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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.

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.

Trout, Salmon, and Grayling, Page 2

Trout, Salmon, and Grayling, Page 2

Salmonids large and small rank among nature's most pleasing sights. These are my best pictures of trout and their relatives: salmon, grayling, and whitefish.

My nicest Cutthroat Trout yet, a beautiful 18-incher. I'll remember this fish forever.
Nice rainbow with just a bit of cutthroat blood in the mix
A 15 3/4" Brook Trout, my personal best. I saw this fish chase a smaller one out of the depths of a deep pool, but without a great view I thought it was just a good-sized rainbow. I worked the pool for 15-20 minutes trying to catch that "rainbow" and was thrilled when, after a few minutes of strong fighting, it came close enough for me to see the giant brook trout on the end of my line.
So far I've only really chased Westslope Cutthroat in small streams. Two fish around 11-12" from this stream were my biggest yet. The other one squirmed away from my gentle grip before I could get a photo.
A nicely-colored example of the Columbia River Redband rainbow trout subspecies, Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri.
Westslope Cutthroat Trout from a tiny, remote stream in Washington
I caught this 18-incher about half an hour after playing for 3-5 minutes and then losing what I'm pretty sure was the same fish. It's the first time a big trout ever gave me a second chance. Both hookings were on a size 18 parachute BWO to match the light Baetid hatch the fish were rising to.
My biggest fish from this tiny creek so far
Big Arctic grayling eating a Drunella doddsii mayfly dun.
My sheefish (a predatory speices of whitefish), 12-15 lbs or so, caught and released on a white and chartreuse streamer.
Beautiful grayling brought to hand.
The dorsal fin of a grayling is one of the prettiest sights in Alaska.
It's hard to capture the full beauty of a well-colored arctic grayling in a photo that can't show its iridescence.  This one was just so colorful he pretty much made up for it.
A perfect brook trout.
A small brown trout jumps at the end of my line.  Photo by Sandy Neuswanger.  Yes, the most popular photo on this website was taken by my mom when I handed off the camera to play this fish!
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