TRIKE

An interview with Herman Botes in which he ties his Trico pattern

Text by Gijsbert Hoogendoorn and Warren Van Rensburg

Pictures by Warren Van Rensburg

27 August 2012

The big 3 may species on the Vaal catchment are BWO’s, PMD’s (actually a Baetis)

& Trico’s. Unlike the States where trico’s are # 22 and smaller , our species

are #16 to14 and I’ve discovered nymphs as large as #12 in some of the smaller

tributaries. This stout nymph, with its robust thorax, proud legs and arched back,

captures the imagination of local tiers and we are constantly tweaking and testing

patterns to solve the mystery surrounding the hatch. I don’t know of any pattern

that has been significantly more successful during the trico migration than

old faithful – the scruffy GRHE. That however does not stop us from continuing

to come up with a hatch buster.

The TRIKE (pet name for Tricorythidae) is my current pattern in its process of

evolution. It incorporates a lot of the latest trends in tailwater mayfly nymphs imitations,

like slim profiles, realism, lotsa flash & mercury glass beads. It will probably

change some more in the future - it’s the nature of a fly tier.

Dressing

Hook - # 14 1 X short, Gamakatsu S10 2S

Thread - Black Danville 7/0

Tail - Brown cock hackle

Abdomen - Pale yellow nylon ‘floss’

Rib - Black tying tread

Thorax - Bronze peacock Ice Dub

Legs - Brown cock hackle palmered & trimmed

Wingcase - Amber Medallion Sheeting

Head - Rootbeer 11/0 Glass Bead