Tom Costa - Murrysville, Pennsylvania

Tom focuses on crafting Euro nymph designs that blend classic techniques with modern materials. He fishes the trout streams of Pennsylvania and makes an annual pilgrimage to wade-fish the rivers of Southwest Montana.

Tom was introduced to fly fishing and tying at an early age by his late father, who began swinging wet flies on fiberglass rods in the early 1970s—well before the sport’s modern resurgence. He is now retired from a successful career as a serial entrepreneur and CEO in the software industry, bringing the same attention to detail and problem-solving mindset to his tying bench.

Over the past decade, Tom’s passion for fly tying has grown alongside the maturation of the online tying community and the abundance of shared knowledge now available. He draws inspiration from his son and nephews—accomplished tyers and anglers—as well as from the many fly tyers who openly share their designs and techniques across digital platforms.

Tom specializes in jig-style Euro nymphs and streamers. His favorite patterns include adaptations of the Frenchie, France Fly, Slim Stone, Blowtorch, and Perdigon. 

Tom’s go-to tying tools and materials include a Renzetti vise, Loon Outdoors tying tools and resins, Textreme threads, Hanak Competition beads, and Troutline dubbings. With the relaunch of Firehole Outdoors, he looks forward to re-incorporating the hooks and beads he relied on in the past back into his tying repertoire. The quality, selection, and on-stream performance of Firehole products align closely with his philosophy of purposeful design, consistency, and function-first fly tying.

One of his most memorable recent fish was a strong 14-inch brown trout caught while wade fishing Rock Creek, Montana, taken on a jigged streamer dead-drifted through soft slack water along the far edge of a slick run—a subtle holding lie that rewarded a precise presentation. The fish was landed on an 11-foot, 3-weight rod using the Troutbitten Standard Mono Rig and 5X tippet.

Instagram: @atomic_flies