Tiny Tricos Catch BIG Trout

I saw the coyote pack before I even noticed the cloud of Tricos. The canines were edging along the shoreline of the Bighorn River, and I felt fortunate to be on the other side of the wide flow, below the famous Three Mile Access. But as I watched the fabled tricksters dink and dunk along the bank, three of them presumably working for mice and grasshoppers, I noticed an equally active cloud of these tiniest mayflies riding a light downstream breeze.

- Vic Attardo

Not concerned about the coyotes, a friend and I waded into the river just far enough to get a decent backcast without hanging up on the near shore brush. It was about 9 a.m., and until that time the surface of the river seemed fairly placid, a few trout were rising here and there, but nothing terribly special. But the appearance of minuscule bugs was the start of a Trico spinnerball - more festive than a typical spinner fall- and quickly the Bighorn became a boiling pot of trout soup.

I've not always been a fan of fishing Tricos, either their hatching dun or their death float, and I can sympathize with those who have similar reservations. But on this mid-morning day with so many Tricos about it appeared as if barrels of black pepper had been dumped on the water's surface - I figured out something key to fishing success. It was then I became a connoisseur of this tiny mayfly. In my philosophy, fishing is a lifelong research project, and this was science.

With more and more dead and dying Tricos taking their last ride to Valhalla, I had followed a technique I've used for so many other spinner falls. Positioning myself a few yards downstream from a rising fish, I cast upstream and let the fly ride the current lane the hungry trout. That works fine if the water is a little choppy or late light masks the sight of the thin leader. But in this section of the Bighorn the surface was nearly babybottom smooth. Every trout ignored my imitation, even though I knew I was using a perfect spinner pattern. My friend, 20 yards downstream, was having the same trouble. But then came the eureka moment.