DF15. The Trico Dry Fly

THE TRICO FLY PATTERN
These tiny white winged, dark bodied Trico (Tricorythodes) mayflies can trigger aggressive trout feeding. The males normally emerge as duns in great clouds in the evening and overnight on bankside vegetation where they transform into spinners by the following morning. The larger white bodied female duns emerge in the very early morning and change into spinners within minutes. They then enter the mating swarm of male Trico spinners. The males fall back to the water after mating where they are eagerly sucked up by lurking hungry trout. The females collapse into the water after laying eggs. The massive hatches and spinner falls turn the trout into surface feeders. The aim of every Trico fly fisherman is to join the 20/20 club (20 inch trout on a size 20 dry fly) and then progress to the even more elite 24/24 club (24 inch trout on a size 24 dry fly). You have to have good eyes and patience when it comes to knotting these tiny flies on. But the art and challenge is worth it.

The last time I was lucky enough to be in the water during an early morning hatch large trout began sucking the fallen spinners and unfortunate stillborns off the surface. In one 12 foot square area of water I saw over 20 large fish turn a flat water surface into rippled bubbling surface as their snouts broke the surface. I tried to pick the largest fish and entered the water upstream. I dead-drifted a size 24 trico into its path. First cast, he ate. My hope was to enter the ranks of the 24/24 club and I fought that fish very carefully. Four minutes later I was releasing a lovely mature trout but it only measured twenty three and a half inches. Oh well you always have to have goals in your life. I'm still after that 24 inch trout on a size 24. I managed to join the 20/20 club three years ago.

The Trico duns of this mayfly normally emerge after dark, and are not as important to the flyfishing angler as the spinners. If you are out fishing on a cool early morning you may see a few Trico duns take off from the top off the water, but not usually in enough numbers to bring lots of trout to the surface. If you are night fishing a small hook black gnat parachute is a great Trico Dun imitation that I have found successful. Knowledge of local air temperature conditions on the river you intend to fish is very important in judging when to expect Trico spinner falls. They normally occur in the summer months when the air temperature ranges from 680-700F (200-210 Celsius) during a relatively brief hour to hour-and-a half time period. I like to check the local weather forcast prodicted overnight low temperature the daybefore I go fishing and try to estimate when the sun will warm the air to the correct level.

Trico hatch fishing needs good drag-free presentation. I use a long leader of about 10 feet that turns over efficiently with light supple tippets at least two and a half feet long 6X, 7X or 8X, depending on water conditions. The natural Trico spinners are dead-drifting in the water surface film and flow with the current. I therefore dead drift my trico flies without any movement to mimic the natural tricos as any drag will result in rejection by the hungry trout. When the Trico fall has finished do not pack up and go home. Open your fly box and tye on some terrestrial fly patterns like a hopper, ant or beetle. The Trico feeding trout have been focusing on the water surface. I have found that terrestrials, work well on trout that are still looking for more food from the top.

CUSTOMERS COMMENT
I wanted to try and fish the nocturnal emergence of the tiny mayfly Tricos. It was about 11pm. I knew the river near my vacation rental house held a strong Trico population. When I opened the car door I heard the glugs of fish rising. I saw Trico duns carpeting the water. I was very excied as good sized fish were taking full advantage of this natural food bonanza. Following your advice I used one of your #24 black gnat parachute. The white post helped with visibility. What an evening, I caught fish after fish. Ian MacLaren, Chicago USA

CUSTOMERS COMMENT
Craig. A good guide to when the Tricos are starting to swarm in significant numbers is when you see insect eating birds like the swallow diving down to ten feet above the water with there mouths open. That is when I get my trico spinners on line. I like to use a 9' 5 weight rod for most of my trout fishing but I will use a 3- or 4-weight rod when fishing on streams and rivers where the trout run small. I use quite long (12-15') Trico leaders, ending in long sections of soft 6X Dai-Riki. I love fishing Tricos. Tight lines. John Hinton, Kansas City, USA

CUSTOMERS COMMENT
I was fishing up at Mammoth Lakes, California in the Fall. As it was mid September it was starting to cool down. The hook size #22 Trico spinners start at around 9am and the fish were feasting as long as they lasted which was normally about an hour. Thanks for the last shipment of Tricos. They were indispensable. Kevin Lewis, Boston, USA

CUSTOMERS COMMENT
Craig here is my Trico fishing tip I would like to share with you. I have noticed that smaller fish usually feast on the drifting Trico Spinners first, while the larger fish wait until the amount of floating spinners has increased before they begin to feed. These smaller sized fish often feed in an excited splashy way. The larger trout hardley disturb the water surface as they inhale a tiny floating trico. I study the water for these telltale subtle signs and cast to the larger fish. I try to cast so that my fly lands a foot or two above the trout so than I can have it drift right over its nose. I only pick up when the fly drifts a foot or two below the fish so as not to spook him. Edward Gavins, New York, USA

CUSTOMERS COMMENT
Craig, I have worked out how to increase the time I can fish with your trico flies. You are correct in saying that temperature controls when and how long a Trico fall occurs. I take this into consideration when planing where to fish. I start my morning fishing in open medow areas as these will warm up first and when the spinner fall has finished I move into shady tree lined river locations where the Trico spinner fall has started later and will finish later than the sunlit water. I therefore choose flyfishing river locations with both open sun next to shady tree lined river banks to increase my trico flyfishing experience. Phillip D’Souza, San Deigo, USA

DRY FLIES
The dry fly is designed to float on the surface of the water. To prevent it sinking, water repellent hackles are wound around the hook to distribute the weight over the surface of the water. The hackles also simulate the legs and splash of an aquatic or terrestrial insect trapped on the water surface. Most Dry flies are deceivers designed to imitate a specific natural fly like the crane fly, ant and hopper series of flies. Other flies like the Adams are more general designs that are just intended to produce an edible looking fly. Dry fly fishing has always been regarded as the supreme art in fly fishing circles. Accurate presentation of the fly can be essential. Trout will rise to a variety of natural flies but as far as the dry fly fisherman is concerned the mayfly hatch has to be the favored time. In almost all instances where trout feed on drowning insects the rule is not to move the fly. An imitation is far more likely to succeed if it is cast out and then left. So long as it is cast in the right spot.

The color of the fly is always important when matching the hatch, then size is the next important decision. The artificial fly does not have to be a precise imitation of the natural insect, but what is important is how and where it is presented in relation to the depth of water. This includes the height at which the fly floats above the surface of the water. Some fish will greedily take flies that are floating in the surface but ignore flies that are floating above it and visa versa depending on the conditions that day. Use your eyes to see which natural insects the fish are taking. A high-floating dry fly will have more chance of being taken on a bright day because of its visibility, but if it does not dent the surface film on a dull day it will be less effective. A fly floating in the surface on a sunless day leaves a much more visible halo of outlining light which surrounds it.

MAYFLIES
Some adult mayflies hatch throughout the year but other species hatch only during certain months of the year. The term Mayfly applies to all members of the order of insects not just those that emerge in May. There are hundreds of fly patterns tied to imitate the many different mayflies and stages of their development. The natural insect belongs to the group of insects called Ephemeroptera. Ephemeros means 'lasting a day' and peteron means 'a wing'. Mayflies have cylindrical bodies, slender legs and two pairs of veined wings which are held vertical when at rest. They are found all over the world and are commonly called up-winged flies in some areas. The adults do not feed and live for only a very short time: most less than a day and some only for a few minutes. 

The aquatic Mayfly nymphs moult anything from 12 to 50 times and take up to two years to reach adulthood. In any square yard or meter of a stream there may be a few hundred to many thousand mayfly nymphs. They are an important part of any predator fish's diet. The fully grown nymph swallows air and floats to the surface where it emerges into the subimaginal stage. The Dun sits on the water surface for a few seconds after hatching to enable the blood to pump up it's wings and for them to dry. The colder the weather the longer this takes. It is very vulnerable to attack at this time from under the water surface. On windy days, gusts can topple over the drifting duns and drown them. If you cannot see any rises for surface floating duns during a hatch on windy days the fish are feasting sub surface on the unlucky sinking drowned duns as well as the emerging nymphs. Try using a partridge and Yellow Soft hackled spider wet fly, Gold Ribbed Hares Ear Wet fly, Blue Dun or Light Cahill wet fly to imitate drowned duns, depending on the local insects body color that can range from pale yellow, olive to tan. Wing color also varies throughout the world from pale gray to pale yellow. I often fish these wet flies on a dropper about 18 inches behind a dry fly. The soft hackle or wet fly imitating the drowned dun often catches the fish when nothing else works.

If the drifting newly emerged duns have not been eaten by a fish during this vulnerable time, they fly off and hide on the surrounding vegetation. Within 24 hours the duns molt into spinners and and are ready to mate. Mating swarms are formed by the males to attract females. They also occur at dawn or dusk to reduce the chances of single insects being taken. When a female flies into the swarm she mates with a male. The males fall onto the water spent and drown. They are known as 'spent spinners'. The females return to the riverside vegetation for a short period whilst the eggs mature. When the eggs are ready the females fly out over the water, dip into the water, lay their eggs and then fall into the water spent.  Some females species swim down to attach their eggs to submerged vegetation or objects. Others just land on the water surface making tempting targets for hungry trout. Try and scoop up a natural spinner floating dead in the water surface and match the body color with a parachute dry fly like a Greenwells, Tup's Indispensable or Gold Ribbed Hares Ear Parachute.