Poachers on YB

[mikeg126]

Yesterday I took the day off to fish the Breeches in the C&R section. As I am walking over the Mountain Rd bridge I see about 4 or 5 spin fisherman just below the bridge. My first reaction was "Oh great the stream is going to be packed today!". Then as I get closer I notice one of the guys had a stringer on his wading belt and he proceeds to show some new anglers his catch. 4 or 5 nice trout! So that really ticked me off. Luckily, based on an earlier thread we had going about the YB restoration I added the PA fish and game number in my contacts. I figured let me give them a call to see if they send anyone out. The operator was really nice and said they would contact the officer to have him take a look. Later in the morning I met up with another fly fisher and we were talking about the fishing. Then he tells me about seeing the game warden at the bridge this morning. It seems that the game warden/conservation office actually came out. I'm not sure if they issued tickets or not but at least they came out. So there is hope after all!

Overall I had a pretty decent day and hooked onto what was probably my personal best rainbow from the Breeches. My guess is that it was pushing 17". Unfortunately (you know what I'm going to say...) I caught him on the swing and could not fully work him up stream and I was in a section where the new rocks that were put in are very slippery and could not move below him fast enough. He spit the hook when I was just about to reach for the net and he was about 12' out. UGH!!! But it really felt good and he was a solid fish.

 

[alatt]

The boundary line may have changed in recent years, but the C&R doesn't begin at the arch bridge. It starts a few yards downstream. Again I'm not sure about this.

 

[joebamboo]

There was a cable just below the bridges designating the beginning of the C&R. It begins just below the area where the locals swim.