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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.

Dorsal view of a Kogotus (Perlodidae) Stonefly Nymph from Mystery Creek #199 in Washington
This one pretty clearly keys to Kogotus, but it also looks fairly different from specimens I caught in the same creek about a month later in the year. With only one species of the genus known in Washington, I'm not sure about the answer to this ID.
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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Ants

This common name refers to only one family. Click its scientific name to learn more.

Insect Family Formicidae

These are pretty much always called Ants.
Ants are one of the best-known terrestrial food sources for trout. Wingless ants often stumble by accident into the water, making them a very common "occasional" item on the trout's menu. Imitations of these unlucky critters make excellent searching patterns in mid- to late summer.

The real fun with ants, however, comes from the mating swarms of winged species. They are spotty and hard to predict, but when they happen to fall over the water they can draw more trout activity than all but the best hatches of huge mayflies.
Dorsal view of a Formicidae (Ant) Insect Adult from the Neversink River in New York
This tiny size 24 flying ant was mixed with a larger variety (see this specimen) falling on the surface of a Catskill river. The trout seemed to respond well to ants of both sizes.

Ants

Scientific Name
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