S7, Ep 43: Hatches and High Waters: The Central PA Fishing Scene with George Costa

In this episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash catches up with George Costa for the latest Central PA Fishing Report, and it’s a wet one! With rain forecasted to hit the region, George shares insights on how the weather will affect fishing conditions and what anglers can expect in the days ahead. As the waters rise and visibility decreases, he emphasizes the importance of adaptability in your fishing strategy.

The duo dives into the current insect activity, discussing the various hatches, including drakes and sulphurs, that are enticing trout. George highlights the significance of observation when targeting selective fish, offering tips on how to identify what the fish are feeding on and the importance of having a diverse selection of flies at the ready.

As they navigate the challenges posed by the impending weather, George shares his thoughts on the upcoming cicada emergence and how it might influence fishing in the coming weeks. He also touches on exciting classes and sales happening at TCO Fly Shop, encouraging listeners to check out their offerings.

This episode is packed with valuable insights and practical advice for anglers looking to make the most of their time on the water, even when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, folks, it's Marvin Cash,the host of the Articulate Fly. And
we're back with anotherCentral PA Fishing report with George
Costa. 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 rumor
has it you may need to buildan ark this weekend.

(00:20):
I think we're gonna need arcs,canoes, drift boats, and maybe even
the tugboat and the steamboat.It's going to be nice.
Sounds ominous. What's the forecast?
Well, the forecast is startingtonight and going into Wednesday
and Thursday, we're going toget over an inch of rain again. Our
water's already been prettyhigh. It's coming back into fishable

(00:42):
shape and we're about to getanother big blast of rain. So everything's
going to get up and blown outoff color and dirty again going into
this weekend. You know,everything's just coming here. We
know everything's beenunderway, but we've had, you know,
drakes are starting prettymuch everywhere. Solar sulphurs,
march browns. Everything underthe sun is going right now. But this

(01:02):
big blast of water isdefinitely going to put a damper
on this weekend. It's going tobe tough fishing the next three,
four days up here in Centralpa, That's for sure.
Got it. So we kind of come onthe other side of that. And obviously,
right, you fish streamers onthe drop, but when things settle
out and the hatches come back,I know one thing that you guys are
known for is that you havesuch an abundance of insect activity

(01:22):
in your spring creeks that thefish are pretty selective. You have
some tips for folks.
Yeah, observation is the besttip you can get with selective trout.
You know, look and see howthose fish are eating. You know,
big splash abs on the surface.That's going to be an indication
that a fish is grabbingsomething that's about to fly off
the surface of the water likea dun or a caddis emerging. You know,

(01:44):
if you see more subtledimples, that's your indication that
those because you're eatingspinners or something that is stuck
on the surface of the waterlike a cripple. So observation really
is key. And we've definitelybeen where I've had fish on river
left, eating sulfurs, fish onriver right, or eating olives. So,
you know, each individual fishis going to be a little different.
They're all going to key. Andwhen there's, you know, different

(02:06):
stages of a hatch going on ordifferent species coming up at the
same time. So sometimes youreally gotta just look. That's the
key. And you know, this timeof year it's tough to make that decision.
So carrying a good array ofpatterns, sizes, colors, profiles,
you know, you don't need tocarry a million flies, but you know,
sometimes this time of yearcarrying 30 dry flies, you know what

(02:28):
you can expect. You know,because every fish is different.
They all want something alittle different. You know, there's
going to be things that aregoing to consistently work, but sometimes
you get a nice big fish that'sgetting real selective on a specific
type of bug and it pays tocome prepared.
And so any kind of tips forkind of dialing in that selectivity,
you know, when the, you know,the kind of the five iron fly doesn't

(02:48):
work.
Dynamite sometimes will do thetrick. But dialing it in, no, just,
you know, take your time andbe patient with it. I think that's
really the key is just, justwatch to see what the fish is doing,
you know, and I usually willrun a fly over a fish, you know,
four or five times. If you'regetting a good drift over a rising

(03:09):
fish and you presented the flywell, you know, four or five times
and the fish is refusing andyou think you should, you had a hit
on it, that's your cue tochange. So change up your pattern,
change your presentation,change up angle, all those really
small little differences. Youknow, small little changes can make
a big difference in how fish eats.
And of course, visit yourlocal fly shop for advice and flies.

(03:30):
Right?
100%. 100%.
Well, you know folks, we lovequestions on the articulate fly.
You can email me or DM me,whatever's easiest for you. And if
we use your question, I willsend you some articulate fly swag
and you know, drawing forsomething cool from the shop. And
then the season. And George,as we head into a soggy holiday weekend,
you know, anything interestingeither from on the sales side or

(03:52):
class side, you want to kindof promote in the shop?
Well, one thing I did want tomention is that our cicadas are coming.
Now. I wanted to bring thisup, that there are some cicadas just
starting to pop up right nowin central Pennsylvania. We're seeing
the nymphs come out of theground. We are seeing some adults
here and there with this coldrainy weather we're going to next

(04:13):
four or five days, it's reallygoing to kind of slow them down.
So guys that are payingattention to that, you know, you
might see some cicadas up inthe trees now, but the fish are not
on them quite yet. It's goingto be another week to two weeks until
these bugs start flyingaround, hitting the water and actually
making noise. So just beaware, just because you're seeing
cicadas in the trees rightnow, those fish are not quite on

(04:36):
them yet. We're going to beanother week and a half to two weeks
until that happens on the salefront. Yeah, we've always got a bunch
of stuff on our website.Classes. Right now there's a handful
of classes being offered onsome of our other locations. You
know, we're in the thick of itright now here in Central PA, so
check out our website PCO flyfishing.com for sales and classes
and hope to see you guys outon the water soon.

(04:57):
There you go. And so normalhours for the holiday weekend.
Yep. Memorial Day Monday.We're nine to three most of our locations,
but moral hours otherwise.
Got it. Sunday on Monday.Yeah. Well, listen, folks, as I always
say, this time of year, yo ityourself to get out there and catch
a few. Tight lines, everybody.Tight lines. George.