Troutnut.com Fly Fishing for Trout Home
User Password
or register.
Scientific name search:

> > Trico Tips, Page 3

This topic is about the Mayfly Genus Tricorythodes

A cult following is something to which few insects can lay claim, but the tiny Tricorythodes mayflies certainly qualify. Their widespread, reliable, heavy hatches draw impressive rises of ultra-selective trout which demand the most of a technical dry-fly angler's skills.

It is surprising that such a great hatch took so long to come to the attention of fly fishermen. The Tricos were first introduced to anglers in a 1969 Outdoor Life article by Vincent Marinaro, who misidentified them as Caenis. By the early 1970s the identification had been corrected but Swisher and Richards still wrote in Selective Trout, "Few anglers are familiar with these extremely small but important mayflies." The next wave of publications boosted Tricorythodes to its current fame. I suspect their early dismissal was due in part to tackle limitations; anglers in the 1950s had no means to effectively tie and present size 22-28 flies. Read more...

Female Tricorythodes (Tricos) Mayfly Spinner Female Tricorythodes (Tricos) Mayfly Spinner (9 Pictures)
Tricorythodes (Tricos) Mayfly Larva Tricorythodes (Tricos) Mayfly Larva (1 Pictures)

There are 4 more specimens...

The Discussion

Post Reply
Page:123
LastchanceDecember 20th, 2009, 2:13 pm
Portage, PA

Posts: 219		Hi Fred: I love fishing the trico hatch. We need some pictures and tutorials for your tricos. Al's Trico is easy and I use that one myself. Sometimes I fish a parachute trico and trail it with a trico emerger. There are times that rig is a killer. Now, if we could just get some photos of your flies on the site.
Merry Christmas,
Bruce
TilmanDecember 20th, 2009, 11:51 pm
Gemany

Posts: 38		If anyone has problems with posting pictures, let me know via PM. I will send you my e-mail address to send the pictures to and will post them !
"Live and Learn" - Mr. Spock

http://www.directupload.net/galerie/154319/LfyCOrbM3j/0
MartinlfDecember 23rd, 2009, 3:53 pm
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 1722		I just don't have a digital camera. Perhaps I'll get Caddisman to help me get some fly photos up this spring.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
TilmanDecember 28th, 2009, 9:46 am
Gemany

Posts: 38		http://winonaflyfactory.wordpress.com/category/fly-tying/

The third article is on the Trico. Is that the one you all are talking about ?

I have some very small hooks here and i will try that one anyway.

It´s like a gnat of some kind.
"Live and Learn" - Mr. Spock

http://www.directupload.net/galerie/154319/LfyCOrbM3j/0
OldredbarnDecember 29th, 2009, 12:12 pm
Novi, MI

Posts: 1218		Tilman,

Tricorythodes stygiatus (Trico) is a very small mayfly. Along with other tiny mayflies like Baetis cingulatus & Pseudocloen anoka, to name just a couple, have been known collectively as "The Fisherman's Curse". They are very easily missed due to their size. They are very prolific hatches, especially here in Michigan, and are of a long duration compared to some other mayflies.

Some version (cousins) of these bugs exist all across the US and are very worthwhile for an angler to know. I have had folks tell me that they never fish with a fly smaller than a 14, but I think they are missing out on some real fun...As you can tell from some of the earlier posts here...Small Fly fanatics are cut from a different cloth...Small rods (3-4 wts), sometimes only six and a half feet in length, and long fine tippets (7-8x).

These tiny mayflies are usually the culprit when you read or hear about the "Hidden Hatch". It is very easy to be fooled. Not so much with the Trico since they are about in the early morning, but some of the Baetis and the Pseudocloen can throw you if you are not careful.

In June, around Father's Day, on the Au Sable here in Michigan I have been waiting around for the dorothea (Pale Evening Dun/Sulpher) to start and for an hour or so before I start seeing them I have seen the fish feeding. If one looks really close you will see that they are on these small flies (Pseudocloen)...Add on some finer tippet and instead of waiting around for the Sulphers you can have a couple hours of fun fishing.

You mentioned "gnat"...I will confess that one April I was fishing over stockies in a put-and-take stream. There was little real food for these poor fish to eat except for a very tiny midge which they took without a problem. I had tied up only a half dozen of a very tiny imitation and and somehow burnt through them...In desperation I found a couple Trico's in the corner of my box...snipped off the tails...cut the wing back a bit, and I was back in business.

Take Care!

Spence

TilmanJanuary 4th, 2010, 3:19 pm
Gemany

Posts: 38		Thank you again, Spence, for this explanation.

The confusing thing about the term "Mayflies" for me is, that in germany the one to one translation would be "Maifliege", but that one is your "Green Drake".

Anyway, i think that i can (and will) use it on one occasion, or another.

One thing i am not yet sure about is the length of the wings and the tail.

Have you got any recommendations for that ? I looked at quite a few pictures by now and if my guess is correct, then the wings are fairly short and the tailfibres are fairly long, as far as proportion goes.

Ié already done 10 of them today, but i left the wings long enough to cut them down, if necessary.

"Live and Learn" - Mr. Spock

http://www.directupload.net/galerie/154319/LfyCOrbM3j/0
MartinlfJanuary 4th, 2010, 4:31 pm
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 1722		Hi Tilman,

I fish Tricos a lot. For as tiny as the bug is, the wing's no shorter than most mayflies, but the tails are long. However, I only tie tails on my Tricos when I need them for balance or flotation. Flies with no tails seem just as, or more, appealing to the fish. Trico imitations make good midge/gnat imitations for tiny bugs also. Best of luck.

--Louis
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
MartinlfJuly 14th, 2010, 11:49 am
Moderator
Palmyra PA

Posts: 1722		Bumped up for Bruce.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"

--Fred Chappell
Page:123

Quick Reply

You have to be logged in to post on the forum. It's this easy:
Username:          Email:

Password:    Confirm Password:

I am at least 13 years old and agree to the rules.

Related Discussions

TitleRepliesLast Reply
Re: Hendrickson Pattern
In Fly Tying by MagicMidge		3Jan 21, 2009
by MagicMidge
Re: Now to tie a Baetis Dun Imitation
In Female Baetis Mayfly Dun by DarkDun		3Jan 16, 2007
by Martinlf
Re: Cranefly
In Fly Tying by FredH		12Dec 1, 2010
by FredH
Re: Last Brown of 2008
In General Discussion by Wbranch		4Nov 5, 2008
by Martinlf
Another Trico
In Fly Tying by Martinlf		0
Re: Hackle Crisis
In Fly Tying by Oldredbarn		2Feb 18, 2011
by Martinlf
Re: October Caddis
In Dicosmoecus gilvipes Caddisfly Adult by Gutcutter		2Sep 8, 2011
by Sayfu
Emergence
In Brachycentrus appalachia Caddisfly Adult by Martinlf		0
Re: Small BWO
In General Discussion by Lastchance		2Aug 30, 2010
by Lastchance
Re: sulphur spinner wings
In Fly Tying by Lastchance		10Aug 28, 2011
by Sayfu
Most Recent Posts
Re: First Flies
In the Photography Board by FisherOfMen (Motrout replied)
Re: round tip grizzly rooster necks
In Fly Tying by Delablobbo (Entoman replied)
Re: Urgent!
In Fly Tying by FisherOfMen (GldstrmSam replied)
Re: Gammarus
In the Photography Board by Redtag
Re: why the color ?
In Amphipoda Scud Adult by Jordash (Redtag replied)
Re: I was curious to everyone's answer on this...
In General Discussion by Pryal74 (Motrout replied)
Re: Hooks
In Fly Tying by Strmanglr (Wbranch replied)
Re: Long time, no posts!
In General Discussion by Al514 (Lastchance replied)
Re: Adoptiva/Mollis
In General Discussion by Feathers5 (Gutcutter replied)
Re: Flooding Effects?
In General Discussion by Jesse (PaulRoberts replied)