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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 Ephemerella mucronata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
This is an interesting one. Following the keys in Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019) and Jacobus et al. (2014), it keys clearly to Ephemerella. Jacobus et al provide a key to species, but some of the characteristics are tricky to interpret without illustrations. If I didn't make any mistakes, this one keys to Ephemerella mucronata, which has not previously been reported any closer to here than Montana and Alberta. The main character seems to fit well: "Abdominal terga with prominent, paired, subparallel, spiculate ridges." Several illustrations or descriptions of this holarctic species from the US and Europe seem to match, including the body length, tarsal claws and denticles, labial palp, and gill shapes. These sources include including Richard Allen's original description of this species in North America under the now-defunct name E. moffatae in Allen RK (1977) and the figures in this description of the species in Italy.
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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Summer_doug has attached these 5 pictures to this report. The message is below.
Hot springs near the water - no swimming allowed
So many trout stacked up in this hole
Personal-best small stream brown
Another beauty landed by my friend.

Report at a Glance

General RegionInyo/Mono County, CA
Specific LocationLower Owens River and Hot Creek
Dates Fished4/1 and 4/2
Fish CaughtBrown and Rainbow Trout

Details and Discussion

Summer_doug
Detroit, MI

Posts: 46
Summer_doug on Apr 8, 2019April 8th, 2019, 1:04 am EDT
My wife and I had the chance to meet up with friends who recently moved back to California and the husbands stole away to the Eastern Sierras for an evening and morning of trout fishing.

We initially camped on the Lower Owens, but the water was up approximately 10 feet compared to normal summer/fall/winter flows so we abandoned the idea of fishing there and headed to Hot Creek.

The creek is surrounded by hot springs at an altitude of about 8,000 feet. The hike consisted of 1.5 miles in snow that was thigh deep in 75 degree weather. During fishing, we put on and shed 5 layers of clothing multiple times and experienced a white-out blizzard that ended in a 70 degree afternoon. All of that happened between 8am and 10:30am.

In all, we landed between 10 and 15 fish each and lost that many or more to the barbless nymphs (need to work on my technique). All of the fish were landed by hand as the net became a casualty on the crazy hike in.
From Michigan
Partsman
Partsman's profile picture
bancroft michigan

Posts: 321
Partsman on Apr 8, 2019April 8th, 2019, 10:52 am EDT
Doug, great report and some very nice scenery! What technique to use to fish the nymphs?
Summer_doug
Detroit, MI

Posts: 46
Summer_doug on Apr 8, 2019April 8th, 2019, 11:00 pm EDT
I used the smallest indicator with a two nymph rig and no additional weight. I found the most success essential tight lining with the rig and could anticipate the takes after getting accustomed to the river.

I generally didn't alter the depth. I had the indicator set at about 5 feet - though I probably should have adjusted in a couple pockets.

Nymphing is definitely not my strong suit, but I definitely improved on the trip.
From Michigan

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