S7, Ep 21: Transitioning Seasons: George Costa on Spring Fishing Conditions

In this episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash is back with George Costa from TCO Fly Shop in State College for a detailed Central PA Fishing Report. As George gears up for an exciting trip to Belize, he shares insights on the current fishing conditions in Central Pennsylvania, noting the recent rain and its impact on local streams. With expectations of improving conditions by the weekend, he highlights the anticipation of warmer weather that will kickstart the spring hatches, including olives, midges and little black stoneflies.

The conversation also touches on the upcoming emergence of the 17-year cicadas, expected to peak in mid-June, promising a thrilling dry fly season for anglers. George discusses various educational opportunities available at the shop, including a cicada tying class on March 30th and several beginner courses throughout the spring. He encourages listeners to book their spots quickly, as classes tend to fill up fast.

Listeners are also reminded to send in their questions for a chance to win some Articulate Fly swag. This episode is packed with valuable information for anglers looking to enhance their spring fishing experience.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey folks, it's Marvin Cash,the host of the Articulate Fly. We're
back with another Central PAFishing report with George Costa,
TCO Fly shop in State College.George, how are you?
I'm amazing as always. Marvin,how are you?
And as always, I'm just tryingto stay out of trouble. And you know,
you're super excited, right,because you're getting ready to head

(00:21):
to Belize in what, a week?
I'll be there all next week.I'm out of here on Saturday, so looking
forward to getting out of thisdreary Pennsylvania weather and into
some and some delicious pinacoladas next week for me.
Well, there you go. And ofcourse, you know, when you come back,
your weather is kind of crappynow, but my understanding is your
weather's going to get betterin about a week to 10 days, right?

(00:43):
Yeah, for sure. We've had abunch of rain in the past couple
of days here. So as of today,water is up and dirty on pretty much
all of our streams here.Locally blown out conditions. We
expect spring to probably dropback down and be fishable by Saturday.
So conditions shoulddefinitely improve later in the weekend
on all the streams. And earlynext week conditions should be in

(01:05):
pretty good shape. We'resupposed to get a good shot of warm
weather next week. So thatshould really get the bugs moving.
Get some olives pop in, weshould see midges, little black stone
flies. And we're pretty muchgetting into springtime now, so all
the bugs are going to bemoving. Nymphing should improve.
Dry fly fishing is going topick up and we are almost there.
Yeah.
And then, you know, thissummer you get lucky, right. And

(01:27):
you're going to get some ofthose periodical cicadas.
That's true. We're definitelygetting our 17 year brood this year
in central Pennsylvania.People keep asking when to expect
them. Best guess for me isprobably going to be we're going
to start seeing them probablyfirst, second week of June. I think
mid June will probably be whenthey're going to be best. Mid June
to early July is when they'regoing to be hitting the water and

(01:50):
fish are really going to belooking to eat them. So that's going
to get us a real long seasonhere for a lot of dry fly activity
and a lot of fun. It should bea crazy fun year this year.
Yeah, got it. And I wouldimagine since we're moving into spring.
Right. You're probably youreducational stuff in the shops probably
winded down a little bit. Butis there anything, you know, educational
wise or maybe any sales orlike new inventory you want to share

(02:11):
with folks?
For sure. We do have a tyingclass for cicadas coming up on March
30th with one of our guys,Caleb here. He's an excellent tire.
So if you want to learn how totie some cicada patterns, check out
the website for that class. OnMarch 30, we've got all our beginners
classes. I've still got somespots left for them throughout the
spring. We've got somespecialty nymphing classes and dry

(02:32):
fight classes that all thatstuff is listed for all of our shops
on the website. And yeah, Imean, if you're looking to do it
on the water class, now isdefinitely the time of year to book
because these classes do sellout fast.
Yeah, there you go. And youknow, folks, we love questions on
the articulate fly. We didn'tget one this time and it made George
sad and we don't like that.Right, George?
Sad.

(02:54):
But at least you're going togo to Belize, so it all works out.
Happy, happy. So you know,folks, you can email me questions,
you can DM me on social media,whatever is easiest for you. And
if we use your question, Iwill send you some articulate fly
swag when you're drawing forsome cool stuff at the end of the
season from the shop. And youknow, as I always say, folks, if
it's warm enough where you areto get out and fish, you should do

(03:15):
that. If it's still cold whereyou are, I would encourage you to
tie flies. If you're close toa fly fishing show. I think Lancaster
is not this weekend, but nextweekend. Check out a, you know, check
out a fly fishing show. Thereare lots of other smaller regional
shows all around the country.Check those out. But as I always
say, folks, tight lines, tightlines. George, take it easy, Mark.