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Artistic view of a Male Pteronarcys californica (Pteronarcyidae) (Giant Salmonfly) Stonefly Adult from the Gallatin River in Montana
Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica

The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.

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 July 31, 2022

Photos by Troutnut from Mystery Creek #237 in Montana

Mystery Creek # 237 in Montana
Mystery Creek # 237 in Montana
Mystery Creek # 237 in Montana
Mystery Creek # 237 in Montana

Updates from July 24, 2022

Photos by Troutnut from Silver Creek and the Wind River in Idaho and Wyoming

I caught the morning Trico hatch on Silver Creek and landed quite a few difficult mid-sized rainbows, while watching my fly spurned by ten times more.

From Silver Creek in Idaho
The Wind River in Wyoming
The Wind River starts out small at this location near the Tie Hack Memorial. The pools look good, but I caught no fish in several pools and only saw one riser that hit my fly with half a dozen splashy refusals.

From the Wind River in Wyoming
The Wind River in Wyoming

On-stream insect photos by Troutnut from Silver Creek in Idaho

Baetis spinners trying to lay eggs on my waders

From Silver Creek in Idaho

Updates from July 23, 2022

Photos by Troutnut from Mystery Creek #304, the Little Wood River, and Silver Creek in Idaho

The Mystery Creek # 304 in Idaho
The Mystery Creek # 304 in Idaho
Little Wood River

From the Little Wood River in Idaho
Drifting tumbleweed

From the Little Wood River in Idaho
The Little Wood River in Idaho
Rainbow from the Little Wood
The Little Wood River in Idaho
The Little Wood River in Idaho
The Little Wood River in Idaho
Silver Creek in Idaho
Deer crossing Silver Creek

From Silver Creek in Idaho

Updates from July 22, 2022

Photos by Troutnut from Mystery Creek #304 and Mystery Creek #256 in Idaho

The Mystery Creek # 304 in Idaho
Big Wood River rainbow
The Mystery Creek # 304 in Idaho
Mystery Creek # 256 in Idaho
Mystery Creek # 256 in Idaho
Brook torut
Mystery Creek # 256 in Idaho
I accidentally snuck up on a muley buck napping in the streamside grass.

From Mystery Creek # 256 in Idaho
Mystery Creek # 256 in Idaho
Mystery Creek # 256 in Idaho
Mystery Creek # 256 in Idaho
Mystery Creek # 256 in Idaho

Closeup insects by Troutnut from Mystery Creek #304 in Idaho

A few good small creek bugs

By Troutnut on June 12th, 2022
I was traveling on the east side of the Cascades today, where all the rivers are ridiculously high from a combination of snowmelt and rain. It's dangerous to even get in the water. But I found a place to sample a few bugs in a small creek and added a couple stoneflies from my to-do list.

Closeup insects by Troutnut from Swauk Creek in Washington

Dorsal view of a Doroneuria baumanni (Perlidae) (Golden Stone) Stonefly Nymph from Swauk Creek in Washington
I'm not aware of any way to tell the two species of Doroneuria apart as nymphs, so this one is classified to species based on location alone. Doroneuria baumanni is found in the Cascades and in Washington, and the other species is not known here yet.
Dorsal view of a Alloperla (Chloroperlidae) (Sallfly) Stonefly Nymph from Swauk Creek in Washington
Ruler view of a Cinygmula (Heptageniidae) (Dark Red Quill) Mayfly Nymph from Swauk Creek in Washington The smallest ruler marks are 1 mm.
This one doesn't have the protruding mouthparts typical of Cinygmula, but I think it's just an oddball individual.
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