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Lateral view of a Male Baetis (Baetidae) (Blue-Winged Olive) Mayfly Dun from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

Lateral view of a Female Sweltsa borealis (Chloroperlidae) (Boreal Sallfly) Stonefly Adult from Harris Creek in Washington
I was not fishing, but happened to be at an unrelated social event on a hill above this tiny creek (which I never even saw) when this stonefly flew by me. I assume it came from there. Some key characteristics are tricky to follow, but process of elimination ultimately led me to Sweltsa borealis. It is reassuringly similar to this specimen posted by Bob Newell years ago. It is also so strikingly similar to this nymph from the same river system that I'm comfortable identifying that nymph from this adult. I was especially pleased with the closeup photo of four mites parasitizing this one.
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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Fly Anglers

Fly Anglers

Sometimes our experience on the stream is worth documenting, too. These are my best pictures of fly anglers.

The Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Casting in the Titcomb Basin outlet stream

From Titcomb Basin in Wyoming
Fishing the inlet to Upper Titcomb with no luck

From Titcomb Basin in Wyoming
Titcomb Basin in Wyoming
Slough Creek in Wyoming
I was up close to this pool watching these two trout when one of them swam in close to me. I froze and waited several minutes for it to move away.
Here I was fighting the largest brown trout I've ever had on the end of my line. I never landed it.
Mystery Creek # 186 in Alaska
Here my dad's fighting a very nice arctic grayling, and this photo caught it mid-jump at the end of his line.  This one eventually shook the hook, but we both caught many more in the same size range.

From the Chena River in Alaska
This colorful brown was my dad's first nice trout on a dry fly.  It was also the best of the day, taken with a nice cast after doing some slightly crazy wading through silt and deep water to get into position.

From the Bois Brule River in Wisconsin
My friend Ian throws a fine cast in a section of river that's open year-round.  From the bridge, we spotted a very nice brown nymphing, but neither of us could get it to take.

From Willowemoc Creek in New York
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