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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.
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.

Updates from April 12, 2004

Underwater photos by Troutnut

A water boatman and a scud are visible in this picture.  Can you find them?
Several well-camouflaged Ephemerella mayfly nymphs cling to this log, and a few cased caddisfly larvae cling to the plant in front of it.
Several cased caddis larvae cling to the twigs of a fallen tree limb in a clear trout stream's strong current.

Updates from April 3, 2004

Photos by Troutnut from Eddy Creek in Wisconsin

A couple Canada geese take off from the scenic but nasty, swampy, and apparently troutless headwaters of a small, beaver-ravaged stream.

From Eddy Creek in Wisconsin
What was once an excellent trout stream now meanders through a swamp as a shallow, silty beaver pond.  The ground is anything but firm, and I was insane to try to navigate it on foot.

From Eddy Creek in Wisconsin
A beaver swims around the swampy corpse of a trout stream his species destroyed, with a little help from ours.

From Eddy Creek in Wisconsin

Updates from April 1, 2004

Photos by Troutnut

Updates from March 31, 2004

Photos by Troutnut

A large mink swims around a trout stream in early spring.

Underwater photos by Troutnut from Mystery Creek #19, Eddy Creek, and Mystery Creek #90 in Wisconsin

A 4 inch brookie hides from the camera behind a rock under a cut bank.

From the Mystery Creek # 19 in Wisconsin
There's one small brook trout running with this school of minnows at the head of a crystal clear spring.
There's a brook trout running with this school of creek chubs and common shiners at the head of a crystal clear spring.
This stickleback lost fear of the camera after I held it still long enough in the icy water.
The Mystery Creek # 19 in Wisconsin
There's a brook trout running with this school of creek chubs and common shiners at the head of a crystal clear spring.
Here a stickleback investigates a little piece of grass in the slack water of a beaver pond on a remote stream rumored to have been great for brook trout at one time.  It's now a swampy hellhole ruined by silt-trapping beaver dams, and I found no trout.  Wading it in early April, when the ground was only half-frozen, was a nightmare.
A small creek chub hides behind a rock under a cut bank.
The fresh spring water here is so clear it's hard to believe it's an underwater picture at all.

From the Mystery Creek # 19 in Wisconsin
A couple tiny aquatic mites are clinging to this rock.

From Mystery Creek # 90 in Wisconsin

Updates from March 29, 2004

Underwater photos by Troutnut from Mystery Creek #19 and Mystery Creek #90 in Wisconsin

This tiny brook trout fry lived in a crystal clear nursery area where a large spring flows straight from the ground.

From the Mystery Creek # 19 in Wisconsin
A large school of water boatman swims over a strange purple substance at a crystal clear spring.

From Mystery Creek # 90 in Wisconsin
The Mystery Creek # 19 in Wisconsin
Mystery Creek # 90 in Wisconsin
Mystery Creek # 90 in Wisconsin
Plant life thrives year-round in this spring head, which never dips far below the temperature of the ground water.

From the Mystery Creek # 19 in Wisconsin
Plant life thrives year-round in this spring head, which never dips far below the temperature of the ground water.

From the Mystery Creek # 19 in Wisconsin
There's a stickleback partially obscured along the bottom of this picture.

References

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