Trico's tippet and rod's

marcq

marcq

Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2009
Messages
846
i have never really fished a trico hatch before. i may recall running into one not prepaired. looking to get it right this year. what tippet size and action rod do you like when it comes to fishing them and size hook i know somewhere between 20 and 26.


thanks Marc
 
Depends on the size of the water system but I would say 8 - 9 ft 4wt medium-fast action. IMO the Winston WT 8ft 4wt Tom Morgans Favorite is the definitive trico rod.

I like a nice long leader around 12'. Nice supple leader. I like 6x tippet, even with 24. I don't go down to 26.

Most people are going to tell you to go 2 - 3 wt and to use 7x tippet. If you fish streams with small fish that is fine, however I believe that using that equipment on a stream where you regularly encounter 14" fish and have a chance at 20" fish it is kind of unethical. Let the arguments ensue.

 
No argument thats makes alot of sense. I use 7x for tricos, but have yet to have a fights last more than a minute or so. 3 feet of 7x is pretty strong. If anything fails its usually cause th knot slips.
 
3 feet of 7x is pretty strong. If anything fails its usually cause th knot slips.
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That's the secret ,3 feet minimum ,which gives you a shock absorber.
 
I only go to 6x, mostly because I never felt a need to go finer. Rod, eh, not a big deal, whatever floats your boat but you do often have to be very accurate. But you do want a very supple tippet. And yes, even with 6x, longer is better as it gives you a shock absorber.

Small dries is definitely where you DON'T want fluoro tippets. It tends to be stiffer, but that varies by brand and there may be some overlap. But it is always a bit denser, so especially with small dries thats gonna give you more drag. It also has less stretch, so you lose that shock absorbing quality.
 
jdaddy wrote:
Most people are going to tell you to go 2 - 3 wt and to use 7x tippet. If you fish streams with small fish that is fine, however I believe that using that equipment on a stream where you regularly encounter 14" fish and have a chance at 20" fish it is kind of unethical. Let the arguments ensue.
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Not to argue, but to call into question the logic.

I don't have to worry abotu stumbling into 20" fish, but I can reguarly see 11-14" fish on a 1wt with 6x tippet. I've gone to 7 sometimes, as well. I've never had an issue wih snapping fish off on line breaks.

I don't think I really let them hang any longer than I do if its a 8-10" fish, either. I think part of the reason is soft rods with lots of flex. That and letting fish pull line from my fingers if I need to, and not worry about using the reel.

Believe me, I'm not suggesting I'm an expert or I land big fish all teh time, but I think if you're willing to put the screws to the fish, they'll come in quick enough even on the lightest of lines.

That said, again, realize I don't think I see above 14" in my usual haunts.
 
gfen wrote:
jdaddy wrote:
Most people are going to tell you to go 2 - 3 wt and to use 7x tippet. If you fish streams with small fish that is fine, however I believe that using that equipment on a stream where you regularly encounter 14" fish and have a chance at 20" fish it is kind of unethical. Let the arguments ensue.
Click to expand...

Not to argue, but to call into question the logic.

I don't have to worry abotu stumbling into 20" fish, but I can reguarly see 11-14" fish on a 1wt with 6x tippet. I've gone to 7 sometimes, as well. I've never had an issue wih snapping fish off on line breaks.

I don't think I really let them hang any longer than I do if its a 8-10" fish, either. I think part of the reason is soft rods with lots of flex. That and letting fish pull line from my fingers if I need to, and not worry about using the reel.

Believe me, I'm not suggesting I'm an expert or I land big fish all teh time, but I think if you're willing to put the screws to the fish, they'll come in quick enough even on the lightest of lines.

That said, again, realize I don't think I see above 14" in my usual haunts.
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Why will no one argue with me? Everyone wants to say 2wt with 12x and I just know it. LOL.

You know it is probably a mixture of issues. People using TCX's with 7x tippet, breaking fish off left and right or more frequently using 7x with 2wt rod and fighting the fish for 5 minutes in marginal temps (temps tend to be on the upper side in many trico streams around here).
 
jdaddy wrote:
Why will no one argue with me? Everyone wants to say 2wt with 12x and I just know it. LOL.

You know it is probably a mixture of issues. People using TCX's with 7x tippet, breaking fish off left and right or more frequently using 7x with 2wt rod and fighting the fish for 5 minutes in marginal temps (temps tend to be on the upper side in many trico streams around here).
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Why you gotta pick fights?

FWIW, I want a Sage 000, and should one fall into my hands I shall promptly fish the ever lovin' hell out of it everywhere and anywhere.

However, I just don't think its neccessary to go super light on the tippet. I'm not a good angler, and I catch plenty on 6x, with the occasional foray into 7x. I prefer the 6x or 5x just so I snap less flies off on my casting, anyways.

 
I used a 3 wt. With 6x in my outings last year. Had no problem catching fish, and had no problem landing 14-16" fish.. There is some guys who believe in 1 wts with 274747x tippet. In most cases, you should never have to go lower than 6x
 
What kind of rod do you have right now? Don’t feel like you need special rods for different circumstances. A good rod can do it all and there’s no reason to get specialized rods.

I see many people going out and buying a bunch of low to medium end rods so at the end of the day the person has spent $800- $1000 on the rods alone and owns 4-5 decent rods but not one of them is an exceptional fishing rod. And because each rod is different the person never masters casting one rod because more than likely they are an assortment of lengths and actions.

So rather than spending $800+ on 4-5 decent rods each intended for different fishing situations, buy yourself a good 9’ 4 or 5 weight Winston, Hardy, Sage, Loomis, Scott, T&T rod ($700+/-). For less overall money you will now own one exceptional rod that can do everything for probably 95% of your trout fishing needs. And if you use the same rod over and over you get used to how it performs and your casting ability and accuracy will greatly increase.

I have a nice Winston WT medium action 8’, 3wt rod (and also the 4wt version) and it hardly gets used unless fishing a small stream with small wild fish. Not that it can’t handle a big fish but anything less than 4wt really doesn’t handle wind all that well, unless you go fast action to increase the line speed, and at that point you’re defeating the whole purpose of a light line rod (delicate presentations). Also, most low to medium priced fast action rods have far too stiff tips and a stiff tip can’t protect a fine tippet. A top end fast action rod is able of protecting fine tippets because the tips are smaller in diameter and much softer than lower end rods. That is what makes lower end rods cheaper to make, the overall rod diameter is fatter than it should and the result is a rod that has an overly stiff tip, which won’t protect light tippets. And to get any feel most people end up overlining the rod so again, you’ve defeated the whole purpose. 90% of my fishing is done with a medium action Winston WT 9’, 5wt rod, tricos included.

As noted above, the Winston Tom Morgan Favorite is probably the ultimate dry fly rod out there (unless you want to drop $1400 on one made by Tom Morgan Rodsmith). But this rod isn’t really suited to be an all purpose rod. But if you want a definitive trico and dry fly rod, this is the one to get.
 
the rod i have ben using now is not going to work for trico. it is a 9 ft 5wt cabelas l tech 4 pc i would say its almost a 6 wt. it works great for most of my fishing needs but probly not for trico's. i was looking into build a rod. it a 9 ft 4wt med fast action rod. nothing to high quality but its something to start.
 
marcq wrote:
the rod i have ben using now is not going to work for trico. it is a 9 ft 5wt cabelas l tech 4 pc i would say its almost a 6 wt. it works great for most of my fishing needs but probly not for trico's. i was looking into build a rod. it a 9 ft 4wt med fast action rod. nothing to high quality but its something to start.
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That rod absolutely will work. My experience with cabela's ltech is that they are NOT very fast, so I'd venture to guess that it's pretty close to a true 5wt, and not closer to a 6wt as you suspect.

It might not be the most fun rod to fish them, but it's certainly good enough to do the job.
 
jayL wrote:
marcq wrote:
the rod i have ben using now is not going to work for trico. it is a 9 ft 5wt cabelas l tech 4 pc i would say its almost a 6 wt. it works great for most of my fishing needs but probly not for trico's. i was looking into build a rod. it a 9 ft 4wt med fast action rod. nothing to high quality but its something to start.
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That rod absolutely will work. My experience with cabela's ltech is that they are NOT very fast, so I'd venture to guess that it's pretty close to a true 5wt, and not closer to a 6wt as you suspect.

It might not be the most fun rod to fish them, but it's certainly good enough to do the job.
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For the love of god get rid of that avatar its disturbing
 
trust me i love the rod for some of the stocked waters i fish and bigger streams but when i get on a stream like valley creek. i would much rather have a lighter rod to fish with and compaired to my first rod i used before it is much stiffer but i think thats the 4 peice doing that.
 
Then shop around for something like a Cabela's LST 9' 4wt. They should come down close to $100 within the next 2 months. They did last year anyhow.

Try to find something in your price range with a lifetime warranty it's well worth it.

FWIW I fished last years tricos with a number 20 fly on 6x (occassionally 7x) and did just fine.
 
I use mainly two rods, a St. Croix Avid 7'6" 2 weight and an older Sage DS2 8'6" 3 weight. I use size 24 flies and 7x tippet. Works fine for me. Casting distance is short. Presentation is more important than distance.
 
Anyone else on here that doesn't own any 7x? Never felt the need to use it.
 
Own? Yes I own 7x --think i even have a spool of 8x that Rod pushed on me years ago when i first moved to the area and met him.

Use? I do use 7x rarely with tricos. But that's my limit.
 
krayfish wrote:
Anyone else on here that doesn't own any 7x? Never felt the need to use it.
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Nice bump. Doing a little archive reading? LOL.

I have some Stroft 7x just cause I wanted to see what all the buzz was about. Not sure that I ever used it. Used the 6x Stroft and its really nice stuff. Too bad the ebay vendor that was selling it doesn't have it listed anymore. The 100m spools were a deal.
 
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