S7, Ep 77: Fall Fishing Forecast: Navigating Low Water and Technical Tactics with George Costa

Join The Articulate Fly's latest fishing report as host Marvin Cash connects with George Costa from TCO Fly Shop in State College for essential Central Pennsylvania fishing insights.

Costa breaks down current fishing conditions across the region, where low and clear water demands technical approaches and finesse tactics. Learn why dry dropper techniques are producing consistent results, with small Chubby Chernobyls or hoppers paired with tiny ant patterns proving especially effective in these challenging conditions. Costa shares valuable timing strategies for evening caddis hatches that are delivering solid dry fly action, while morning trico opportunities continue despite winding down for the season. Discover the critical importance of long leaders and stealthy approaches when targeting spooky trout in crystal-clear, low water conditions.

Costa also provides updates on TCO's upcoming fall and winter fly tying classes plus details on upcoming travel destinations.

Whether you're planning Central Pennsylvania fishing trips or looking to refine your technical dry dropper skills, this report delivers actionable intelligence for making the most of challenging fall fishing conditions.

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

S6, Ep 30 - Central Pennsylvania Fishing Report with TCO Fly Shop

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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
of TCO Fly Shop in StateCollege. George, how are you?
I am amazing as always.Marvin, how are you?
And as always, I'm just tryingto stay out of trouble. And you're
coming to me live from thestoreroom in State College.

(00:22):
Oh, God, it's beautiful. Backhere at scenery, I'm looking at Grundin's
boxes, Sims boxes, Orvisboxes. What? What a sight. It's beautiful.
We are stocked for fall. I'm ready.
Are you ever clamped?
No, not so much today. Feeling okay?
Yeah. So. So, you know, welooked, you know, it's kind of been
interesting. We're going towarm up a little bit here in the
mid Atlantic, but it's beennice and cool and dry, and you're

(00:43):
actually a little cooler thanwe are here down in the Carolinas.
And you're going to get alittle bit of rain. What are you
seeing on the water?
Yeah, we got a little splashof rain today. We're supposed to
get some thunderstorms thenext couple of days. The calling
for maybe half an inch, maybethree quarters if we're lucky, which
will be welcomed and needed.Water has been low and clear past
few weeks. Temps have beenreally good, though, cool nights,

(01:04):
and it's not been really abovemid-70s for the past week and a half
or so. So temps haven't beentoo much of an issue. But, you know,
water's low, water's clear.It's definitely tough, technical
fishing. Dry dropper has beenworking great with like a small chubby
or a hopper, a little ant offthe back, small nymphs. We're seeing
some pretty good catus in theevening, so dry fly action in the

(01:25):
evenings has been, you know,sporadic, but not bad. Tricos have
been okay still in themornings, they're definitely winding
down. But some mornings arebetter than others as little quills
around, you know, you got towork for the fish this time of year.
You know, use those longleaders, stealthy approaches. You
know, there's plenty of fishto be had. But now is not the time
of year to be dragging nymphsalong the bottom. Definitely a lot

(01:45):
of grass. We need a goodblowout to kind of clear that out.
But fishing's been steady. Ifyou know how to finesse at this time
of year, that's basically thebottom line.
Very, very neat. And we weretalking before we started recording
that you kind of got a littlebit of the calm before the fall fishing
storm. So you're doing allkinds of stuff like destination travel
classes, probably sales. Youwant to kind of clue people in on
some of that stuff.

(02:06):
Well, we're getting all ourfall and winter classes lined up
this year. Check out tco'swebsite in the next couple of weeks
for a full list of all ourstores classes. We're gonna have
a bunch of really cool tyingclasses here. We've got one tying
class next week, which is soldout for some carp flies. That'll
be fun with Trevor. And, youknow, all the other stores are getting
a bunch of really good classestogether. Travel stuff has been good.

(02:28):
We got some trips coming up.And, you know, check out the website
for that. I've got a trip tothe Bahamas coming up, and that's
sold out. Montauk trip is soldout. So if you ever want to get in
on any travel destinations orany questions about it, you know,
give me a holler here at theshop. And it can certainly steer
anybody in the right direction.
Yeah, and if they give you 100bucks, they can jump the line, right?

(02:49):
Absolutely, Absolutely. I loveGreece in the wheels.
There you go. And you know, inabout a month, I can talk to you
about BlackBerry brandy.
Not yet. Not till November. Weknow this.
All right, well, I'll bepatient. Well, folks, it's. It's
a great time of the year toget out on the water. As always.
Say yo it to yourself to getout there and catch a few tight lines,

(03:10):
everybody. Tight lines. George.
Take it easy, Marv.