Trico Spinner

Trico Spinner

Rod asked:

Thx Andy, since we never went trico fishing this year, can you explain
to me what it is?

Rod,

The Tricos are a small mayflies. They are one of the major hatches that we enjoy on many of our spring creeks. Although there are many hatches of various insects throughout the year, most of them do not have large enough populations to cause the fish to become active on a regular basis. Many “hatches” will only last a week or two. Trico hatches have been responsible for providing breakfast for the fish every morning since early July. The fish know this and look forward to this breakfast of bug carcasses every morning, weather permitting. There are fewer anglers that fish this hatch for a number of reasons. Anglers must be on the water early, before air temp hits 65-68 degrees. The flies are small, hook size #20-26, many anglers cannot see the eye to thread the tippet through them, much less see them on the water. This makes it difficult. Casting, for the most part, is a problem for many anglers. There are three things that casters must achieve to be reasonably successful when fishing this hatch. Cast accurately, be able to adjust casting distance quickly and control slack line, and finally, present the fly softly. The fish are all showing their positions when they rise, right? Making a cast to a trout, rising to tricos, needs to land within a reasonable distance(1-3ft) above the trout’s window in order for him/her to see the fly. Many times one errant cast can put a fish or group of fish down for good. Mostly, the water is quite clear and flat where the trout feed on Tricos, so your chances get slimmer if you can’t hit the hula hoop. After you make the perfect cast (providing you see where your fly has landed), you must take up your slack line and keep your rod tip low in order to strike if you are fortunate enough to receive a take. Fish feeding on Tricos don’t like drag, your drift must be drag free! Now, the matter of presentation. When your size 22 fly hits the water with the velocity and volume of a pumpkin being dropped off of the Empire State Building, it is not a good sign. Move on and target the next fish. The cast must straighten out nicely above the water and fall softly like the natural would. Now this all being said, I have seen anglers take fish on Tricos using all different methods from stripping tricos from downstream to upstream. Swinging sunken Tricos and skating Tricos like caddis. I applaud these anglers for their ingenuity in technique. I have seen pods of fish that continue to be conked on the head and feed voraciously as if there was nothing that could frighten them. I have seen fish feeding on Tricos in fast water where casting distance, line management and presentation are not important factors. Each day is different. There are days when the best casters have poor success when fish are feeding all around them. Oh ya, there’s also the matter of fly selection. That’s Tricos in a nut shell, great question.