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Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
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.

Dorsal view of a Ephemerella mucronata (Ephemerellidae) Mayfly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington
This is an interesting one. Following the keys in Merritt R.W., Cummins, K.W., and Berg, M.B. (2019) and Jacobus et al. (2014), it keys clearly to Ephemerella. Jacobus et al provide a key to species, but some of the characteristics are tricky to interpret without illustrations. If I didn't make any mistakes, this one keys to Ephemerella mucronata, which has not previously been reported any closer to here than Montana and Alberta. The main character seems to fit well: "Abdominal terga with prominent, paired, subparallel, spiculate ridges." Several illustrations or descriptions of this holarctic species from the US and Europe seem to match, including the body length, tarsal claws and denticles, labial palp, and gill shapes. These sources include including Richard Allen's original description of this species in North America under the now-defunct name E. moffatae in Allen RK (1977) and the figures in this description of the species in Italy.
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.
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Revenge on the Gibbon

Revenge on the Gibbon

By Troutnut on June 28th, 2019
On June 29th, we hiked ten miles out from our Slough Creek backcountry campsite in the morning and enjoyed a good burger in downtown Gardiner. After picking up the camper trailer from its hiding spot in the hills above, we headed to camp for the next night in the town of West Yellowstone, near the headwaters of the Madison just outside the park.

Along the way we stopped at the Gibbon to fish a reach where I got skunked in the most frustrating manner last year. In that episode, the fish were rising and I had the right flies to draw eager strikes. On the first strike, my hook caught the bony part of a big fish's mouth and bent out without me realizing it. Several subsequent strikes failed because I was unknowingly fishing with a badly bent hook.

This time, I went back to the same area determined to exact revenge on the fish that made a fool of me last year. The big fish weren't rising at first, but I ran a soft-hackle through a really promising pool and caught a fairly large brown in the first few minutes. I missed another. After that, my friend and I both caught several smaller browns and cutts, especially toward dusk when caddisflies were active and the small fish were vigorously chasing them around. Some larger fish rose occasionally, but they were either feeding too sporadically or spooked by inadequate presentations in difficult spots. I don't mind being beaten by a fish that way, when I didn't do anything especially dumb and the fish was just too wily. I had already made up for last year.

Photos by Troutnut from the Gibbon River and the Lamar River in Wyoming

The Gibbon River in Wyoming
The Gibbon River in Wyoming
Gibbon River with Norris Geyser Basin in the distance

From the Gibbon River in Wyoming
The Gibbon River in Wyoming
The Gibbon River in Wyoming
Two bison cooling off in the Lamar River

From the Lamar River in Wyoming
This little brown trout was released in the shallows but really wanted a picture so it jumped back onto dry land and posed like this. Then I insisted it go back in the water.
Two elk watching us fish from across the Gibbon meadows

From the Gibbon River in Wyoming

Closeup insects by Troutnut from the Madison River in Montana

Lateral view of a Male Leptoceridae Caddisfly Adult from the Madison River in Montana

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