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 dubbingDouble Trico Spinner
If you are having trouble getting hook-ups with the tiny flies, tie one of these guys on. Most trout don’t seem to mind the extra body on the same shank, making it a great bug if the #22’s and #24’s just aren’t doing it. It’s particularly good during a blanket hatch (err..spinner fall) when trout are rising profusely. A sparse spinner fall or extra finicky fish are much better fished with a Sunken Trico or a smaller CDC spinner tied on a wide gap hook (for horribly selective fish, rocks launched aerially into the center of the pool work well too :) )
Buy them here over on Fishing Gear Hook: #16-18 dry Thread: Black 8/0 UNI Tail: Microfibbets or grizzly hackle fiber Abdomen: Thread Thorax: Black superfine dubbingCDC Trico
I am a big fan of cdc flies. It floats really well and adds lots of movement. After a few fish, dry it off and dust it with some Frog’s Fanny to keep it floating.
Hook:#20-24 dry Thread: Black 8/0 UNI Tail: Microfibbets or grizzly hackle fiber Abdomen: Black superfine dubbing Wing: White or gray cdcSunken Trico Spinner
This is one of my absolute favorites for persnickety trout or sparse spinner falls. While it’s certainly not new to fly fishing, the Sunken Trico Spinner fished behind a nymph or dry usually extends the hatch a good few hours after the trout have stopped rising. Man, fish it nearly any time of day during trico season (I’ve written a bit more about sunken spinners and dropper rigs here)…
Hook: #20 dry Thread: Black 8/0 UNI Bead: 5/32 gold brass Tail: Microfibbets or grizzly hackle fiber Abdomen: Thread Wing: Gray or white cdc Thorax: Black superfine dubbing