Mention Southcentral Pennsylvania to a fly fisher, and chances are they will understand exactly where you’re talking about. In the angling world, it isn’t just the middle third of the commonwealth’s bottom half. Within this portion there is a valley that is bordered by the ridges of North and South Mountains, and in it lie a number of spring creeks and limestone influenced streams. Names like Letort, Falling Springs, and Yellow Breeches are famous in this region and far beyond. Native brook trout live on the gentle slopes, and selective browns and rainbows fill the waters below. Fly patterns, fishing techniques, and prose spread the world over were created in this valley. The streams, the trout, and the history come together to create a rich culture.

And every community needs a general store.

The History of the Shop on the Lake

Since the late 1800’s, there has been a structure on the northern end of Children’s Lake in Boiling Springs. It has functioned as a dance pavilion, a church meeting place, a motorcycle shop, and even an agricultural auction house. In the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, folks from towns like nearby Carlisle would take the trolley to enjoy the amusements in and around the spring-fed pond. “It was part of the park,” said Chris Frangiosa, “there were things like shooting galleries, boats to rent, all sorts of stuff for families.”

Frangiosa has quickly become an expert on this century-old building. The primary buyer and retail manager for Tulpehocken Creek Outfitters’ (TCO) stores, he’s also taken on the job of renovating and opening their newest location. With only a brief interruption for the last year or so, that structure has been a fly shop for over 40 years. Along with local contractor Ryan Wenger, he is doing his best to ensure that the history and aesthetic of the shop is perfect. “We found a photograph of the dedication of the town clock tower from 1956. What’s now the shop is in the background. We’re going to try to match the exterior of the building to what we could see in that picture.”

Prior to becoming part of the TCO family, the shop was known as Yellow Breeches Outfitters for most of its existence. Less than half a mile’s walk on the Appalachian Trail takes you from the shop’s front door to one of the most popular stretches of trout water in Pennsylvania, perhaps on the east coast. The Yellow Breeches Creek receives an enormous influx of cold, clean water from the town’s numerous springs, which allows it to sustain a healthy trout population. And with that, a sizeable and dedicated group of anglers.

Opened by fly tyer and tackle salesman Ed Koch in 1973, the store became a fixture in the community and a destination for fly fishers. Originally named “Ed Koch’s Yellow Breeches Fly Shoppe,” it was a unique store that was in many ways ahead of its time.

“For back then, it was very well stocked,” said Bill Skilton. Bill, a long-time contracted tyer for Orvis, creator of many fly patterns, and a developer of a number of popular synthetic materials, began to work with Koch the year after the shop opened. “We’d buy bushels and bushels of calf tails, brush out the manure, and dye them the colors we or our customers wanted. We’d do the same for buck tails, hackle necks, everything. We really had a lot at the time.”

The Culture of Fly Fishing

For anglers and tyers in the region, the shop was like an academy for their burgeoning skills. “I cut my fly fishing teeth at that shop,” said Bob Clouser. Before he created his famous minnow pattern and ran his own fly shop, he would drive to Boiling Springs. “That was the finest fly shop for so long. I was just a young guy, and I’d spend so much time in that place with Ed.”

Tom Baltz, a local guide and tyer who worked at the shop years ago, attests to the people that would spend time in the store. “Guys like Vince Marinaro would come in three or four times a week. He’d talk about the old days, maybe buy something. Along with him, other big wigs would come in. Back then was a magical time because the fishing was great and it was the only shop of its kind within a couple hundred miles.”

“Lefty Kreh, Lee Wulff, Poul Jorgenson, Gary Borger – they’d all come in to the shop if they were in the area. Politicians, actors, everyone,” said Skilton. Southcentral Pennsylvania was a premier place to fly fish for trout, with Boiling Springs and the shop as the epicenter. The accessibility and popularity make sense, as the valley is within a few hours’ drive of metropolitan areas like Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and New York. “One issue of Fly Fisherman magazine had five articles all featuring the area,” said Baltz. “The streams and the shop were getting a lot of press.”

Like everything else in business and life, circumstances arise and intersect with varying results. For the fly shop on the lake, it meant changes in investors and then ownership. For the streams in the area, there were ecological struggles followed by periods of recovery. Hobby industries are hit hardest when the economy dips, and don’t respond as quickly when it does recover. The rise of the internet and the online catalog changed the way that anglers procure everything from fly rods to feathers.

The Future of the Shop on the Lake

This spring, TCO will open the shop back up. Their plan isn’t to pick up where the store left off when it closed last year, or to even recreate the aura that the place held in the 1970’s. “To us, it is important to almost be involved in storytelling,” said Frangiosa. “It is the shop, the product, the fishing, the community, all of it. We’re bringing back the feeling of a bygone era, while also utilizing everything that is working today.”

Along with stocking the shelves with quality equipment, tying materials, and clothing, it means integrating hiking and trail supplies. In the near future, events and activities will draw people back to the town and the lake. TCO is planning to work with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the township, and the regional tourism bureau to be a part of the community and bring people into Boiling Springs.

These components aren’t lost on future store manager, Dusty Wissmath. Wissmath has been a fixture in the Mid Atlantic fly fishing scene for over 20 years. He’s lead the LL Bean Fly Fishing School in Virginia, taught at the Wulff School of Fly Fishing, and, most recently, lead his own school at Whitetail Resort. “The response from everyone in the area has been great,” Wissmath said. “Everyone is excited, in large part because when TCO decides to do something they do it the right way. The expectations are high, both for inventory and expertise. We feel the responsibility to meet them in our classes, our advice, and what we sell.”

Perhaps most importantly, the historical connection to the fly fishermen and women of the region will be highlighted. “It’s going to be a fly shop, of course, but it is going to always be a historical entity,” Ed Shenk said. Shenk is about as connected to the history of the Cumberland Valley as any angler alive. He fished with limestone legends like Marinaro and Charlie Fox, and he worked alongside Koch for years. “The memorabilia will be a nice touch. TCO is going to make a real go of it in that shop, and I hope that they can bring it back and do it well.”

For fly fishers and non-anglers alike, Boiling Springs is a special place. Tree-lined paths, old homes, and quaint shopping options beckon you to stroll through the village. Appalachian Trail hikers walk through; just over halfway finished with their 2,160-mile trek. The pond is the focal point, with benches, gazebos, and plenty of inquisitive waterfowl.

Right in the center is the shop.

“We feel, and I don’t want it to sound like an overstatement, like we are restoring a monument of sorts,” said Frangiosa. “Every community needs a store like this. We’re all about fly fishing, but there will be something for everyone.”

Fly fishing is still a significant reason why many people come to the town and to the region. Like in most places on the east coast, the fishing isn’t what it used to be. But these creeks are still spoken of in reverent tones, in large part due to their history and those who have fished in them. Fly fishing has a unique nostalgia about it, and people want to be able to go to the places they’ve read about for years. Usually that means a pool or a bend in a stream. Sometimes it means another place. A place where stories can be told, friends can be seen, and, if the need arises, a rod, reel, or handful of flies can be bought.

The TCO store will open in Boiling Springs on March 1^st, with a grand opening event slated for April 23^rd.

The shop’s website will be part of the Tulpehocken Creek Outfitter’s page, and information about the construction progress can be seen here.

Tom Baltz is an Orvis endorsed guide, and information about booking a trip with him can be found on their website.

Bob Clouser has an online store, where his flies, materials, books, and information about instruction can be found.

Ed Shenk’s Fly Rod Trouting is an excellent read, and can be found at retailers like Amazon.

Bill Skilton sells his products and other modern or antique fly fishing items through his eBay store.

Dusty Wissmath will soon be launching a new website at DWflyfishing.com.