Fly Fishing Yellow Breeches Creek. Rowland E. Harrison

      47 . Yellow Breeches Creek

      Location: South-central Pennsylvania, about a ½-hour ride from Harrisburg; a 2-hour ride from Philadelphia; a 3- hour ride from Pittsburgh; and a 2-hour ride from Washington, D.C. Full-service airports are available in all four cities.

      Yellow Breeches Creek was rightly chosen for inclusion in this book. It was home to some of the most legendary fly fishermen in history, such as Vince Marinaro, Charlie Fox, Ed Shenk, and Gene Utech. The Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Museum is located on the grounds of the Allenberry Playhouse, just a short walk

      from the stream. The Breeches, as it is called locally, has been visited by such luminaries as Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams, and Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Jimmy Carter. Yellow Breeches Creek is approximately 40 miles long. Trout are stocked from Route 233 down to the Susquehanna River, a distance of about 30 miles.

      Yellow Breeches Creek begins in the Michaux State Forest. Its headwaters are located on the northwestern side of South Mountain. Several small streams drain the area. The creek flows north through Walnut Bottom, before turning east toward the Cumberland Valley. The stream is paralleled by a railroad bed. It passes through Huntsdale, site of the Huntsdale State Fish Hatchery. Here it gets an influx of cold spring water. It is joined by Mountain Creek near the town of Mount Holly Springs. Old Town Run enters the creek just

      before it passes Boiling Springs to the north. The gin-clear water from the spring-fed lake cools the main creek. Dogwood Run pours in just below Williams Grove. It is then joined by Stony Run. Pippins Run joins the creek next. Cedar Run enters near the end of the creek. Yellow Breeches is designated by Pennsylvania as a Scenic River.