Header image
Enter a name
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.

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.

Tiny Black Gold Speckled-Winged Caddisflies

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

Caddisfly Species Dolophilodes distincta

These are pretty much always called Tiny Black Gold Speckled-Winged Caddisflies.
What a weird species is Dolophilodes distinctus. It emerges year-round, and the female adults in the winter do not have wings. In the summer they do, and in the spring there is a mix.

This is the most important species of Dolophilodes in the East and Midwest. It is never an intense emergence, but it may be present at times of the year when nothing else is available.
Dorsal view of a Female Dolophilodes distincta (Philopotamidae) (Tiny Black Gold Speckled-Winged Caddis) Caddisfly Adult from Brodhead Creek in Pennsylvania
This is a really strange specimen. I would guess it's one of the dry caddis pupa that scoots across the surface of the water as a pupa rather than emerging right away. Its "wing pads" sure don't look right, though. Maybe they're deformed and that's why I was able to find this one as a pupa in the first place. It also looks like it might be a caddis adult missing its wings, but since I found three of them, that kind of rules out such an anomalous maiming.

I found this one and one other on a midstream rock. The previous day, I caught a similar creature kicking around on the water's surface.

This one died and shriveled a little bit before I could photograph it, but it's basically in its original shape.

Tiny Black Gold Speckled-Winged Caddisflies

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