What Fish Eat

Aquatic insects make up the majority of a fish's diet. The four key insect orders (listed first and not including Streamers or Terrestrials) that emerge from streams and lakes are:

Mayflies Caddisflies Midges Stoneflies Streamers Terrestrials

Mayflies Important to Fly Fishing

When fly fishing in the Western U.S., the angler can typically rely on three species to pattern mayflies. These commonly used mayfly patterns are:

Blue Wing Olive Pale Morning Dun Trico

Tricos

The trico is a tiny, crawler mayfly. Tricos have dark bodies and white wings. The trico's nymph stage will not be considered here. However, trico spinner falls can trigger a feeding frenzy by trout.

Trico Emerger

Pattern Name	Color	Hook Size	Thumbnail Image
CDC Midge Emerger	Black Body	# 20
CDC Floating Nymph	Black Body	# 20	photo coming soon

Trico Dun

Pattern Name	Color	Hook Size	Thumbnail Image
Parachute Hare's Ear	Dark Brown Body	# 20	photo coming soon
Trico Dun	Dark Brown Body	# 20

Trico Spinner

Pattern Name	Color	Hook Size	Thumbnail Image
Trico Spinner	Olive Abdomen / Brown Thorax	# 20
Poly Wing Spinner	Black Body	# 20