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.

Mount Deborah and Hess Mountains. Two of the greatest peaks of the Alaska Range rise behind the braided, glacial Susitna River. These massive mountains are 35 miles north of where I took this picture.

From the Susitna River in Alaska

Stream photos

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Glossosoma (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Larva Glossosoma (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Larva

Dorsal view of a Glossosoma (Glossosomatidae) (Little Brown Short-horned Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the Yakima River in Washington

I caught this tiny larva without a case, but it seems to key pretty clearly to to Glossosomatidae. From there, the lack of sclerites on the mesonotum points to either Glossosoma or Anagapetus. Although it's difficult to see in a 2D image from the microscope, it's pretty clear in the live 3D view that the pronotum is only excised about 1/3 of its length to accommodate the forecoxa, not 2/3, which points to Glossosoma at Couplet 5 of the Key to Genera of Glossosomatidae Larvae.

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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.

Specific collection sites for Caenidae

The specific collection location data from this map were pulled from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) website under the Creative Commons license. Data there come from a variety of sources, some of which are populated by hobbyists. Both the precision of the location and accuracy of the identification could be low. This map is not an authoritative scientific source, nor an exhaustive list of everwhere this taxon is found, but it should be good enough for anglers. Click each marker on the map for more information about that report, including a link to more details on GBIF.

There are 2892 reported locations for this taxon in the database. Only randomly selected 2000 have been shown here to avoid overloading your browser. Reloading the page will again choose a random 2000.

SalmonfliesPteronarcys californica

Specific collection sites for Caenidae

Specific collection sites for Caenidae

Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica