Tails Up Trico
Tricos are a key part of survival for trout world wide during the summer months. They are also known to humble any angler that thinks they have small dries and big trout figured out! I have more than once been taken to school during a this blizzard hatch. After countless hours of being in the middle of these bug mania, and consuming thousand of naturals myself over the years, the main visual trout look for are the wings. In fact, the tail and abdomen are not even seen or evaluated by the fish. This was the reason behind my creation, the Tails Up Trico.
Unlike others on the market the white in this tie is not the bead, it is in the white ostrich wrapped three times around the thorax and secured by white 8/0 uni thread with a single wrap of tinsel behind for a hint of flash. This allows the imitation to breath like the gills on a natural while attracting cruising giants to the fly. Lastly, the bead in still water meals are larger than their river counterparts and, like the trout that eat them, are also on the move. When I set up a rig I always keep that bit of information in mind.
One of my favorite ways to maximize movement to a fly is using a non-slip mono loop knot. This will imitate natural movement and encourage the fish to react and strike if they see it moving while they are on the prowl. I addition to movement I believe in removing anything unnatural from my rig to prevent making the target wary. This is why the tungsten bead works well, because it is a lot of weight in a small package.
To finish the tie there are micro fibbets to represent the extending tails. My favorite way to fish the Tails Up is with a tandem rig displaying both colors of this imitation with the lead fly in olive to represent the egg laying females connected to a 24 inch piece of Nylon tippet 5-6x connected to 9 ft 5-6x Nylon fresh water leader. Followed by a trailing black male.
