Trico Spinner
Trico spinner falls produce the most reliable small-fly fishing of the season on many spring creeks and tailwaters. From July through September, great clouds of spent Trico spinners blanket the water each morning, and trout feed methodically on them. Use a cluster pattern or single spinner on 6X or 7X tippet, presenting with slack-line casts on ultra-smooth water.
- Type
- dry fly (Mayfly)
- Hook sizes
- #20–24
- Target species
- trout
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Best seasons
- summer, fall
Materials
- hook: Dry fly hook #20–24
- thread: Black or white 10/0
- tail: White or cream hackle fibers, split
- body: Black Superfine or tying thread
- thorax: White or cream dubbing
- wing: White Antron or poly yarn, tied spent (horizontal)
Tying steps
- Mount a size 20–24 dry fly hook in the vise; start 10/0 thread.
- Tie in 4–5 white hackle fibers or Microfibbets as a split tail, slightly longer than the shank.
- Build a slim segmented abdomen of black tying thread from the bend to the 2/3 point.
- Tie in a tiny pinch of white poly yarn or Antron across the hook at the 2/3 point.
- Pull the poly yarn into a spent wing position — flat and level, perpendicular to the hook.
- Make figure-eight wraps between the wings to spread them evenly left and right.
- Dub a tiny ball of white or cream dubbing as the thorax just ahead of the wing base.
- Whip finish carefully with a small 3-turn whip finish; apply thin UV resin to the head.