Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica
The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.
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I was not fishing, but happened to be at an unrelated social event on a hill above this tiny creek (which I never even saw) when this stonefly flew by me. I assume it came from there. Some key characteristics are tricky to follow, but process of elimination ultimately led me to Sweltsa borealis. It is reassuringly similar to this specimen posted by Bob Newell years ago. It is also so strikingly similar to this nymph from the same river system that I'm comfortable identifying that nymph from this adult. I was especially pleased with the closeup photo of four mites parasitizing this one.
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Chocolate Duns
Like most common names,"Chocolate Dun" can refer to more than one taxon. They're previewed below, along with 8 specimens. For more detail click through to the scientific names.
Mayfly Genus Eurylophella
These are often called Chocolate Duns.
None of the species in this genus are recognized as significant hatches. Nevertheless, I have found their nymphs in my samples in many streams in both the East and Midwest.
The genus ID on this specimen is confident but species is very tentative, based on the tentative ID of a seemingly-identical specimen from a nearby river a few days apart.
See 26 more specimens...
Mayfly Species Eurylophella bicolor
These are often called Chocolate Duns.
According to the Leonards in Mayflies: An Angler's Study of Trout Water Ephemeroptera , this species and Eurylophella bicolor are the two most likely hatches for fly fishermen to encounter in Michigan. Based on my sampling, it seems other species may be more prevalent elsewhere.
Mayfly Species Ephemerella needhami
These are very rarely called Chocolate Duns.
This small and slightly noteworthy mayfly appears during the finest hours of the year. Ernest Schwiebert describes an Ephemerella needhami day in Matching the Hatch:
I have not fished a needhami emergence, but the exquisite nymphs show up often (though never abundantly) in my samples.
"It was a wonderul morning, with a sky of indescribable blue and big, clean-looking cumulus clouds, and the water was sparkling and alive. You have seen the water with that lively look; you have also seen it dead and uninviting in a way that dampens the enthusiasm the moment you wade out into the current."
I have not fished a needhami emergence, but the exquisite nymphs show up often (though never abundantly) in my samples.
See the comments for an interesting discussion of the identification of this dun.
I photographed three strange striped Ephemerella nymphs from the same trip on the same river: this one, a brown one, and a very very striped one. I have tentatively put them all in Ephemerella needhami for now.
See 7 more specimens...
Mayfly Species Ephemera simulans
These are very rarely called Chocolate Duns.
The Brown Drakes are a favorite hatch of many in the Midwest, and they make a good showing on localized waters across the country. They are usually the first in a series of big drakes which bring large trout to the surface at twilight and into the early hours of the night. The experience can be much like fishing the Hexagenia limbata hatch, except that the nymphs seem to emerge from slightly more wadeable, sandy bottoms instead of the boot-sucking mud underlying the best Hex water. It will draw big trout out from the depths of a big pool to feed in the shallow tailout after dark.
See 12 more specimens...
References
- Knopp, Malcolm and Robert Cormier. 1997. Mayflies: An Angler's Study of Trout Water Ephemeroptera . The Lyons Press.
- Schwiebert, Ernest G. 1955. Matching the Hatch. MacMillan Publishing Company.