For an excellent description of my introduction to trico spinners along with a materials table and other information, click on my post of 01/15/2012. After a particularly frustrating day on the South Platte River I created trico spinners using CDC for the spent wing. My post on 02/27/2019 describes this effort to imitate the tiny but abundant mayflies. My post of 12/05/2011 describes my history with sunken tricos. This is also worth a read.
Trico SpinnerI failed to encounter a trico hatch in 2024; however, in an effort to cover all my bases, I counted my supply of spinners in size 20, 22, and 24 and sunken tricos in size 22. I concluded that I needed to tie five additional spinners in size 24, one size 20, and five sunken tricos. I experimented with various materials for tricos over the years, but for this iteration, I used white microfibbet tails, black thread bodies, white antron for the wing, and fine black dubbing for the thorax. For the sunken tricos I added a strand of super hair wound around the hook shank for the abdomen.
Sunk TricoHopefully I will encounter a trico hatch and spinner fall in 2025. I need to make a point of visiting the South Platte River in Eleven Mile Canyon, as the trico event is a regular occurence there. As I have learned in the past, it can be an exercise in frustration, but an experienced fly angler needs challenges from time to time.
Trico Assortment