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.

Stream photos

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Female Skwala (Large Springfly) Stonefly Adult Female Skwala (Large Springfly) Stonefly Adult

Lateral view of a Female Skwala (Perlodidae) (Large Springfly) Stonefly Adult from Mystery Creek #308 in Washington

9 Recently Added Photos

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.

Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and fly tyers unabashedly embrace the entomological side of the sport. Learn more about Troutnut or support the project for an enhanced experience here.

Caddisfly Genus Hesperophylax (Silver Striped Sedges)

These are very large caddisflies, up to 1.3 inches long as adults.

Where & when

Time of year : Emergence in summer, egg-laying in fall

In 248 records from GBIF, adults of this genus have mostly been collected during July (23%), August (21%), June (18%), September (13%), May (12%), and October (6%).

In 139 records from GBIF, this genus has been collected at elevations ranging from 3 to 31496 ft, with an average (median) of 6289 ft.

Genus Range

source

Map of specific collection sites

Hatching behavior

Time of day : Nighttime

Prior to emergence the pupae gather on certain bolders, which concentrates their emergence into specific feeding lanes. They are just the sort of large insect that nocturnal trout like to eat.

Hesperophylax Fly Fishing Tips

LaFontaine notes in Caddisflies that the adults are worth imitating, and they make a good searching pattern, but he does not give specifics about their behavior.

Specimens of the Caddisfly Genus Hesperophylax

1 Female Adult

Female Hesperophylax designatus (Silver Striped Sedge) Caddisfly Adult

1 Picture

Female Hesperophylax designatus (Limnephilidae) (Silver Striped Sedge) Caddisfly Adult from the Touchet River in Washington

Collected September 4, 2011 from the Touchet River in Washington

Added by Bnewell on September 14, 2011

Collected September 4, 2011 from the Touchet River in Washington and added by Bnewell on September 14, 2011

1 Larva

Hesperophylax (Silver Striped Sedge) Caddisfly Larva

15 Pictures

Case view of a Hesperophylax (Limnephilidae) (Silver Striped Sedge) Caddisfly Larva from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington

Based on both range maps and key characteristics, this larva is either Hesperophylax designatus, Hesperophylax alaskensis, or Hesperophylax occidentalis. However, the species key in Parker & Wiggins (1985) cannot separate these species as larvae.

Collected June 12, 2019 from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington

Added by Troutnut on June 14, 2019

Collected June 12, 2019 from the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Washington and added by Troutnut on June 14, 2019

Start a Discussion of Hesperophylax

References

LaFontaine, Gary. 1981. Caddisflies. The Lyons Press.
Parker, C. R., Wiggins, G. B. 1985. The Nearctic Caddisfly Genus Hesperophylax Banks (trichoptera: Limnephilidae). Canadian Journal of Zoology 63(10): 2443-2472.
Swisher, Doug and Carl Richards. 2000. Selective Trout. The Lyons Press.