The Platte River Spider is a classic streamer and wet fly designed by Chris Schrantz that we have had great success swinging on a trout spey fly rod as well as a swung, stripped, or dead drifted on a single-handed rod. This fly comes in a simple package, but has a lot of variety to offer in techniques needed to tie it, as well as how you can fish it!
For us, this has been a favorite fly to swing in our local waters such as the Animas, San Juan, Rio Grande, and even the Gunnison river, especially in a tandem streamer rig. Usually, we will tie in a larger pattern such as a trout spey Intruder or the Karl Malone in front, and then drop the Platte River Spider off the back with 2 or so feet of tippet (more on larger rivers). If a trout does not want to commit to the larger pattern, often this smaller follow-up streamer entices a strike.
The Platte River Spider is a simple tie with a lot of color variation options such as all black, or olive and white. Tie a few up to swing on your local trout waters with your favorite single or two-handed rod.
