Spinners
Top water action not to be missed
Being on the water during a spinner fall can be an exciting time. Trout will eagerly feed on spinners. The clear sign that they are feeding on spinners you will ofen see a dimple on the surface or the trout will roll on the surface. Its a clear sign they are probably taking spinners. If you have never fishing a trico spinner fall you are missing some serious fun.
Tying spinners is very easy. Once you learn the basics of tying a spinner, the only thing that changes are usually just the body color and maybe the spent wing color. In most cases you can use a white poly yarn or similar material for the wing. The tails are usually a split tail made from Microfibetts and the body is usually dry fly dubbing in the color you are trying to match or a biot can also be used like the example to the left. The fly on the left is a March Brown Spinner with a biot body.
Below are a few spinner patterns.
Sulphur Spinner
- Hook: Size 12-14
- Thread: 8/0 Tan or Pale Yellow
- Tail: Microfibettes Splayed
- Body: Yellow Sulphur Biots or Dubbing
- Wing: Poly Floating Yarn
- Thorax: Sulphur Dubbing
This pattern works well for most of the hatches of light colored flies such as Pale Morning Dun, Cahill, Pale Evening Dun, etc.
Trico
- Hook: Size 22-26 Turned Up Eye
- Thread: Black 8/0-12/0
- Tail: Microfibettes Splayed
- Body: Black Thread
- Wing: Poly Floating Yarn
- Thorax: Black Rabbit Dubbing
I use to live for the Trico spinner fall back when I lived in Pennsylvania. The spinner fall would begin anywhere from first light to 10am depending on the temperature and weather conditions. Some mornings there would be so many Tricos in the air it looked like fog above the water. Getting the proper drift and timing of the fish you are casting to is critical.
Blue Wing Olive
- Hook: Size 14-18 Dry Dly
- Thread: Olive 8/0
- Tail: Microfibettes
- Body: Oliver to Rusty Brown Dubbing or Olive/Brown Biot
- Wing: Poly Floating Yarn-Medium Dun
- Thorax: Oliver Dubbing
While the duns can emerge just about any time of the year depending on your location and weather its best to be prepared with both duns and spinners in your fly box. Its often sporadic when the duns with hatch or the spinners will fall. I've had sucess with olive spinners as well as brown/reddish spinners so I carry both.