Without question, one of the most fun things about angling around the Sun Valley area is the emergence of the Trico Spinner Falls. This tiny little insect shows up in such huge numbers that the fish literally group up into pods underneath the best feeding lanes, and they eat and they eat and they eat. This event can last an hour—or sometimes three, or more! The Trico emerges in the early-morning hours, normally in darkness. In the morning, the Tricos come back to mate and drop their eggs and die. This is when the fish really get going.
So, when you tell your friends you are going to fish the Trico hatch, you better be up early. It is the Trico Spinner Falls that we are fishing and that matters. It matters because the bugs are dying and coming to the river from the air. They have spent wings laying flat in the water. Hatching insects go from water to the air in a completely different cycle. They have upright wings and can’t wait to use them!
Silver Creek is seeing the start of these big Spinner Falls. The water near Point of Rocks and the Willows is a great place to fish the Trico. The Nature Conservancy is also really picking up steam with this little bug. Mix in some Baetis toward the end of the morning Trico and it makes for an outrageously fun morning.
The Big Wood, the Upper Lost and the Lower Lost all have their own versions of this event and it is really the same, with the Big Wood Trico being slightly bigger than most and the Lost River Trico slightly smaller. Fishing a Trico in a size 20 is a good starting point, but be ready to go to 22 or 24 as need be.
Early season, you can fish the Trico with a 10-foot leader and 5X, or even 5.5X for you TroutHunter fans out there. In a few more weeks we will fish longer leaders to 12 feet and 6X tippets. We don’t fish 7X because if they aren’t taking your fly on 6X, it is your drift and presentation, not the fly or the tippet size.
Fish short drift down and across to your target. When they eat, simply lift the rod—do not “strike” the fish; you will break off. Now get out there and have fun on one of the best events of the fishing season.
Happy fishing, everyone!