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Yellow Breeches Creek Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Yellow Breeches Creek: a 49-mile Cumberland Valley trout stream, stocked by the state from Route 233 to the Susquehanna, with a catch-and-release, artificial-lures-only mile below Boiling Springs.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
138 cfs
Air / High
62 / 62 F
Wind
ENE 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01571500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Yellow Breeches Creek is in its winter mode: slow, deep and deliberate. The river is running 138 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 4 mph, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 62. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:42 AM-11:42 AM and 10:11 PM-12:11 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Brook troutExcellent

Below 50°F is the fall spawning band (40-50°F in Vermont), so stay off spawning gravel. In winter Maine IFW finds pond fish close to shore in 4 to 12 feet of water under the ice.

Tomorrow: Similar at 60 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Pennsylvania requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $27.97 for residents. What a Pennsylvania licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with PFBC before you keep anything. The season dates for Pennsylvania, read off the agency, are on the Pennsylvania seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Yellow Breeches near Camp Hill.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01571500.

200363525138 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 82 years of October 23

At 138 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01571500 (Yellow Breeches near Camp Hill) is at the 41st percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 82 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 147 cfs; the highest was 805 cfs and the lowest 95 cfs.

p10 112median 147p90 364

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01571500; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp62 F
High / Low62 / 43 F
WindENE 4-5 mph
Pressure1026.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain9% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:27 / 18:16
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Yellow Breeches Creek this week

The best day on Yellow Breeches Creek this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:42 AM-11:42 AM and 10:11 PM-12:11 AM
Minor period
4:04 AM-5:04 AM
Sun
07:27 to 18:16
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Yellow Breeches Creek: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Brook trout illustration

Brook trout

Spring and fall in ponds and lakes, when fish come shallow; summer in the coldest headwater streams

The brook trout is a char native to eastern North America, a fish of cold, clean streams and ponds, and the state fish of Michigan. Below 50°F is the fall spawning band (40-50°F in Vermont), so stay off spawning gravel. In winter Maine IFW finds pond fish close to shore in 4 to 12 feet of water under the ice.

When to come: the Yellow Breeches Creek calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
Brook trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Yellow Breeches Creek today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 65 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 70 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Pennsylvania requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Pennsylvania fishing license plus a trout permit to fish for trout. Catch and Release Artificial Lures Only on the 1.17-mile Boiling Springs section (PFBC 2026). Elsewhere, see PFBC's stocked trout water rules for the current season.

Access

South Middleton Township Park and Children's Lake (Boiling Springs), Simpson Park, Lower Allen Community Park, Yellow Breeches Park, Spangler's Mill (PFBC), Creekwood Park and New Cumberland Borough Park.

About this water

A 49-mile limestone-valley trout creek in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, from Michaux State Forest to the Susquehanna River near New Cumberland.

Fishing Yellow Breeches Creek: the full guide

South Mountain to the Susquehanna

Cumberland County's water trail guide says the creek rises on South Mountain in Michaux State Forest near Walnut Bottom, crosses the limestone-rich Cumberland Valley and joins the Susquehanna near New Cumberland. The main stem is about 49 miles long and drains 219 square miles; it was designated a Pennsylvania Scenic River in 1992, and PFBC has named it an official water trail. Flows on this page come from USGS gauge 01571500, Yellow Breeches Creek near Camp Hill.

The Boiling Springs special-regulation water

PFBC's 2026 Fishing Summary lists 1.17 miles under Catch and Release Artificial Lures Only rules: 0.17 mile of the unnamed tributary from the Children's Lake outfall to the creek at Boiling Springs, and 1.00 mile of Yellow Breeches from that confluence downstream to the vicinity of Allenberry. The county guide describes this stretch as a year-round catch-and-release area.

Stocked and wild trout

PFBC lists the creek from the Route 233 bridge to the mouth as stocked trout water in its Southcentral Region, with the 2026 statewide opener on April 4, and Children's Lake in Boiling Springs is stocked too. The county guide adds that local clubs also stock the creek, that brown and rainbow trout dominate the lower basin and that brook trout live in the smaller headwaters and tributaries around South Mountain. Pennsylvania's 2026 health advisory limits brown trout from the SR 3017 bridge at Huntsdale to the Spruce Run confluence to one meal a month because of PCBs.

Public access

The county's 2012 guide lists public access at South Middleton Township Park and the Boiling Springs pool lot on Race Street (with more parking at Children's Lake and Iron Works Park), Simpson Park in Bowmansdale, Lower Allen Community Park, Yellow Breeches Park on Sheepford Road, PFBC's Spangler's Mill access in Camp Hill with shore and accessible fishing, Creekwood Park, and New Cumberland Borough Park above the dam. Respect the private land between these sites, and never run the creek's dams by boat.

Common questions

Where is the catch-and-release section?

At Boiling Springs: the outlet stream from Children's Lake and one mile of the creek from there downstream to near Allenberry, artificial lures only (PFBC 2026 Fishing Summary).

Is Yellow Breeches Creek stocked?

Yes. PFBC stocks it from the Route 233 bridge to the mouth, and the county guide says local fishing clubs stock it as well.

Do I need a trout permit?

Yes, if you fish for trout or fish special-regulation trout water: PFBC requires a current trout permit along with the fishing license.

Is fishing good at Yellow Breeches Creek right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Juniata River19 miSusquehanna River26 miPenns Creek46 miGunpowder River48 miBlue Marsh Lake52 miWest Branch Susquehanna River52 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01571500 — Yellow Breeches near Camp Hill
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:45 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 40.2200, -76.9800 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 6, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 6, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.