Beast of the East 2016

It was yet another adventure out in Warren PA fishing for musky with the crew. However this time we prevailed, between the two boats we moved 9 fish in two days. We had the same crew as last year, but this year we came to play. We were about 3/4 of the way through day one, Austen had a fish on first thing and lost it, I had 2 eats but couldn't connect. Corey was in the back of the boat throwing my rod with a Black/Red/Orange Triple Roamer and a fast sinking line, when I just heard "got one". I love hearing him say that, because I knew it was a musky and it was a good hook set before I even turned around. That was the only fish we landed but it was good enough to put us in 3rd place overall and 2nd largest fish of the tournament.

Three Muskyless Days in Western PA

Wow, where did the time go. I'm sorry it went MIA for a while. I was out in western pa fishing for musky on the Allegheny River with some friends and co workers. We were all signed up for a musky tournament put on my the Nittany Valley Musky Alliance. About a week before I got a phone call from my buddy Corey, who was helping put the tournament together, and the first thing he said was "holy Rain", the forecast had rain in it for the next 7 days. For the rest of the week we watched the gauge levels continue to climb, so high there was talk about not even going. Troop and I said the hell with it, we are going. On the way up, I called Lenny and he said 10,800 cfs was still fishable and that he fished it at 12,000, we were getting excited again. We fished the first day with high but decent water conditions, no fish. Before we put the boats in on day two, the first day of the tournament the dam sounded that they were going to release water. We launched the boats into a muddy 14,400cfs flow. Needless to say the fishing was slow, we did manage to find and hook one smaller musky but it just came unbuttoned. Beer was drank fast food was eaten, flies were tied, and shoulders were sore,  we were not going to waste this short vacation in musky land. The next morning, we woke up to an almost record flow of 19,000cfs. That was a short day on the water, the all time record high for something like 50 years was 19,500 cfs. It was a bit ridicules, but I think that's why it was such a great time. No fish pictures from this trip, but we did get to test out all the flies we tied over the winter, and try out some new equipment that has just hit the shelves for 2015. Check out all the filler pictures from the trip.  

The Roamer Fly, ready to rock

NRS Freestone Drifter ready to take on flood stage water 

New Abel Reels Musky Print, one of my all time favorites, new for spring 15 

Abel Musky and Roamer Fly Pattern perfect for high muddy water, Musky Fly Pattern 

Musky - Blane Comes to PA

This post is all about Blane Chocklett's long weekend at TCO. Blane made the trip from VA last weekend to spend three days sharing his love and knowledge for musky with us. I would like to first thank Blane for coming up and then thank all that came out to support the shops that weekend. While Blane was up here unfortunately all the rivers and streams were blown out from the recent snow melt and rain so floating was not an option. We did however get out for about an hour after the Reading event just to get a couple flies wet and talk musky. Then after that it was a quick trip to the bar for some food, a beer (maybe two), then back to the apt for a long night of tying. Before I get to the pictures I also want to thank Moose and Shane Clemens for manning the register and hold the fort down that day. And another thank you to Clemens for smoking 5 dozen wings for the event and our new shop sponsor Jesse's Barbecue, who donated some of the best pulled pork I have had.

2015 Ice Breaker Event

TCO is excited to announce the third annual Ice Breaker Event at ALL our TCO locations. TCO Bryn Mawr on March 13th, TCO Reading on March 14th and TCO State College location on March 15th. This year renowned guide and fly designer, Blane Chocklett will be headlining our event to discuss musky strategies. Blane has created revolutionary patterns like the Gummy Minnow and Game Changer to name a few. Blane is also one of the most sought out musky guides in the country. Please join us for our 2015 Ice Breaker Event and see why Blane Chocklett is one of the hottest names in the Fly Fishing Industry. This event is free to the public.


TCO Bryn Mawr - March 13th | TCO Reading - March 14th | TCO State College - March 15th

TCO Ice Breaker Event Lineup: (Reading and State College) 10:30-11:30: Musky Presentation Reading the water Understanding the mind of a musky Seasonal approaches to musky fishing Rigs and leader setups Casting and line control Retrieves Setting the hook Fly designs 11:30 - 1:30 Open Discussion and Q&A with Blane 1:30-3:00: Fly Tying Presentation Gummy Minnow Original Game Changer Feathered Game Changer T-Bone

TCO Ice Breaker Event Lineup: (Bryn Mawr Store only) 4-5pm: Musky Presentation Reading the water Understanding the mind of a musky Seasonal approaches to musky fishing Rigs and leader setups Casting and line control Retrieves Setting the hook Fly designs 5-6:30: Fly Tying Presentation Gummy Minnow Original Game Changer Feathered Game Changer T-Bone

Door Prize: Temple Fork has donated 2 Essoxs Fly Rods (valued at $320 each) to be raffled off for this event.
$5 per entry.
The Essox rod was developed by Blane to handle any and all conditions associated with musky fishing on the fly.