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.
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Chocolate Spinners
Like most common names,"Chocolate Spinner" can refer to more than one taxon. They're previewed below, along with 2 specimens. For more detail click through to the scientific names.
Mayfly Species Eurylophella bicolor
These are sometimes called Chocolate Spinners.
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 sometimes called Chocolate Spinners.
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...
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.