Header image
Enter a name
Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

27" brown trout, my largest ever. It was the sub-dominant fish in its pool. After this, I hooked the bigger one, but I couldn't land it.
Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

Gordon Quills

This name is a variation of Quill Gordon, which as best I can tell was the original common name for the important Eastern hatch Epeorus pleuralis. It was the first American trout stream hatch described by anglers, and it is named for the fly pattern created by 19th century fly fishing legend Theodore Gordon to imitate it.

As best I can tell, the original name was Quill Gordon, and I would guess that the name Gordon Quill came into usage as more and more hatches started to be named using the "---- Quill" convention.


Like most common names,"Gordon Quill" can refer to more than one taxon. They're previewed below, along with 4 specimens. For more detail click through to the scientific names.

Mayfly Species Epeorus pleuralis

These are often called Gordon Quills.
This is the first really good dry-fly opportunity of the season for most Eastern anglers. They are large mayflies and they have good points of vulnerability both underwater and on the surface.
Lateral view of a Male Epeorus pleuralis (Heptageniidae) (Quill Gordon) Mayfly Dun from Dresserville Creek in New York
I kept this specimen after photographing it and it molted into a spinner in perfect condition, which I photographed here.
Lateral view of a Male Epeorus pleuralis (Heptageniidae) (Quill Gordon) Mayfly Spinner from Mongaup Creek in New York
I spent most of the day looking for Epeorus pluralis duns or spinners without any luck on the major Catskill rivers. Finally in the evening I arrived at a small stream somebody had recommended, and when I got out of the car I was happy to find that I had parked in the middle of a cloud of male spinners.
Dorsal view of a Epeorus pleuralis (Heptageniidae) (Quill Gordon) Mayfly Nymph from Mongaup Creek in New York
This Epeorus pluralis dun is recently deceased in these photos. I decided not to photograph several lively, less mature nymphs. This one was ready to hatch, as indicated by the black wing pads. I believe it had not been dead long enough to lose its natural coloration.

Mayfly Species Cinygmula subaequalis

These are sometimes called Gordon Quills.
This is the only Eastern species of Cinygmula. It may produce fishable hatches in places but it is not a generally important mayfly.
Dorsal view of a Cinygmula subaequalis (Heptageniidae) (Small Gordon Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Mongaup Creek in New York
I had heard reports of a bright red heptageniid nymph before but never seen one until I found this early instar specimen in a very high water quality small stream in the Catskills.

Gordon Quills

Troutnut.com is copyright © 2004-2024 (email Jason). privacy policy