A Much Needed Vacation  

I have never needed a vacation as badly as I had needed this one. I decided to go fly fishing for 5 or 6 days. I contemplated for days where to go and what to do. With advice from lots of people, including Mary and Rabbit, I decided on the Yellow Breeches. It was far enough away from home, but also close enough that I wasn’t driving for hours. Fly fishing always cleans the cobwebs out of my brain and settles me like nothing else in the world. 

I arrived in Boiling Springs on August 21. There was a huge rainstorm while I was driving there. I went to the Yellow Breeches Fly Shop and asked some questions. Everything was muddy and there was no fishing to be had for a couple of days. I asked about Mountain Creek in Pine Grove Furnace State Park. The guy behind the counter was surprised I knew about that creek. I had researched trout streams in proximity to the Yellow Breeches in Dwight Landis’ book, Trout Streams of Pennsylvania. I also remembered the park from a camping trip in college. I remembered its beauty, shade and tall pine trees.

It took me about an hour to drive there and I got there about 8:30 in the morning. I saw this beautiful cold creek rushing past. It was crystal clear and there were no people around. I hiked a ways down the path and waded in. I tied on a small ant and bang before I could react, something hit the fly and was gone. I tried another cast and the same thing happened. I looked at the fly and it was about a 14. I had an 18 so I tied that on instead. This time I cast the fly, the fish hit it and I brought in one of the most beautiful fish I had ever seen. It was a wild brook trout. It was about 4” long, had a red stripe down each side, and was very feisty. I fished the rest of the morning along this beautiful stream and caught about 10 of these beautiful little fish. When I finally looked at my watch, it was 2 pm. I had lunch among tall pines at an aged picnic table and felt like a new woman. There are 2 lakes in this state park and it is usually crowded on the weekend. As this was a Sunday, it was becoming more and more crowded. I wandered further down the trail about a mile and waded in again. The fishing was fabulous. I caught and released fish all the rest of the afternoon. The biggest one was about 6” long. They are small but feisty.

The next day, I went out to the Yellow Breeches. I went to Allenberry and parked in the “Fisherman’s Lot”. I fished for a few hours and caught a few small brown trout, but felt like something was wrong. I stopped for lunch and went to the fly shop again. They suggested smaller flies. I tried that and it was somewhat better, but I did not feel like I knew what I was doing. The water was high and fast and I was uncomfortable. I had torn some ligaments in my ankle last winter and I was feeling it. I fished the rest of the day and stayed for the white fly hatch. I caught a couple of trout, but felt like something was missing.

The next day, August 23, I went to “the run” of the Yellow Breeches. This is the place where the lake empties into a stream under a blanket of trees. I was fishing with nymphs and not catching much. One of the older guys on the stream asked to see my flies. I was using a 16 Gold- Ribbed Hare’s Ear. He said try one of these and handed me a bead-head, Zebra Midge in a size 22. He gave me 2 and I thanked him, tied one on and had the first of many brown trout. My flies were all too big. I went to the fly shop after lunch and bought a bunch of flies in smaller sizes. That was the missing link. Once I had the right size fly, I caught all the fish that I wanted. There are lots of different kinds of trout on the Yellow Breeches. There are Brown trout, Rainbow trout, Brook Trout and even Palomino Trout. I have caught lots of trout before, but not like these. These were truly the most beautiful fish I had ever seen. Their colors were spectacular. 

I fished this area of the run down to the stream behind Allenberry for the remainder of my time at the Yellow Breeches. It was fun and I feel totally restored by fly fishing. It is amazing what a few days off fishing by yourself can do for a person. There were lots of people there fishing. They were all incredibly friendly and helpful. I met a woman there who remarked that she never sees other women fly fishing. We spent the rest of the day together. She has read about our group on the Internet and I encouraged her to join. I have learned so much from being a part of DVWFFA. 

On the day I left, there was this man who had been fishing for hours and not catching anything. He said he was disgusted, watching me pull in fish after fish. I asked him what kinds of flies he was using. He showed me some nymphs in size 12 and 14. I gave him a couple of bead head zebra nymphs, in size 22, just like someone had given me. What goes around comes around. I love fly fishing. It is one part of my very full life that doesn’t consume me. 

--Judy Wilson--