S8, Ep 58: Central PA Fishing Report: George Costa's Summer Strategies for Success
Episode Overview
George Costa of TCO Fly Shop returns to The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast for another Central PA Fishing Report with host Marvin Cash, checking in on mid-summer conditions across the region's limestone streams. It's a mixed picture: recent weekend rain has pushed the Little Juniata River high and essentially unfishable for the next few days, while Spring Creek, Fishing Creek and Penns Creek remain in solid seasonal shape with manageable flows.
Costa reports classic mid-summer fishing, with mornings through late-morning and evenings producing the most consistent action. Tricos are showing sporadically, especially on Spring Creek, alongside a scattering of blue-winged olives and small quills. The terrestrial bite is picking up, with ants and beetles drawing steady interest from trout. Costa's go-to approach right now is a dry-dropper rig: a size 12 or 14 Chubby Chernobyl or beetle pattern up top with a small ant or Greenie Weenie dropped underneath, a setup that pulls fish on both the dry and the nymph.
Beyond the stream report, Costa previews TCO's free Fly Fishing and Outdoor Festival this weekend at the Boiling Springs shop on Children's Lake, plus ongoing summer sale pricing as the shop transitions its inventory toward fall. He also flags a strong smallmouth bass bite on Pennsylvania's bigger rivers, including good topwater action despite elevated flows on the West Branch and the Juniata.
Key Takeaways
- How to fish Central PA limestone streams during mid-summer high-water conditions by targeting Spring Creek, Fishing Creek and Penns Creek while avoiding a blown-out Little Juniata
- When to be on the water for the best mid-summer dry fly action, focusing on first light through 10 or 11 a.m. and again in the evening
- Why a dry-dropper rig combining a size 12 or 14 Chubby Chernobyl or beetle with a small ant or Greenie Weenie dropper is an effective search strategy right now
- How to identify a viable mid-summer smallmouth bass alternative on Pennsylvania's larger rivers when trout water runs high
- When to expect terrestrial patterns like ants and beetles to outperform sparse trico and olive hatches on Central PA streams
Techniques & Gear Covered
Costa's core mid-summer strategy centers on a dry-dropper rig built around a size 12 or 14 Chubby Chernobyl or large beetle pattern as the top fly, with a small ant or Greenie Weenie dropped off the back to cover both surface and subsurface feeders. He notes that most of the action is currently coming on the dropper rather than the top fly, though occasional risers will still take the dry. On the hatch front, sporadic tricos, a handful of blue-winged olives and small quills round out the surface options, while the terrestrial bite on ants and beetles continues to build as summer progresses. For the smallmouth side of the report, Costa points anglers toward topwater presentations on Pennsylvania's bigger rivers as an alternative when trout streams are running high.
Locations & Species
This report centers on Central Pennsylvania's limestone spring creeks, with Spring Creek, Fishing Creek and Penns Creek all holding good seasonal flows and cool enough temperatures to fish through the heart of summer, while the Little Juniata River is running high and unfishable following recent weekend rain. Wild trout are the primary target across these limestone waters, with dry-dropper presentations and terrestrial patterns proving most effective during the current mid-summer conditions. Costa also highlights a secondary smallmouth bass opportunity on Pennsylvania's larger river systems, including the West Branch and the Juniata, where elevated flows haven't stopped a strong topwater bite from producing quality fish.
FAQ / Key Questions Answered
What is the best time of day to fish Central PA limestone streams in mid-summer?
Costa recommends targeting first light through roughly 10 or 11 a.m., along with the evening hours, as these windows have consistently produced the best action during the current mid-summer stretch. Midday fishing tends to slow considerably once temperatures peak.
Why is the Little Juniata River currently unfishable?
Recent weekend rain blew out the Little Juniata and pushed flows high enough that Costa considers it essentially unfishable for at least the next couple of days, especially if additional rain arrives. Spring Creek, Fishing Creek and Penns Creek were not affected to the same degree and remain fishable.
What rig works best for Central PA trout right now?
Costa's go-to setup is a dry-dropper rig: a size 12 or 14 Chubby Chernobyl or large beetle pattern on top, with a small ant or Greenie Weenie dropped off the back. Most fish are currently coming on the dropper, though occasional risers will still eat the dry fly.
Is smallmouth bass fishing a good option when trout streams are high?
Yes. Costa reports that despite elevated flows on the West Branch and the Juniata, the smallmouth bite has been great, with a particularly strong topwater bite producing quality fish on Pennsylvania's larger rivers.
What is happening at TCO Fly Shop this week?
TCO is hosting its free Fly Fishing and Outdoor Festival this weekend at the Boiling Springs shop on Children's Lake, open to the public with no admission charge. The shop is also running summer sale pricing as it clears out inventory ahead of fall, with winter class schedules to be posted on the TCO website in the coming weeks.
Related Content
S8, Ep 55 - Summer Secrets: George Costa's Central PA Fishing Report
S8, Ep 56 - Topwater Tactics: Captain Brian Shumaker's Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report
S8, Ep 51 - Summer Stream Insights: George Costa on Conditions, Patterns and Upcoming Events
S8, Ep 47 - Central PA Fishing Forecast: George Costa's Summer Stream Insights
S8, Ep 42 - Exploring Terrestrials and Summer Patterns: George Costa's Fishing Forecast
View all Central Pennsylvania Fishing Reports with George Costa
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In this Central PA Fishing Report on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with George Costa of TCO Fly Shop in State College, Pennsylvania, for a midsummer conditions update on the region's trout streams. Costa reports the Little Juniata running high and unfishable after weekend rain, while Spring Creek, Fishing Creek and Penns Creek remain in good seasonal shape. Tricos continue to bring sporadic surface activity on Spring Creek, and Costa recommends a dry-dropper rig — a size 12 or 14 Chubby or beetle up top with a small ant or Greenie Weenie dropped underneath — to search the water during the midsummer lull. The report also touches on strong smallmouth bass fishing and a good topwater bite despite elevated flows on the West Branch and the Juniata, along with news of TCO's upcoming fly fishing festival at its Boiling Springs location on Children's Lake.
EPISODE SUMMARY
Guest: George Costa - Manager at TCO Fly Shop (State College, Pennsylvania)
In this episode: TCO Fly Shop manager George Costa delivers a Central Pennsylvania fishing report covering midsummer stream conditions, terrestrial fishing tactics and the current smallmouth bass topwater bite.
Key fishing techniques covered: • Dry-dropper rigging with terrestrial patterns • Morning and evening low-light fishing timing • Trico dry fly fishing • Terrestrial pattern searching (ants, beetles) • Smallmouth topwater fishing
Location focus: Central Pennsylvania trout streams (Spring Creek, Fishing Creek, Penns Creek, the Little Juniata and the Juniata River); West Branch Susquehanna smallmouth water
Target species: Trout, smallmouth bass
Equipment discussed: Size 12-14 Chubby Chernobyl, beetle patterns, ant patterns, Greenie Weenie
Key questions answered: • What are current Central PA stream conditions in midsummer • What's a good dry-dropper rig for summer trout fishing • How's the smallmouth topwater bite in Pennsylvania right now
Best for: Intermediate anglers interested in Central Pennsylvania summer trout tactics and current stream conditions
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
Marvin Cash
Hey folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of The Articulate Fly. We're back with another Central PA Fishing Report with the man himself, George Costa. George, how are you?
George Costa
I'm amazing as always. Marvin, how are you?
Marvin Cash
And as always, I'm just trying to stay out of trouble and you know, you were telling me things. The water's up a little bit in your neck of the woods, but temperatures long term look good.And you're going to keep getting a little bit of rain, right?
George Costa
Yeah, I mean conditions are really not bad for the middle of summer. We've got pretty good flows on everything. We've had rain.The J has been kind of blown out for the past few days with a bunch of rain we got over the weekend and it's still running pretty high. So Little J is definitely high. I would say probably unfishable for the next couple of days, especially if we get more rain.But Spring, Fishing Creek, Penn's Creek, we're all in really good seasonal shape. Night temperatures have been cool and day temperatures haven't been too bad. So, you know, still want to check the temps midday.But we're not like in danger zone right now just because the water levels are up. That aside, fishing has still been, you know, you know, mid summer fishing here in Pennsylvania.A lot of people are expecting a lot and there's not that much going on. Mornings have still been the best time to get out. You know, first light told 10, 11 o'. Clock. Have really been fishing well.We've still got tricos here and there sporadically. Spring Creek's been fairly consistent with them.Some spots are better some days than the others, but those are pretty much bringing, you know, the best surface activity. You're going to get handful of olives around, handful of small quills. Terrestrial bite is, you know, picking up. It's been pretty good.Ants, beetles, if you want to search with that still this time of year, you know, I think a dry dropper is really the best strategy to use.So fish like, you know, the size 12 or 14, chubby or a big beetle or something like that, drop a small ant or greenie weenie off the back and just search with those patterns.
Marvin Cash
You know, you're going to get more.
George Costa
On the nymph and you'll have the occasional fish come up and, and grab the dry. But I would say, you know, mornings and late in the evening have really been the best times to get out there and target some fish right now.
Marvin Cash
Got it. And what you got going on in.
George Costa
The shop now, all sorts of stuff We've got our fly fishing festival down in Boiling Springs this weekend. So that's going to be a great event. It's right at our Boiling Springs shop at Children's Lake.That's Saturday and Sunday, if you're in the neighborhood. Definitely worth checking out. We'll have tons of cool stuff going on there. Uh, we've got a bunch of good sales going on right now.All our summer stuff is kind of getting ready to go out the door. So some stuff's going on sale, so check out the sale page on our website if you want to get in on some good buys.And other than that, you know, we're getting ready for fall. It's almost, you know, almost that time we'll start getting all our classes, all our education up for this winter.So keep an eye on our website for all those things when they pop up and yeah, get out and fish. Smallmouth bite's been great. River's been a little high. The west branch has been high. The J's been a little high.But those guys are still doing pretty good down there.So if you want to get out and fish here in PA right now, I mean, consider doing some smallmouth stuff because that's been, you know, doing pretty good. And the top water bite's been pretty good from what I've been hearing.
Marvin Cash
Got it. And so are you telling me that you're getting excited for pumpkin spice latte time?
George Costa
I'm always excited for pumpkin spice latte. That's all I think about all year long is pumpkin and spice lattes.
Marvin Cash
As you fondle your Starbucks gift card. Right?
George Costa
Very much so.
Marvin Cash
So for folks that are thinking about maybe heading to Boiling Springs, you know, obviously it's open to the public. Is there an admission charge or anything like that? Or is it just all fly fishing? Fine.
George Costa
That's all fly fishing. Fine. There is no charge to get in there. Check out the website. You'll get all the details. But the event itself is free, so it should be a great time.
Marvin Cash
Yeah. Well, there you go. And I will not steal your thunder, George, but you want to let folks know location, shop hours, and all that kind of good stuff.
George Costa
Absolutely. Here in State College, 9 to 6 Monday through Saturday, 9 to 3 on Sunday. All of our other stores are open similar hours.And get us on the world wide web at tcoflyfishing.com.
Marvin Cash
Well, there you go, folks. Like I always say, you owe it yourself to get out there and catch a few Tight lines, everybody. Tight lines, George.
George Costa
Take it easy, Marv.
Manager | Guide | TCO Fly Shop State College
For over five years, George has joined us every two weeks to give us the latest conditions update for Central Pennsylvania trout streams, answer listener questions and share upcoming events at TCO Fly Shop.
Formed in 1990, TCO Fly Shop is the largest, most complete Fly Fishing Outfitter in the US. TCO (Tulpehocken Creek Outfitters) was named after one of the finest tailwater fisheries in the East, the Tulpehocken Creek.
With 5 retail locations and a significant eCommerce business, TCO Fly Shop offers the widest selection of the best products available in the Fly Fishing industry. TCO is committed to providing superior customer service. Our goal is to provide each client the same excellent experience whether that experience is online, in any of our shops, on the stream with our guides, or at any of our educational events. We continue to grow based on a winning mix of quality products, service excellence and passion for education.
