Yellow Breeches, Cumberland County 8/8/2012

[buffalo]

Fished below Allenberry dam from 0600 until around 0800. Water temp around 64 with fairly good visibility and a little low, had to wait for enough light to tie on. Did OK with #14 Tan Caddis and a #14 Ian’s brass *** in tandem and a #16 Crow Beetle . Not much of a Trico hatch but I did manage two small browns on a #24 spinner. Best was a 16” brown and the rest were pretty much stocked dinks.
After hearing the Hex and White flies were on, I went back after work and fished from around 530 until after 830. I did manage a couple more on Caddis but didn’t see any Hex or White flies.

Has anyone else seen any of the Hex or white flies?
Buffalo

 

[tomb]

I too was at Yellow Breeches on Wednesday the 8th. I was up stream from Allenberry. Between 8:45 and 9, i was blinded and could hardly breathe due to white fly hatch. Ive seen sulfur and green drake hatches before, but this hatch was unbelievable.

 

[tomitrout]

I was wayyyy downstream near Messiah College Weds night and found the same as Tomb....surprising hatch of hex that brought up some slashing rises and then a really nice whitefly hatch from 8:30-dark. Teaching my girlfriend to fish and got her into her first trout, a spunky brown on a whitefly, caught a bunch of fallfish/chubs also.

 

[GreenWeenie]

It sounds like both Toms were very fortunate that they weren’t permanently blinded or worse yet asphyxiated from the intensity of the hatches.

When I go I’m wearing safety goggles and a respirator just to be on the safe side.

 

[scottrum]

I was on the C&R section of the breeches last night. Fished above the dam from 6:00 to 8:00 had three strike's on a brown beetle landed one lost two. Heavy thunder started rolling in was going to leave but when the snow storm started with white flys my feet were planted to the stream bottom. Managed six more in an hour. What a site.

 

[Maurice]

GreenWeenie wrote:
It sounds like both Toms were very fortunate that they weren’t permanently blinded or worse yet asphyxiated from the intensity of the hatches.

When I go I’m wearing safety goggles and a respirator just to be on the safe side.

Mr Weenie,

Back when the Susky was king we would go every night for the white flies. In addition to the bandanas we wore around our necks to pull up over our nose and mouth, we would carry a pair of safety goggles. When we felt the need to see we would put them on. We called the intense hatch a goggle hatch.

It can be that intense.

 

[GreenWeenie]

Mr. Maurice,

I am very well aware of how intense hatches can be.

Don't you find it very strange how some new member posts about mega hatches above the most popular stretch and almost immediately someone else posts about mega hatches 15 miles below the most popular spot.

Sincerely,

Mr. Weenie

 

[Maurice]

Not really....its kinda like on Penns when the Green Drake can be hatching in Coburn above Elk at the same date as it does 9 miles below in Weikert. Its a temperature thingy.

The Yeller Britches gets a good shot of cold water at Boiling Springs and several times below that....even near Messiah. And many places in between. This is perhaps why they have not hit the stretch in the Allenberry yet....its not warm enough yet.

On a true Freestoner where the water warms gradually as it travels down stream the hatches can migrate upstream with the thermal units. However, on a limestone influenced freestone stream things can get tricky.

Are you suggesting someone is fibbing because they know something you do not?

And BTW, Tomb has been here longer than you it appears....and provided content rather than hyperbole. Hmmmmm.

 

[tomitrout]

GW, I'm curious, do you realize that this site is about fly fishing and not a trolling forum?

 

[GreenWeenie]

Yes I do. You guys stated that the flies were so heavy and thick that you were almost blinded and choked on them. I was simply saying when I fish it I am going to be safe and wear safety goggles and a respirator. I fully get blizzard hatches – fully get it.

So I get chastised by Mr. Maurice for this comment, who, quite amusingly, in his admonishing of me goes on to say that he use to wear safety goggles and also would pull a bandanna over his nose.

That sounds like he was doing the same thing as I said I was going to do so the problem is?

 

[tomitrout]

GW:

Don't you find it very strange how some new member posts about mega hatches above the most popular stretch and almost immediately someone else posts about mega hatches 15 miles below the most popular spot.

First you get snarky about our replies to the OP who asked if anybody else had seen any hex or whiteflies on the Breeches. Which is fine, except nowhere in my post did I describe a blinding blizzard of white flies. I reported what I experienced, a 'really nice hatch' that brought up some fish, preceded by a surprising to me amount of hex on the water. I didn't call it a 'mega', nor a 'blizzard' nor 'heavy'...it simply was a really nice hatch for the water I was fishing.

Then you want to question my and other's observations in your quoted post above? Yeah, you're right, I'm bullshitting you and everybody else here because I guess it's simply unpossible for whiteflies to be hatching anywhere outside of a certain 100yd stretch of stream on any given night, or something.

Nice work, you've hooked two of us on this pass, now back under the bridge, please.

 

[NCPAtrtbum]

I can attest to the Hex and White Flies.

I was there last night from about.. 6-9:30. White flies were pretty heavy and the Hexes were coming off pretty decent as well. Fished a White Wulff with a PT soft hackle all night and caught a handful of fish on both. Nicest being a 19 inch brownie after dark that was extremely healthy and very vibrant in coloration.

Was down stream about 60 yards or so from the Allenberry.
Pretty neat, first time I've seen a Hex.

 

[TimB]

I was there last night too. Didn't need goggles or a respirator (and I've fished with Maurice when we really did wear goggles).

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

Everyone raves about the white fly hatches in August. On my stretch of the Susquehanna they hatch prolifically as early as June.

I know when the hatch is on because when I go to a local bar in York haven along the river the flies are so thick outside the bar on the neon signs you can barely see the Budweiser sign some nights.

You have to run in the door and slam it behind you or about two dozen white flies swarm in along with the ones already clinging to you.


It's hard to see from this pic I took on my cell phone, but there is a 4 inch layer of bugs on the ledge of the window.

 

[wgmiller]

I'm going to fish the Dobsonfly hatch and wear a suit of armor. That'll trump all of you!

 

[Nymph-O-Maniac]

Found humor in that ^^^^^ response. Sorry

 

[pete41]

Nope-salmon flies in the west trump all those itty bittys in the East.Knock you off your motorcycle.

 

[troutpoop]

I was on the Breeches last night a couple miles downstream from Allenberry. The Hex hatch started heavy at 7:45pm and lasted about 10 minutes. Then the white flies came off at approx. 8:10pm. They were not very heavy but the trout were looking up for sure.
We did very well on Ants until the white flies came off and did well on the white flies too. The hatch only lasted a short time, at least that we could see. It got pitch dark and we left at 8:40pm.

 

[albud1962]

I've been fishing the white flies all week. I think this hatch is over rated at least at Allenberry. The fishermen were stacked up like cordwood this evening, but the fish have given little or no notice to the white flies. I had more action a month on light cahills. I caught most of my evening fish sub surface on sucker spawn.