August Trico Hatches On the South Platte River: Trying to Fool Seasoned Finicky Trout

T.S Eliot starts his poem “The Waste Land” with these words, “April is the cruelest month, mixing memory with desire”.

If I wrote this poem about fly fishing the South Platte I might say that August is the cruelest month. August has often been a tough time of year to fish. The fish have been fished over by the summer crowds, the spring crowds and even the late winter crowds. The fish have grown wary and ultra selective. We might think back of memories of easy fish caught in the winter and spring time on nymphs and we look ahead with desire for the cooler and less crowed  months of Autumn.

Late summer is trico time. In fact it is predominantly trico time, therefore the fish seem to really key in on this one bug. Again, this results in ultra selectivity. I have found that during August the effectiveness of nymphing (which for many is far easier than dry fly fishing) diminishes significantly. I can show up on the river bright and early and think I am going to catch all kinds of fish on nymphs only to be disappointed. Over the years, during the month of August, I am fond saying, “It seems that these fish are just sitting around waiting for the big trico spinner fall”.  And that may indeed be the case. The fish become conditioned to this daily ritual and so it seems they wait for it to happen. When it happens the fish go crazy earning a living by feeding on hundreds and hundreds of tiny tricos.  It is the one significant time frame, the window of opportunity, for us to catch the fish off guard. And for the most part we have to fish dry flies. The fish are looking up.

So, what is the fly fisher to do?  I would suggest that we “play their game”.  I would go to the river rigged with two dry fly rods with different combinations of dry flies and wait for it to happen. There is nothing wrong with standing on the edge of the river and just looking around for bugs and rising fish. Just watch and wait. Don’t nymph fish. You will just postpone the event by putting the fish down.  

There are many different types of trico imitations. I don’t think the exact imitation is all that important. As long as it is small, floats and is presented properly (and hopefully you can see it) you can fool trout. The best techniques seem to involve reach mend casts and parachute casts where by you present the “fly first” to the fish.  These casts take some practice.

When the hatch and spinner fall is over, I would go home and take a nap. Give the fish a rest. August can be a bit cruel on the fish as well.

So, while August may be a bit cruel it is a great time for fly fishers to take afternoon naps.