Pull out your magnifiers, knock the dust off your light tippet. Grab your smallest hooks and finest thread. "The fisherman's curse" etc . and so forth. Tricos are here! All the funny sayings and expressions aside, the Trico is a long awaited bug, comes off in numbers on the Eagle River and is a favorite for our local trout. Can't hate on this bug when it puts fish in the net. The last few days have been very consistent as the Trico hatch fishes well in 3 major stages of the morning. Start off early with a very small dark baetis until you see the morning's Trico migration. Switch to a Trico emerger then fish a drowned adult/spinner once they aren't visible above the surface anymore. Fishing the Trico hatch is like a long baseball season. If you are batting .300, you are doing really well.
Luckily there are other, bigger meals active in the Eagle River from Avon to Gypsum. The Golden Stonefly has finally started to move around and their shucks have become more prevalent on the exposed river stone and surrounding structure. The last of the PMDs and Yellow Sallys are still finalizing their life-long duty as well. Did you read our last post about evening caddis hatches on the Eagle River in Avon, CO? Yeah, that's still good too.
What an awesome year for water, water temps and bug activity. As it rains on my back porch in Eagle, CO, I sit here pleased being able to write about great fishing and not warning anyone that fishing after 12pm could negatively impact our trout population. It's one good year but we focus on the good and remain optimistic like all trout fly fishermen. If you aren't fishing the Vail Valley this week, you should be! Bring the small bugs, laugh when you get worked by a large angry brown trout on fine line and enjoy the water in it's late Summer finest!
