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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It's only barely visible in one of my pictures, but I confirmed under the microscope that this one has a prosternal horn and the antennae are mid-way between the eyes and front of the head capsule.
I'm calling this one Pycnopsyche, but it's a bit perplexing. It seems to key definitively to at least Couplet 8 of the Key to Genera of Limnephilidae Larvae. That narrows it down to three genera, and the case seems wrong for the other two. The case looks right for Pycnopsyche, and it fits one of the key characteristics: "Abdominal sternum II without chloride epithelium and abdominal segment IX with only single seta on each side of dorsal sclerite." However, the characteristic "metanotal sa1 sclerites not fused, although often contiguous" does not seem to fit well. Those sclerites sure look fused to me, although I can make out a thin groove in the touching halves in the anterior half under the microscope. Perhaps this is a regional variation.
The only species of Pycnopsyche documented in Washington state is Pycnopsyche guttifera, and the colors and markings around the head of this specimen seem to match very well a specimen of that species from Massachusetts on Bugguide. So I am placing it in that species for now.
Whatever species this is, I photographed another specimen of seemingly the same species from the same spot a couple months later.
I'm calling this one Pycnopsyche, but it's a bit perplexing. It seems to key definitively to at least Couplet 8 of the Key to Genera of Limnephilidae Larvae. That narrows it down to three genera, and the case seems wrong for the other two. The case looks right for Pycnopsyche, and it fits one of the key characteristics: "Abdominal sternum II without chloride epithelium and abdominal segment IX with only single seta on each side of dorsal sclerite." However, the characteristic "metanotal sa1 sclerites not fused, although often contiguous" does not seem to fit well. Those sclerites sure look fused to me, although I can make out a thin groove in the touching halves in the anterior half under the microscope. Perhaps this is a regional variation.
The only species of Pycnopsyche documented in Washington state is Pycnopsyche guttifera, and the colors and markings around the head of this specimen seem to match very well a specimen of that species from Massachusetts on Bugguide. So I am placing it in that species for now.
Whatever species this is, I photographed another specimen of seemingly the same species from the same spot a couple months later.
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Fun day on the Henry's Fork and beyond
Fun day on the Henry's Fork and beyond
By Troutnut on July 31st, 2020
I fished the Henry's Fork of the Snake out of the Last Chance access on the Harriman Ranch section from 8:30 to 11:00 am. Fishing was difficult, I caught a 14-incher on a size 18 olive Galloup's Cripple dry, and I missed three other strikes or close refusals. There were obscenely many mayfly spinners on the water, mostly Ephemerella excrucians PMDs but also a few Baetis, Tricorythodes, and Siphlonurus occidentalis. However, very few fish rose more than once or twice, and they were picky when they did. Most of the action was from 10 to 11 pm. After fishing, I set up in the parking lot to photograph bugs during the heat of the day.
I drove a long way to a secret spot to fish for the evening. However, it wasn't as secret as I'd like. Several vehicles at the usual access point compelled me to look elsewhere, and I drove to somewhere I'd have more of a walk to avoid people. At first I caught some brook trout and a small whitefish, including a nice 14 1/8" brookie. I thought maybe the other fish I was after were not to be found in this part of the creek. However, on the last pool before I was going to give up and move, an 18.5" cutthroat slammed my Royal Doublewing and put up a great fight. A smaller one tried to hit in the same pool.
In the next pool up, I hooked an even bigger one, at least 20", and fought it for over five minutes before the hook came loose. I took these back-to-back fish as a sign that the fishing was heating up, but that was the last sign of big cutts. As a more-than-great consolation prize, I caught my largest brook trout ever (16 1/8") and six brookies in the 10–12" range. All the fishing really shut down 1–2 hours before dark.
I drove a long way to a secret spot to fish for the evening. However, it wasn't as secret as I'd like. Several vehicles at the usual access point compelled me to look elsewhere, and I drove to somewhere I'd have more of a walk to avoid people. At first I caught some brook trout and a small whitefish, including a nice 14 1/8" brookie. I thought maybe the other fish I was after were not to be found in this part of the creek. However, on the last pool before I was going to give up and move, an 18.5" cutthroat slammed my Royal Doublewing and put up a great fight. A smaller one tried to hit in the same pool.
In the next pool up, I hooked an even bigger one, at least 20", and fought it for over five minutes before the hook came loose. I took these back-to-back fish as a sign that the fishing was heating up, but that was the last sign of big cutts. As a more-than-great consolation prize, I caught my largest brook trout ever (16 1/8") and six brookies in the 10–12" range. All the fishing really shut down 1–2 hours before dark.
Photos by Troutnut from the Henry's Fork of the Snake River and Mystery Creek #237 in Idaho and Montana
