Words by Fred Telleen

Images Courtesy of Umpqua

Tricos can deliver some of the most exciting fishing in the West. But, they can also be one of the most difficult bugs to match. The excitement arrives when anglers see clouds of Tricos undulating over the bankside brush. Frustration may come when those bugs hit the water, meaning Trico spinners falling to the surface in droves. The trout come up and slurp them in, sometimes turning a portion of a flat-surfaced tailwater or a spring creek into something resembling a riffle. It may appear to be an easy setup, but getting one of those fish to eat your size-22 dry fly, when so many naturals are on the surface, can be maddening. In addition, when a fish rises to your fly, you may have your eyes on a natural and not even bother setting the hook. But that is the late summer and fall Trico game, and it's something every fly fisher should see, at least once, when fishing the West. Here's House of Fly's resident Trico expert, Fred Telleen, laying down the law on this at once awesome and perplexing hatch.

What is a Trico?

The Trico, or "Trikes" as anglers often call them, are small mayflies that hatch prolifically between early July and early September, and may last as late as October. They are commonly referred to in angling circles as the "white winged curse.”

The defining characteristics of freshly hatched duns are dark bodies with white wings. The curse portion of the equation is that they are tiny, typically represented by hook sizes ranging from #20 to #26. When I show anglers the flies we use to represent Tricos, they often get mad. "How can I even tie it on? I can’t see it." "There is no way that hook will hold a large trout." I have to reply, ”Hey, I'm just the messenger. You asked what they are eating."

Tiny dry flies on fine tippets for large, picky trout? What's not to love?

The reality of imitating Tricos is that size matters and it is extremely important to get the hook size and body size right. Trout are extremely picky when they have lots of real flies to choose from, and during a good Trico spinnerfall you’ll see millions on the water. If your fly does not stand up to scrutiny, it will be refused repeatedly. Some anglers view this as a curse, while others accept this reality as a challenge to overcome.

Hatching Behavior

Male Tricos hatch at night and hang out on shoreside vegetation. Eventually, they molt and await the female emergence in the morning. Soon after sunrise, they are ready to party. As mentioned, female Tricos hatch in the morning. During the warmer temps of summer, this can often mean at first-light. As the season progresses and air and water temps cool, the hatch generally shifts later into the morning. But in July and August, if you want the best that Tricos offer, get on the water super early.

Soon after hatching, the females hit the shore to molt. They quickly return to the air as spinners and join the males in flight. The resulting mating swarms often resemble clouds of smoke.

Upon mating, the male spinners fall spent, with wings splayed outward, on the water. This is why most spinner patterns are black with clear wings. When big spinnerfalls take place, the trout take notice and begin steadily slurping up the male spinners.

The females initially return to streamside vegetation to ready themselves for egg laying. They often make more than one return to lay eggs before ending up spent themselves. Since the females are more sporadic on their spinnerfall, they are less concentrated than males.

Imitation

Based on hatching behavior, imitating the female duns and the male spinners are of primary importance.

Fishing the little olive Female Trico dun can provide some excellent early morning dry-fly fishing when conditions are right and the hatch is on. The reality is that most anglers are simply not on the water to take advantage of this opportunity. While many anglers consider this of less importance than the eventual spinnerfall, female duns can provide an hour or so of excellent angling opportunity.

When the male spinners hit the water, that is considered the big show of Trico fly fishing. Because a large volume of bugs fall in a short period of time, there is a concentrated feeding opportunity that the trout take advantage of.

On Montana’s Missouri River, some of the old-timers swear by the female spinner. The females fall after egg laying, so the time to fish an olive bodied spinner is a bit later in the day.

Rene Harrop from the Henry's Fork River in Island Park, Idaho quite possibly has the most complete selection of deadly Trico patterns.  Check out his collection.

What about nymphs?

Trico nymphs are small, weak swimmers that prefer to hang out in slow, silty, weedy areas. While some trout surely feed on them, they are generally not considered a key stage to imitate with a fly.

Are you up to the challenge?

Imitating small flies presents many challenges to the angler. Can you find the correct imitation? Can you tie it on? Can you see it on the water? Can you present it drag-free to the fish? Can you even land a fish on a micro-hook and fine tippet if you should fool one? These are questions every angler must decide for themselves.

Keys to presentation

Long, fine leaders are an essential ingredient for any chance of fooling fish with a tiny fly. Fishing your imitation downstream, fly first to the fish, with no drag, is the key. Fish make their living choosing food items from the currents. They know when something does not look right. If your fly is presented with the smallest amount of micro-drag, the fish know it's wrong.

The best approach is to position yourself upstream from the fish and watch the rises. Ultimately, you must make your perfect presentation at precisely the right time. That means timing the rises to put your fly over the fish when its next rise is about to occur.

In order to beat drag, your fly needs to land silently, very close to the feeding fish. Outside of a foot or so above a rising fish, your chances of a drag-free drift are reduced. Casting accuracy is required.

If conditions require an upstream presentation, the game is still the same. You will need to place the fly on a fine tippet, close the fish, with a little angle to the leader, so the fly is all the fish sees. Timing the rise is the same.

Love them or hate them . . .

In July, August and September Tricos (Tricorythodes Minutus) are and important food source for trout and they can provide some exciting and challenging angling opportunity. A friend of mine named Kevin loves fishing the duns and the spinners. He grooves on the difficulty presented by approaching picky fish with tiny dries. It might take an hour or more to get an eat from a single fish. And chances are good that the fish escapes. Trico fishing demands focus, and success can be measured simply by duping a fish into choosing your fly. If you can eventually land a couple, you'll enjoy some gratifying moments.

If you've got any tricks or keys to finding success fishing the Trico hatch, we'd love to hear about them. If you are a hater, rest assured you can still find success with other options. And take solace: Hoppers are coming soon.

Five Great Spots to Match Tricos

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Bighorn River, Wyoming