S7, Ep 30: From Hatches to Classes: Your Spring Fishing Guide with George Costa

In this episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash is joined by George Costa from TCO Fly Shop in State College for the latest Central PA Fishing Report. George shares his excitement for the upcoming trout opener on April 5th, discussing the current state of local waters and the anticipated spring hatches. With recent rains expected to bring some high and off-color water, George highlights the importance of adapting to these conditions while fishing.

The duo dives into the specifics of spring dry fly fishing, addressing listener questions about preferred colors and sizes. George emphasizes that selecting the right fly depends on the hatch and local conditions, offering insights on everything from size 20 BWOs to size 8 Green Drakes. He stresses the need for variety and attentiveness to the unique preferences of Central PA's wild fish, which can vary significantly even within the same river.

Listeners will also learn about upcoming events at TCO Fly Shop, including a special tying class with renowned fly tier Blane Chocklett. With practical advice and a shared passion for the sport, this episode is a must-listen for anglers eager to make the most of the spring fishing season.

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Episode Transcript

(00:03):
Hey folks, it's Marvin Cash,the host of the Articulate Fly. We're
back with another Central PAFishing report with George Costa
of TCO Fly Shop in StateCollege. George, how are you?
I'm amazing as always, Marvin.Amazing as always.
That's incredibly chipper ofyou given the rain in your forecast.
Well, we kind of need it, soit's not too bad. It's not too bad.

(00:26):
Yeah.
And you've got, you know, yourspring. I know you kind of technically
don't have a closed season,but everyone's probably getting super
excited about an opener thatprobably either just happened or
is going to happen here prettysoon, right?
Indeed. Yep. We got the openerthis Saturday the 5th, so in two
days time from today. Butyeah, spring is definitely springing.

(00:46):
We are just starting to get alittle bit of green on all the plants
and bushes and everythingaround here. And this weekend coming
up, we do have a good amountof water coming in. With some rain,
it shouldn't be too bad, buteverything's probably going to be
a little high and a little offcolor. Hatches are definitely getting
in full swing. We've hadreally good olives the past few weeks.

(01:07):
Modification been on them onthe nymphs, some of them on the dries.
Granum cattus are just gettingready to start coming off now. We've
seen a handful on lowerspring. Haven't really seen any on
the J yet, but it could be anyday could be happening right now
while I sit here in the flyshop. There could be a very good
granum hatch, but springhatches are definitely underway and

(01:30):
you know, just a little pushof water. I think next week's really
going to open up and, andprobably start getting really good.
Well, there you go. And got akind of a related listener question
for you. Our old friendBrenner wanted to get your thoughts
on your preferred colors forspring dry flies.
Well, that's. It reallydepends on what's happening. I mean,
preferred colors and preferredsizes are really going to be hatch

(01:52):
dependent here in Central pabut you know, you're going to have
anything From a size 20 BWO inthe spring to, you know, if we're
talking spring, we're talking,you know, a size 8 green Drake. So
there isn't a preferred color.You really got to just pay attention
to where you're going, whenyou're going and what the hatch is
going to be. You know, typicalattractor dries like an atoms will

(02:13):
work good to cover multiplehatches like, you know, a Hendrickson
or a Lighter one might cover asulfur, but there isn't a preferred
color. It's really dependenton where you are and when you are.
You know, yellows are going towork well for your sulfurs. You know,
you might want a pink or apaler color for Hendrickson in the
next week or two, but you'renot going to have one panacea for

(02:37):
all of them. It's good tocarry a good variety of sizes. Typically,
my mayflies are going to rangeanywhere from, you know, a size 12,
10 for a March brown up to a24 bluing olive. And then, you know,
if you had to pick threecolors, I would go with like, you
know, something in thebrownish, you know, dark olive and
like a yellow. That's going tocover most of your bases. But you

(02:57):
might need to get morespecific depending on the where and
the when.
Yeah, and I mean, in some ofthat, I mean, obviously matching
the hatch is matching thehatch, but some of that is a function
of the fact, right. Thatyou've got, you know, more technical
fisheries than some places inthe country. So, you know.
Absolutely.
Yeah. So if people are chasingpellet heads, it's a little bit different
calculus, right?
Absolutely. Here. You know,our wild fish are way more selective.

(03:19):
So just having the, you know,a color that might look good to you
might not look good to them atthe time. You know, I've seen it
when a fish on the left sideof the river is eating a size 14
sulfur, the fish on the rightside of the river is eating a size
18 olive. So it's reallycondition dependent. And there is,
you know, a good variety ofsizes and colors is really going
to make you way moresuccessful on the water.

(03:39):
Well, there you go. And youknow, folks, we love questions on
the articulate fly. You canemail me or DM me on social media,
whatever is easiest for you.And if we use your question, I will
send you some articulate flyswag. We are drawing for something
cool from the shop at the endof the season. And George, before
I let you go, I suspect you'vegot some cool events kind of coming
up in the shop in the spring, right?
Yeah, for sure. I mean, we'repretty much done with most of our

(04:01):
tying classes, but we just didschedule a good class with old Blaine
Chocolate. It's coming up onmiddle of May. I believe it is May
17th, Saturday, the 17th ofMay, we're going to have a class
here with Blaine. It's goingto be that Saturday afternoon and
he's going to be tying up hisCICADA he's going to be tying up

(04:22):
some crawl changers and acouple of other patterns. So that
opportunity to sign up forthat class should be live on the
site pretty soon. He's doingone here on Saturday and one in Boiling
Springs on Sunday, the 18th.So keep your eyes peeled for that.
All our beginners classes aregetting filled up, so anybody out
there listening that wants toget into fly fishing thinks they
need to brush up a little bit.Sign up for some of our beginners

(04:44):
classes at any of our shops orsome of our other specialty classes
as well.
Very, very cool. Yeah. And Iknow you guys are a chocolate factory
dealer and you probably havein stock all those new body parts
he's been making. The wings,you know, for cicadas and dragonflies
and the helgramite parts andthe, you know, the crawdad claws
and all that kind of good stuff.
Yeah, that's that stuffstarting to trickle into the shops

(05:06):
here. We hopefully will beexpanding a little bit more of what
we carry from that. Butthere's some pretty cool stuff out
there. Yeah.
Well, there you go. Well, youknow, I can't let you go if you don't
let folks know where you areand when you' open.
That's right. We're here. 23rdEast College Avenue in State College.
We're here Monday throughSaturday, 9 to 6, Sundays, 9 to 3.
All of our other four storeshave similar hours, so check us out

(05:26):
on the website, TCO flyfishing dot com.
Oh, well, there you go. And asI always say, folks, you owe it to
yourself to get out there andcatch a few. Tight lines, everybody.
Tight lines.
George, take it easy.