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Lateral view of a Female Hexagenia limbata (Ephemeridae) (Hex) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Hex Mayflies
Hexagenia limbata

The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.

Lateral view of a Male Baetidae (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #308 in Washington
This dun emerged from a mature nymph on my desk. Unfortunately its wings didn't perfectly dry out.
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.
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Gray-Winged Yellow Quills

Like most common names,"Gray-Winged Yellow Quill" can refer to more than one taxon. They're previewed below, along with 6 specimens. For more detail click through to the scientific names.

Mayfly Species Epeorus vitreus

These are sometimes called Gray-Winged Yellow Quills.
This is the second most common Epeorus species in the East and Midwest. Most anglers will encounter sporadic hatches of Epeorus vitreus once in a while, and sometimes a more concentrated emergence causes a good rise of fish.
Male Epeorus vitreus (Heptageniidae) (Sulphur) Mayfly Dun from the Beaverkill River in New York
This is my favorite mayfly from 2004, and it appears on my popular Be the Trout: Eat Mayflies products. Check them out!

Its identification is really up in the air. It might be a late-season vitreus dun but it may very well be one of the more obscure species in that genus.
Artistic view of a Female Epeorus vitreus (Heptageniidae) (Sulphur) Mayfly Spinner from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Epeorus vitreus (Heptageniidae) (Sulphur) Mayfly Nymph from unknown in Wisconsin

Mayfly Species Leucrocuta hebe

These are very rarely called Gray-Winged Yellow Quills.
This widespread species produces more fishable hatches in the East and Midwest than any other species in the Heptagenia genus complex.
Female Leucrocuta hebe (Heptageniidae) (Little Yellow Quill) Mayfly Dun from the Beaverkill River in New York
I found Catskill brown trout eagerly surface feeding to this species.
Lateral view of a Female Leucrocuta hebe (Heptageniidae) (Little Yellow Quill) Mayfly Spinner from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
I found this spinner on the same piece of stream as a similar dun, probably of the same species.
Dorsal view of a Leucrocuta hebe (Heptageniidae) (Little Yellow Quill) Mayfly Nymph from the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin

Gray-Winged Yellow Quills

Scientific Names
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