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.

This is one of the many shallow, unnamed lakes in the Arctic coastal plain near the Dalton Highway.

From Dalton Highway in Alaska

Stream photos

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Skwala (Large Springfly) Stonefly Nymph Skwala (Large Springfly) Stonefly Nymph

Dorsal view of a Skwala (Perlodidae) (Large Springfly) Stonefly Nymph from the Yakima River in Washington

This Skwala nymph still has a couple months left to go before hatching, but it's still a good representative of its species, which was extremely abundant in my sample for a stonefly of this size. It's obvious why the Yakima is known for its Skwala hatch.

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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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Caddisfly Species Hydropsyche betteni (Spotted Sedges)

Where & when

Time of year : Late May through August

This species is important in the East.

In 122 records from GBIF, adults of this species have mostly been collected during June (24%), July (24%), May (18%), August (17%), and April (10%).

In 123 records from GBIF, this species has been collected at elevations ranging from 10 to 5748 ft, with an average (median) of 948 ft.

Species Range

source

Map of specific collection sites

Start a Discussion of Hydropsyche betteni

References

LaFontaine, Gary. 1981. Caddisflies. The Lyons Press.