Trico Spinner
Description
A spent-wing dry fly that imitates male Trico mayflies after mating, with a slim black body, long divided tails, and flat white wings. Fish it in sizes 18–24 during late-summer and fall morning spinner falls on spring creeks, tailwaters, and slow river pools.
Materials
- thread: Black 8/0 or 70-Denier Thread
- tail: Black Dry Fly Hackle
- head: Black Head Lacquer
- body and thorax: Black Superfine dubbing
- hackle: Grizzly Hackle
- hook: Standard Dry Fly Hook
- wing: White Polypropylene Yarn
Tying Instructions
- 1.
Secure a size 18–24 standard dry-fly hook in the vise and start the black thread one eye-length behind the eye.
- 2.
Tie in a sparse strand of white polypropylene yarn at the thorax point with crossed figure-eight wraps, positioning the wings flat and perpendicular to the hook shank.
- 3.
Trim each spent wing to about one hook-shank length from the centerline.
- 4.
Wrap the thread back to the bend, keeping the underbody smooth and thin.
- 5.
Tie in two black dry-fly hackle fibers at the bend with the tips extending about one and one-half shank lengths beyond the hook.
- 6.
Divide the tails with a figure-eight thread wrap or a small thread bump so they spread evenly.
- 7.
Dub a very thin black abdomen forward from the bend to the spent-wing tie-in point.
- 8.
Tie in a grizzly dry-fly hackle by its stem immediately behind the wings.
- 9.
Build a compact black dubbed thorax around the wing base without forcing the wings out of the spent position.
- 10.
Wrap the grizzly hackle two turns through the thorax, tie it off ahead of the wings, and trim the waste.
- 11.
Form a small thread head behind the eye, whip finish, and apply head cement sparingly.