Blue-winged Olives
Baetis
Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.
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Golden Spinners
Like most common names,"Golden Spinner" can refer to more than one taxon. They're previewed below, along with 4 specimens. For more detail click through to the scientific names.
Mayfly Species Anthopotamus distinctus
These are sometimes called Golden Spinners.
Mayfly Species Cinygmula subaequalis
These are very rarely called Golden Spinners.
This is the only Eastern species of Cinygmula. It may produce fishable hatches in places but it is not a generally important mayfly.
This nymph is missing a few gills, but is otherwise in good shape. It was the only one of its species which turned up in my sample.
See 1 more specimen...
Mayfly Species Ephemera varia
These are very rarely called Golden Spinners.
This is an excellent hatch of a different character than its Ephemera brethren. Rather than emerging in a flurry of activity within a week, the Ephemera varia hatch may last for more than a month in a single place.
This yellow drake dun hatched out of my aquarium over a month before her brethren in the wild are slated to emerge. She seems a bit small, and that might be the reason.
I found this female spinner ovipositing in a small stream. She came along while I was playing a trout -- every good bug seemed to do that last night! I didn't have my bug net, so I caught the trout in my landing net, released the trout, and caught the mayfly in my landing net. Her wing got a bit messed up from that.
