Dry Flies and Driftless Tricos
The past few days have been a little chilly, but it was downright cold this morning when I hit the river before sunrise. I was freezing by the time I had waded a few yards upstream in my shorts, but the crisp morning air got me excited for the cooler fall days ahead. Fishing was a little tough this morning. I fished for about an hour and only pricked a fish, tangling a few rigs and losing a few flies in the process. I got my first trout of the morning indicator nymphing with a #20 pheasant tail in a sweet hole that brushed right up into a big logjam. Once I landed that first trout, things started to pick up. I managed a few nice browns in the riffles before coming upon a good run that flowed against the rip-rapped bank, very similar to the pool we found tricos…
Tricos on the Root
September 1, 2013 Day 2 – I persuaded Noah to hit the river with me early Sunday morning. It was another beautiful morning in the Driftless as we hiked down the trail and started fishing. This time we headed downstream and hit some of the deep, turbulent pools that brush against the limestone cliffs. Both of us fished dry-dropper rigs in hopes of picking off a few browns, but didn’t have any luck. After fishing nymphs for a while, I noticed a few sporadic risers feeding in a slow tailout. I checked the river for bugs, and sure enough a few tricos were floating downstream. I quickly chopped of the nymph and tied on a #12 Pass Lake dry with a big white calftail wing followed by a #20 trico spinner twelve inches behind. The trout were still rising inconsistently, and the first few browns I floated my trico over…
Tricos- Four Patterns to Fish the White Winged Curse
Over the winter I have been tying a bunch of trico patterns to get ready for summer fishing. If you have ever fished this hatch you know how challenging and fun it can be. These guys can be just maddeningly difficult, but they bring up lots of trout. Tippet down to 7X and a precise drag free drift are a must. Tricos usually emerge (very) early in the morning from July to September. Here are four patterns to fish the “white winged curse”. Trico Spinner I like to throw my spinners about 10-12 inches off the bend of a big bushy dry fly for better visibility. An Ausable Bomber works great for this. For a female spinner, use light olive thread. Hook: #20-24 dry Thread: Black 8/0 UNI Tail: Microfibbets or grizzly hackle fibers, splayed Abdomen: Thread Wing: White or cream Antron yarn Thorax: Black superfine dubbing Double Trico Spinner…