How to Tie and Fish the Poor Witch to Imitate Spent Tricos

August 7, 2025 By: Pat Dorsey

Trico hatches typically bring the wariest and craftiest fish to the surface because there are so many spent-wing mayflies on the water. Howard Stringert is a huge fan of a Poor Witch because he has fooled some really nice fish with it. Photo: Pat Dorsey

Excerpted from Pat Dorsey’s excellent book
Favorite Flies for Colorado

The legacy of Jim Poor began when he opened up Mountain View Tackle in the basement of a motel in Littleton, Colorado, in 1954. Poor’s small tackle shop catered to both conventional and fly anglers alike. The staff at Anglers All shares this information pertaining to the evolution of their business.

“In 1969, the City of Littleton relocated Mountain View Tackle in order to build Arapahoe Community College. With the new location just up the road, the name was changed to Anglers All. Anglers All is still in the same building today. Jim and his wife, Jane, continued to own and operate the store until the mid-1980s, when Bill Shappel and Terry Nicholson took the reigns. Bill Shappel retired and the Nicholsons were the sole owners until 2009, when Chris Keeley bought them out.”

When I began fly fishing in the early 1970s, Anglers All was the only place in town where you could find a fly smaller than a size 18. Poor was arguably one of the best anglers and small-fly tiers of his time. A few of Poor’s signature flies are featured in Jack Dennis’s Western Trout Fly Tying Manual (Volume 2). According the Dennis, “Jim cut his teeth on the South Platte River south of Denver, which is considered by many to be one of the finest-quality fishing waters to be found today. This is a place where anglers can test their skill with very small dry flies, which at times may be as small as size 24 or even smaller. After being involved with the South Platte River for over 40 years, Jim’s practical fishing experience with tiny fly patterns is unequaled.”

Poor devoted his life to educating anglers and helping them elevate their skills to the next level. One of the greatest Trico patterns of all time is the Poor Witch, named after Jim Poor. The Poor Witch was designed to imitate a Trico spinner, which is the final stage of the hatch, when females come back to the water to lay their eggs. Spent-wing Tricos have a distinct silhouette that distinguishes their appearance from the duns. Anglers who fail to switch from upright-wing dun imitations to spent-wing patterns often become frustrated by their inability to catch fish. Unlike duns, which leave the water quickly, dying spinners remain on the water for long periods of time. Trout take advantage of this opportunity and feed on Trico spinners voraciously.

Poor Witch, tied by Pat Dorsey. Photo: Brent Taylor

Poor Witch
Hook: Tiemco 101, sizes 18–24
Thread: Gray, 8/0.
Tail: Moose body hair
Abdomen: Gray Superfine dubbing.
Wings: Blue dun hen hackle, tied spent.
Hackle: Brown and grizzly rooster hackle.

Bob Saile, former outdoor editor at the Denver Post, was the first angler to show me the Poor Witch when we were fishing a Trico hatch together near Deckers. The Poor Witch was Saile’s favorite Trico imitation because it fooled discerning trout that were feeding on the Trico spinners. In theory, the Poor Witch is similar to a spent-wing Adams, but it has a forked tail composed of moose body hair, a thin abdomen dubbed from muskrat fur, and blue-dun hackle tips (instead of grizzly hen) with brown and grizzly rooster hackle (mixed) wrapped behind and in front of the wings.

Bill Shappel is extremely fond of the fly, as well. “The Poor Witch is the best small (20–24) dry fly I have ever used, and my close fishing friends would agree. The Poor Witch is ideal for fooling trout feeding on Tricos, but it is also effective for other mayflies and midges, as well.” There’s something special about the Poor Witch’s silhouette, and the way it sits flush on the water’s surface closely mimics the naturals. Unlike most Trico spinner imitations, the Poor Witch is easy to see, which is a distinct advantage when you are fishing with a size 24.

Trico hatches typically bring the wariest and craftiest trout to the surface to feed. They often require anglers to use long leaders (9–12 feet) terminating in spiderweb-thin 7X tippets. Precise yet delicate deliveries are a must for success. The best advice that I can give you is to get as close to the rising fish as possible—this usually means sneaking up on your hands and knees until you get into the desired casting location. Hands down the most effective tactic is making several repeated casts to a specific fish until the fish eats your fly. If you spook your target, you should have no problem finding another fish to cast to. Trico spinner falls typically last until 11:30 a.m. or so, then I take a break and enjoy some lunch after a wonderful morning of dry-fly fishing.