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Lateral view of a Female Hexagenia limbata (Ephemeridae) (Hex) Mayfly Dun from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
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.

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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Updates from July 24, 2022

Updates from July 24, 2022

Photos by Troutnut from Silver Creek and the Wind River in Idaho and Wyoming

I caught the morning Trico hatch on Silver Creek and landed quite a few difficult mid-sized rainbows, while watching my fly spurned by ten times more.

From Silver Creek in Idaho
The Wind River in Wyoming
The Wind River starts out small at this location near the Tie Hack Memorial. The pools look good, but I caught no fish in several pools and only saw one riser that hit my fly with half a dozen splashy refusals.

From the Wind River in Wyoming
The Wind River in Wyoming

On-stream insect photos by Troutnut from Silver Creek in Idaho

Baetis spinners trying to lay eggs on my waders

From Silver Creek in Idaho

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