S6, Ep 104: Seasonal Shifts and Stream Strategies: George Costa's Fall Fishing Report
In this episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash catches up with George Costa from TCO Fly Shop in State College, PA, for another insightful Central PA Fishing Report. George shares the exciting news about the excellent fishing conditions as fall approaches, with stream levels being optimal and temperatures cooling down, making for prime fishing weather. He discusses the current hatches, including isos, olives and caddis, and highlights the effectiveness of terrestrial patterns like ants, beetles and hoppers in meadowy stretches.
The conversation delves into the nuances of using indicators versus dry dropper rigs. George explains his preference for indicators in deeper pools with heavier flies, while favoring dry droppers in shallower water with lighter nymphs. He also offers tips on minimizing drag in both setups to improve fishing success.
Don't miss out on the latest updates and fishing tips in this episode packed with valuable information for anglers of all levels.
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Marvin: Hey folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of the Articulate Fly,
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Marvin: and we're back with another Central PA Fishing Report with George Kost of TCO
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Marvin: Fly Shop and State College. George, how are you?
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George: I'm amazing as always, Marvin. How are you?
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Marvin: I'm just trying to stay out of trouble, and you know, it looks like we're firmly
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Marvin: getting into the almost fall fishing groove, right?
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George: Yes, we are. We've got some excellent weather as far as temperatures go this week.
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George: everything's in really nice shape the stream levels are all good
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George: everything's a little above seasonal pens is
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George: still a little on the high side for this time of year but it's definitely back
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George: down into fishable shape temperatures have been
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George: amazing we have not had really hot weather the nights have
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George: been down in the 40s for the past few days and looks like it's going to continue
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George: to do that so fall is here don't
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George: know if we're going to get any hotter weather in the next couple of weeks but right now
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George: temps are great levels are great watercolors great
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George: um and we've had some really good fishing marvin we've had
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George: um some isos are starting to pop here and there in
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George: some of the streams olives have been good there's been some caddis tan caddis
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George: around um heard tale of maybe a couple of octobers starting to show up here
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George: and there for uh the caddis um the terrestrial game has been uh really good
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George: with the greenie weenies and beetles hoppers on um the more meadow we stretches
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George: Some of our local creeks are working well.
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George: So we've had excellent fishing the past week. And barring a little bit of rain
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George: maybe coming in tomorrow, I don't expect it to be too much. Some isolated showers.
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George: Looks like the next week is shaping up really nice.
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Marvin: Yeah, and I would imagine, right, the terrestrials will work well until you
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Marvin: get a good hard freeze, right?
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George: Yeah, yeah. We should have them through October for sure. I mean,
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George: crickets, ants, beetles, those things working really well right now.
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Marvin: Gotcha. And so with the little, uh, little nip in the air, you like drinking
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Marvin: pumpkin spice lattes now on the way to work?
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George: That's all I drink anymore is pumpkin spice lattes. I just put a splash of that
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George: on top of a glass of whiskey and I'm in good shape.
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Marvin: Yeah. You kick the, uh, the mocha frappuccino to the curb?
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George: Um, no, sometimes I treat my dog. don't.
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Marvin: There you go. Well, we got a question for you. Uh, and, uh, it's interesting too.
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Marvin: It's, uh, got, uh, Brenner reached out and he wanted to get your thoughts on,
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Marvin: you know, when should you fish an indicator and, you know, when should you fish
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Marvin: a dry dropper rig and do you have a preferred setup?
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George: Um that's a good question i um i do both um
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George: i like an indicator or suspension and thing if i'm
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George: fishing some slower water with deeper pools and heavier
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George: fly um so heavier flies that i got to get down deep i'm definitely going to
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George: use some sort of suspending indicator um an airlock or something like that um
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George: because they just have more buoyancy than a dry dropper setup would um dry dropper
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George: i absolutely love this time of year though when the water is slowly clear and
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George: you can fish you know know,
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George: a chubby or a hopper with a smaller, lighter nymph off the back, um,
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George: or even an unweighted nymph, like a little sunken ant or something like that
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George: in some skinny water. That is a super effective technique.
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George: So I really just kind of look at water conditions and water depth to decide which one I want to do.
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George: Um, deeper pools, heavier flies. I'm going to use an indicator,
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George: shallow, more riffles where the fly doesn't need to get as deep or if the fish
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George: are holding a little higher in the water column, I'm going to go with that dry dropper.
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Marvin: Got it. And so, you know, when we fish an indicator, kind of the orthodoxy is,
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Marvin: you know, you don't want any drag, right?
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Marvin: But, you know, if you fish a dry dropper, you've inherently got drag on the
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Marvin: nymph. So, do you generally try to fish that when the fish are more active?
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George: For the most part, I really try to eliminate drag in all shapes or forms.
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George: The dry dropper, I really consider, like, my dry and the dry dropper rig to
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George: just be the indicator a lot of times.
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George: I mean, you'll have fish come up and eat it for sure, but I treat that the same
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George: way I would treat an indicator and just try to mend enough to eliminate as much
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George: drag as possible in any one of those setups.
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Marvin: Got it. And, you know, as we're on the other side of Labor Day,
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Marvin: we're not quite to like Black Friday sales stuff, but I know that,
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Marvin: you know, fall and fly shops usually means summer sales and classes, right?
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George: Oh, yeah, you got it. We got a lot of great sales going on in the shop right
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George: now. Now, we've got sim stuff on sale, Patagonia stuff on sale.
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George: We've got some lamps and reels on sale. Everything is listed on our website, pcoflyfishing.com.
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George: And we've got a ton of classes lined up for this fall here in State College
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George: and all our other locations.
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George: So check out the website. Look under the Education tab. We've got nymphing classes,
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George: streamer classes. We've got a bunch of tying classes coming up.
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George: So if you're here in the State College area and want to fine-tune some skills,
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George: take a look at those classes. They might be a good fit for you.
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Marvin: Yeah, there you go. And I know we already talked about your private nunchuck classes, right?
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George: Who told you to tell people about that? That's on my Kung Fu Daily podcast that I do.
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Marvin: Fair enough. And do you have some bug and brews on the calendar too?
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George: We do. We've got one. I think we're looking at Thursday, October 3rd.
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George: We're doing the Steelhead Brewing Bugs over at Axman Brewing.
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George: And that'll be up running and live probably in the next week or so on the website as well.
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Marvin: Well, there you go. Well, listen, I don't want to steal your thunder.
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Marvin: or you want to let folks know where you are, shop hours, and all that kind of good stuff?
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George: Absolutely. We're here at 2030 East College Avenue in State College, PA.
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George: Shop here is open Monday through Saturday, 9 to 3 on Sundays.
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George: All our other shops are open similar hours, so check us out online or stop in
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George: the shop next time you're in town.
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Marvin: There you go. And folks, as I always say, you owe it to yourself to get out
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Marvin: there and catch a few. Tight lines, everybody. Tight lines, George.
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George: Take it easy, Mark.
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