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.

I spent more than an hour casting to several rising trout in this pool and caught only two. Its clear water and tricky currents harbor dozens of free-rising, usually very hard-to-catch fish.

From Enfield Creek in New York

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.

6 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 Species Limnephilus submonilifer (Summer Flier Sedges)

Where & when

Preferred waters: Rivers and spring ponds

This species can be extremely abundant, especially in spring ponds. In Caddisflies, Gary LaFontaine described the larvae in some New Hampshire spring ponds as "so plentiful there that they cover the bottom."

In 142 records from GBIF, adults of this species have mostly been collected during June (22%), May (20%), September (20%), October (11%), April (9%), August (6%), and July (6%).

In 89 records from GBIF, this species has been collected at elevations ranging from 20 to 5075 ft, with an average (median) of 778 ft.

Species Range

source

Map of specific collection sites

Larva & pupa biology

Current speed: Still to slow

Start a Discussion of Limnephilus submonilifer

References

LaFontaine, Gary. 1981. Caddisflies. The Lyons Press.
Swisher, Doug and Carl Richards. 2000. Selective Trout. The Lyons Press.