Artistic view of a Male Pteronarcys californica (Pteronarcyidae) (Giant Salmonfly) Stonefly Adult from the Gallatin River in Montana

Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica

The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.

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 Rhyacophila bifila (Green Sedges)

Where & when

Time of year : Early to mid-summer

In 23 records from GBIF, adults of this species have mostly been collected during July (43%), August (22%), June (13%), and September (9%).

In 4 records from GBIF, this species has been collected at elevations of 5420, 6398, 7142, and 7480 ft.

Species Range

source

Map of specific collection sites

Hatching behavior

Time of day : Evening

Trout may feed heavily on the emerging pupae.

Larva & pupa biology

Current speed: Fast

Substrate: Boulders

Start a Discussion of Rhyacophila bifila

References

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