Trico help.

[sipe]

Being somewhat new to this fly game, I ha e be we fished Tricos...or seen them. I tied up some this week and headed to breeches early this morning. Not a single Trico to be found. I was fishing between Allenberry and the Run in some of the deep runs that transition to the frog water near Allenberry.

So...do these bugs "skip" days here and there? Or was I just in an area that doesn't get Tricos, or ...any other ideas? I was expecting a pretty good spinner fall from reports I've been hearing.

 

[dryflyguy]

Yes, they can be kinda hit or miss.
They definitely like bright sunny mornings. I've never done any good with them during rainy days.
Also, I've had lousy fishing to them on windy mornings - it seems to blow the spinners away before they fall.

I've never fished them on the breeches - so I have no idea if that area you fished is good for them or not

 

[ryguyfi]

what time did you get there?

 

[Fishidiot]

That is a good area for Tricos. They do tend to cloud in certain spots and not others. Usually the spots are consistent but not always. They might be on one pool today and downstream tomorrow and then back the following day. Weather can certainly make a difference as DFG pointed out.
Don't give up.

 

[sipe]

I was on stream by 6am...water was a tad off color, any thoughts about that impacting a hatch and subsequent spinner fall?

 

[pcray1231]

Don't know as much about the Breeches in particular. But generally, tricos are very reliable.

Heavy wind or a morning thunderstorm can end things. But that's not the bugs deciding not to perform. The bugs are there, they just get blown away or knocked out of the air prematurely.

They are pretty predictable too. As DFG said, sunny days often fish best. And that's because they fall early, in mass, enough numbers to make it worth it for fish to rise. On overcast or drizzly days, the bugs are still there. But they fall more sporadically later into the morning and sometimes even early afternoon. Sporadic, tiny bugs is often not enough to get many fish to rise steadily.

They mass over riffles, so make sure you're over riffles to see em.

 

[Chaz]

Once the tricos start hatching they are usually on every day from that point until late fall. As the season progresses though and mornings get cooler they start activity later in the morning. But with very hot weather they could easily be over the hatch by 9 am posibly earlier. In PA they are a # 24, I know guys fish them smaller, but everywhere I've see them that's what they are, keep in mind males and females are different colors. Males are dark brown to black head to tail, with a wing the looks white, it's actually pale dun.
Females are black to the thorax, and light green to white on the abdomin. the tails are about 3/4 inch long the bodies are about 1/4 inch with the wings about 3/8 inch to 1/2inch. I tie them in the basic catskill style and use a thread body with a tiny bit of dubbing at the thorax. This I'll tie with and without the wing.
If you want to make sure you meet the hatch in this weather you'll want to arrive streamside at dawm and fish the stream where the sun hits the water first. If they are in the air you'll see them by looking toward the sun.

 

[Foxgap239]

Chaz wrote:
If you want to make sure you meet the hatch in this weather you'll want to arrive streamside at dawn and fish the stream where the sun hits the water first. If they are in the air you'll see them by looking toward the sun.

Or as I like to say, "zero dark-thirty". :-D

I love doing early. Right guys?

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Foxgap239 wrote:
Or as I like to say, "zero dark-thirty". :-D

I love doing early. Right guys?

"The early bird gets the worm."

You have worms.

 

[PhilC]

In fishing some streams that have less reliable trico hatches I have seen some major variation in the hatch from day to day...one day there would be a blizzard, the next not so much. But I wouldn't say there were zero bugs on the light days, you will usually still see some small clouds. Sometimes the fish won't be too active, but will usually rise for a short period. I find on these streams some sections have trikes others don't. If you're trying to figure it out, look for the clouds over the riffs. If you can't find any, fish terrestrials or go home.