S7, Ep 36: Central PA Fishing Report with George Costa of TCO Fly Shop

In this episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash is back with George Costa from TCO Fly Shop for the latest Central PA Fishing Report. The duo kicks off with a lively exchange about the recent spring storms that swept through Centre County, leaving many without power. As they discuss the impact of the weather, George shares the exciting news that the fishing scene is heating up with a variety of hatches including sulfurs, March browns and gray foxes, signaling the peak of dry fly season.

Listeners will gain valuable insights into the current fishing conditions as George highlights the effectiveness of nymphing with classic patterns and discusses how upcoming rain might affect the water clarity, potentially shifting the focus to streamer fishing. The conversation also touches on the smallmouth bass fishing, with George noting that the pre-spawn season has been fruitful, and expectations for the post-spawn period are high.

As always, George emphasizes the importance of staying informed about weather conditions and encourages anglers to reach out to the shop for updates and guide availability. This episode is packed with practical advice and a lighthearted atmosphere that will inspire anglers to get out on the water.

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Episode Transcript

(00:04):
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 am amazingly busy as always.Marvin, how are you?
I'm. I'm living the dream andtrying to stay out of trouble. And
you know, it's good because itkeeps the devil away from you.

(00:24):
It's true. It's true. He'salways on my back. You got to brush
him away.
Yeah, but you were telling meyou guys got whacked pretty good
with some pretty nasty springweather, right?
Yeah, we got some stormsthrough here in Center County a couple
days ago, and power was out ata good portion of the town here,
but looks like it's comingback online. But we do have some
more rain slated this weekend.For the next four or five days, looks

(00:47):
like we're going to get apretty good shot of rain here. So,
yeah, we'll take it when wecan get it, I guess.
Yeah. So what have you beenseeing and what are you going to
see on the water after the rain?
Well, so bugs are definitelygetting into full swing now. So we've
got sulfur's popping up hereand there. There's March browns,
gray foxes, Quill Gordons,cancer. So we're definitely getting

(01:10):
into peak dry fly season rightnow. Nymphing has been spectacular
using all the usual suspects.Mayfly imitations, caddis pupa, things
like that. So the fishing hasbeen really good the past week, and
it's just going to get betterthe next couple of weeks. The looks
like we're going to get afairly good shot. So I'm expecting
a lot of the creeks to get upand off color. That might slow down

(01:31):
the dry fly fishing a littlebit. But streamer fishing might pick
up with the off color, dirtywater. So really depends on how much
we get and where the rainhits. This week is not looking amazing.
Looks like mostly showers, butthere's going to be a couple thunderstorms
that move through. Sodefinitely keep an eye on the gauges.
If you're coming up here, givethe shop a call. Keep an eye on the

(01:52):
weather because the nextthree, four days look like it's going
to be damp.
There you go. And what are youhearing from your smallmouth brethren?
Smallies post spawn. The guyshave been said that it was. I'm sorry,
pre spawn guys said it's beenpretty good down there. Haven't been
here at all too much, butthey've been catching some big fish.

(02:12):
Earlier in the month of April.I think the fish are just spawning
right about now. So thatsmallmouth game should really, you
know, settle down a little bitand pick up again at the end of May
when fisher don't spawn it.
There you go. And of course, Iknow you know you've got guides cranking,
because we were talking when Itold you it was going to be rainy
for the next week. That'sgoing to kind of gum up the works

(02:34):
a little bit. But you gotguide trips running. I guarantee
you guys have got a ton ofschools for, you know, helping people
get better on the water thisseason. You want to share that with
folks?
For sure. We've got abeginner's class coming up on the
18th. I've got some spots leftfor that. All of our other locations
have lots of schools, lots ofclasses going on this time of year.
Guides are still available,definitely. Like, give the shop a

(02:55):
call and see what kind ofavailability we have, because we're
pretty booked up for the nextmonth or so. And don't forget that
we've got cicadas coming uphere in central Pennsylvania this
year. So early June into midJune should be when it really starts
cranking. It's going to bebedlam up here once those big bugs
come up out of the ground. Somake plans now for June. So that's

(03:17):
going to be a really fun thing.
Yeah, it's funny. I saw yourInstagram reel. How long did it take
you to pick up all the bugsyou put on the floor?
About 30 seconds. About 30seconds. No, it wasn't that bad.
You're super fast. And youknow, folks, we love questions on
the articulate fly. You canemail us or DM us on social media,
Whatever's easiest for you.And if we use your question, we didn't

(03:37):
get one this time, which makesGeorge sad. I very sad. We don't
like sad George. Sad George isnot a pleasant George. But if we.
I'm always numbing. It'll beall right. I'll be okay. I'm going
to get through this somehow.
Yeah. BlackBerry brandy, right?
It's too hot for BlackBerrybrandy now. It's definitely gin and
tonic season.

(03:58):
There you go. Well, I'll askyou your favorite gin next time.
But if we use your question, Iwill send you some articulate flash
swag. And when you're in adrawing for some cool stuff from
the shop at the end of theseason. And, George, before I let
you return to retail bliss andmaybe running the chainsaw a little
bit or refilling the generatoror whatever you need to do. You want
to let folks know location,shop hours and all that kind of good

(04:18):
stuff?
Absolutely. We're here. 23rdEast College Avenue and State College
Penns. We're open Mondaythrough Saturday, 9 to 6, Sundays,
9 to 3. All of our stores areopen very similar hours. So check
out the website, tco flyfishing.com for all our classes,
education, sales, upcomingtravel trips and things like that.

(04:40):
Well, there you go. Well,folks, as always, say you owe it
to yourself to get out thereand catch a few. Tight lines, everybody.
Tight lines. George.
Take it easy, Mark.