of duck feeders I used to see people feeding sliced bread to the trout often. I made a few bread fly prototypes that worked fairly well just for that place. It seems to bother you Dave that some of us share memories of older days on the stream and compare it to today. We all have our take on the state of fishing and I assume it is okay to have differing views.
 
larkmark wrote:
It is true it was always a busy place even yrs ago. It is kind of a novelty place really. A lot of fish. Some big in a small outflow from a spring. I was lucky to sometimes have it to myself and that was a treat. No big deal. Speaking of duck feeders I used to see people feeding sliced bread to the trout often. I made a few bread fly prototypes that worked fairly well just for that place. It seems to bother you Dave that some of us share memories of older days on the stream and compare it to today. We all have our take on the state of fishing and I assume it is okay to have differing views.
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Larkmark,

I absolutely enjoy hearing stories about how the streams fished back in the day and how it compares to today. So I’m with you on that. I often make those types of comparisons, but just from personal experience sometimes the memory may not be totally accurate and sometimes quite different than fact.

Case in point. Fly fishing was my #1 outdoor activity growing up from age 10 until about 26. When I was 26 I got super hooked on turkey hunting and I began taking my vacation time to hunt turkey out of state and my trout fishing was pushed to only 5-8 weekend days per year (now I FF about 45 days). In the 18 years from 1990 to 2008 I hunted turkey in 18 states. But by 2006 fly fishing began to creep back into my life and eventually I was fly fishing more than turkey hunting. For the last 6 yrs I’ve only hunted PA and trout fishing is back to #1.

I am a fanatical record keeper. On the hunting side I have records on every day of turkey hunting, deer hunting, ruffed grouse hunting as well as every day of turkey scouting....maybe in the range of 1500 days. Likewise some of you have probably have seen my stream reports are pretty detailed.

When I began to fly fish again in a big way I thought back to the days I had in the 70s and 80s on the streams I fished. It seemed like the fishing had gone downhill and in some ways it did. So after I’d been gathering new records for awhile, I went back and found my very old records and compared them to today because I was curious how many more fish our group was catching back in the 70s/80s. It was astounding to see how many more fish we are catching today than the glory days. Looking back at those old logs was a real wake up call for me. Now I’m certain many people keep good records as well and I’m certain some do paint the picture of yesteryear being better than today. It’s just not always like you remember it. And sometimes it’s hard to believe unless the handwriting is your own.
 
Prospector, I hear that. I am sure some of the memories I have are probably clouded by being so young and excited to be doing it for the first time. I will say that although I don't have records I do know some of these places have been spoiled by the crowds. Fly fishing back in the day was more of a seasonal activity on many streams. You did not see people fishing year round. Those who did fish in the off seasons many times had it to themselves. In the prime spring season The Run could be very busy. I stood along it with guys lined up during May and June especially when the hatches were going. At other times I had hours to myself especially early spring, even in snow, with olives hatching. The fact is that the whole area over there is much busier. Like with a lot of things I just move on and adapt. I'm like a lot of people on here . It isn't really a numbers game but more looking for a certain quality. Might be big fish or unmolested fish or being in a quieter setting. To each his own. If it is numbers someone wants then there are easier ways to do that than casting a dry fly.
 
larkmark wrote:
Prospector, I hear that. I am sure some of the memories I have are probably clouded by being so young and excited to be doing it for the first time. I will say that although I don't have records I do know some of these places have been spoiled by the crowds. Fly fishing back in the day was more of a seasonal activity on many streams. You did not see people fishing year round. Those who did fish in the off seasons many times had it to themselves. In the prime spring season The Run could be very busy. I stood along it with guys lined up during May and June especially when the hatches were going. At other times I had hours to myself especially early spring, even in snow, with olives hatching. The fact is that the whole area over there is much busier. Like with a lot of things I just move on and adapt. I'm like a lot of people on here . It isn't really a numbers game but more looking for a certain quality. Might be big fish or unmolested fish or being in a quieter setting. To each his own. If it is numbers someone wants then there are easier ways to do that than casting a dry fly.
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I agree with everything you said. I only mentioned fish count since it’s easier to quantify from then until now and I did realize I had an inaccurate personal recollection once I checked my data.. Other very important aspects that indicate the quality of the fishing, like how many mayflies are in the spinner fall or how many fish were rising in a certain pool then vs now, I have no records and no way to quantify. But I would also conclude that my personal memories have the same margin of error on those things.
 
Back in the mid-70's when I was around 14 -15 I read an article in a "new" Magazine that came out called " Fly Fisherman" .........I asked my father to take me to that " magical stream" called " Yellow Breeches" that started near a little town called Boiling Springs...... From the first time I went there I was hooked...... When I turned sixteen and got a car I made weekend jaunts there ( when I didn't have to work) ..... I would spend my summer week of vacation staying at a campground called Safari Inn in Carlisle sleeping in a tent and eating out of a cooler ........Just so I could fish the "Breeches"....... As time went on I heard about other "magical streams" , Falling Springs out of Chambersburg , Letort , and Green Spring Creek & Big Springs out of Newville.........Fished that area hard until the late 80's....... Seems the area was just getting to built up.......Heard of a bunch of " Magical Streams up north in central Pa. .........Spring Creek , Fishing Creek and the mighty Penns...... Once I went there I was hooked and never went back to the once great Cumberland Valley area.......
 
Smooth- Interesting. That was similar to my progression. And then I started seeing the same thing happening up there in central PA so I started venturing elsewhere.
 
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